English
Like the moon, O great king, is the ascetic practice for those desiring purity, in the sense of being longed for and desired. Like the sun, O great king, is the ascetic practice for those desiring purity, in the sense of destroying the darkness and gloom of delusion. Like the ocean, O great king, is the ascetic practice for those desiring purity, in the sense of being the source of various excellent jewels of common virtues, and in the sense of being immeasurable, countless, incomparable. Thus indeed, O great king, the ascetic practice for those desiring purity is of great help, dispelling all distress and feverishness, dispelling discontent, dispelling fear, dispelling existence, dispelling obstacles, dispelling stains, dispelling sorrow, dispelling suffering, dispelling lust, dispelling hatred, dispelling delusion, dispelling conceit, dispelling wrong views, dispelling all unwholesome states, bringing fame, bringing welfare, bringing happiness, causing comfort, causing joy, causing security from bondage, blameless, having pleasant and happy results, a heap of virtues, a mass of virtues, having immeasurable, countless, incomparable virtues, excellent, supreme, foremost. Just as, O great king, people partake of food for support, partake of medicine for benefit, associate with a friend for help, use a boat for crossing, use garlands and perfumes for fragrance, seek refuge from fear for safety, rely on the earth for support, seek a teacher for skill, serve a king for fame, (and) for granting wishes... People resort to jewels, just so, O great king, for the sake of bestowing all qualities of recluseship, the noble ones resort to the ascetic practices. Or just as, O great king, water is for the growth of seeds, fire is for burning, food is for bringing strength, a creeper is for binding, a weapon is for cutting, drink is for quenching thirst, treasure is for giving assurance, a boat is for reaching the shore, medicine is for calming illness, a vehicle is for pleasant travel, refuge for the fearful is for dispelling fear, a king is for protection, a shield is for warding off sticks, clods, pellets, arrows, spears, a teacher is for instruction, a mother is for nourishment, a mirror is for seeing, an ornament is for beautifying, cloth is for covering, a ladder is for ascending, scales are for weighing unevenly (or for depositing thoughts), a charm is for incantation, a weapon is for warding off threats, a lamp is for dispelling darkness, wind is for extinguishing heat, skill is for producing livelihood, antidote is for preserving life, a mine is for producing jewels, a jewel is for adornment, a command is for not transgressing, sovereignty is for exercising control, just so, O great king, the ascetic practices are for the growth of the seed of recluseship, for burning up the dirt of defilements, for bringing the strength of psychic power, for binding the restraint of mindfulness, for cutting off doubt and perplexity, for quenching the thirst of craving, for giving assurance of realization, for crossing the four floods, for calming the illness of defilements, for obtaining the happiness of Nibbana, for dispelling the fear of birth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair, for protecting the qualities of recluseship, for warding off discontent and unwholesome thoughts, for instructing in all the benefits of recluseship, for nourishing all the qualities of recluseship, for seeing tranquility, insight, path, fruit, and Nibbana, for making the great and magnificent beauty praised and lauded by all the world, for closing all lower realms, for ascending to the peak of the mountain of recluseship's benefits, for scattering crooked, bent, uneven thoughts, for good recitation in what should and should not be practiced, for warding off all defilements. For the suppression of enemies, for the dispelling of the darkness of ignorance, for the extinguishing of the burning torment of the three fires, for the accomplishment of subtle, peaceful attainments, for the protection of all the qualities of recluseship, for the production of the excellent jewel of the factors of awakening, for the adornment of yogis, for the non-transgression of blameless, skillful, subtle, peaceful, happy states, for the mastery of all the noble qualities of recluseship. Thus, great king, for the attainment of these qualities, this single ascetic practice, thus, great king, the ascetic practice is incomparable, immeasurable, unequaled, unrivaled, unparalleled, unsurpassed, superior, excellent, distinguished, eminent, extensive, broad, widespread, vast, weighty, heavy, great. Indeed, great king, the person who is evil-wminded, overcome by desire, deceitful, greedy, gluttonous, desirous of gain, desirous of fame, desirous of renown, unsuitable, unqualified, unworthy, undeserving, inappropriate, who undertakes an ascetic practice, he incurs a double penalty, he incurs the