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10. The question on the carpenter's qualities. "Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, 'Two qualities of a carpenter are to be adopted,' what are those two qualities to be adopted?" "Just as, O great king, a carpenter, having followed the chalk-line, carves the wood, even so, O great king, by a yogi, a practitioner, having followed the teaching of the Conqueror, having established oneself on the ground of virtue, having taken the axe of wisdom with the hand of faith, defilements should be carved away. This, O great king, is the first quality of a carpenter to be adopted. "