destruction of all good qualities, in this very life he receives scorn, contempt, blame, ridicule, abuse, non-association, expulsion, rejection, banishment, exile, and in the next life, in the Avīci Great Hell, a hundred yojanas away, in a realm of hot, boiling, burning, blazing flames, for many hundreds of thousands of crores of years, he boils, turning over and over, upwards, downwards, sideways, with frothing foam. Having been released from there, with emaciated, rough, dark limbs, with a swollen, bloated, hollow head, hungry and thirsty, with a terrifying, dreadful appearance, with broken ears and hearing, with eyes that open and close, with a body covered with sores and scabs, with a body full of worms, like a burning mass of fire in the mouth of the wind, burning within, blazing, without protection, without refuge, lamenting with a mournful, pitiable, compassionate cry, a great hungry ghost, consumed by craving, wandering about, makes a loud noise on the earth. Just as, great king, someone unsuitable, unqualified, unworthy, A low-born, unworthy, unsuitable, inferior, ill-bred person anoints himself with the anointing of a king. He receives the cutting off of hands, the cutting off of feet, the cutting off of hands and feet, the cutting off of ears, the cutting off of the nose, the cutting off of ears and nose, the gruel-pot, the conch-shell shaven head, the Rahu's mouth, the garland of flames, the hand-torch, the ear-ring, the bark-garment, the antelope, the fish-hook, the kahāpaṇa coin, the acid-bath, the stake-roller, the straw-mat, the pouring of hot oil, the feeding to dogs, the impalement on a living stake, the cutting off of the head with a sword. He experiences various kinds of torture. For what reason? He, being unsuited, unqualified, unworthy, unsuitable, inferior, ill-bred, placed himself in a great position of power. He violated the boundary. Just so, great king, whatever person, being evil-willed… …makes a loud noise on the earth. But, great king, whatever person, being suited, qualified, worthy, suitable, of few wishes, contented, secluded, unentangled, aroused in energy, resolute, not deceitful, not cunning, not gluttonous, not desirous of gain, not desirous of dishonor, not desirous of ill-fame, faithful, gone forth in faith, desirous of liberation from old age and death, thinking, "I will uphold the Teaching," undertakes an ascetic practice, he deserves double honor. He is dear to the gods, agreeable, longed for, wished for, like a jasmine or mallikā flower to one who has bathed and anointed himself, like excellent food to one who is hungry, like cool, pure, fragrant water to one who is thirsty, like the best medicine to one who has been poisoned, like the best noble chariot to one who wishes to travel swiftly, like a beautiful jewel to one who desires wealth, like a pure, spotless white parasol to one who wishes to be anointed, like the unsurpassed attainment of the fruit of arahantship to one who desires the Dhamma. For him, the four foundations of mindfulness go to the fullness of development. The four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path go to the fullness of development. Calm and insight… he approaches, the practice of attainment ripens, the four fruits of recluseship, the four analytical knowledges, the three knowledges, the six supernormal powers, and the entire recluse-state all become his dominion; he is anointed with the pure, white parasol of liberation. “Just as, great king, when a king, a Khattiya, of noble birth and lineage, is anointed with the Khattiya anointing, his own country’s citizens, townsmen, and villagers, soldiers and warriors, the thirty-eight royal councilors, dancers and actors, eulogists, blessing-reciters, and groups of ascetics, brahmins, and all sectarians approach him; whatever there is on earth— ports, jewel mines, cities, toll stations, border regions, places of cutting and breaking, and the instruction of people— he becomes master over all; even so, great king, whatever person is endowed, attained… he is anointed with the pure, white parasol of liberation. “These, great king, are the thirteen ascetic practices, by which, purified, he enters the great ocean of Nibbana and enjoys various kinds of Dhamma-play; he experiences the eight attainments of form and formless realms; he attains the supernormal powers, the divine ear element, the knowledge of others’ minds, the recollection of past lives, the divine eye, and the destruction of all defilements. Which thirteen? The refuse-rag wearer’s practice, the triple-robe wearer’s practice, the alms-food eater’s practice, the house-to-house alms-goer’s practice, the one-session eater’s practice, the bowl-food eater’s practice, the later-food refuser’s practice, the forest dweller’s practice, the tree-root dweller’s practice, the open-air dweller’s practice, the charnel-ground dweller’s practice, the any-bed-user’s practice,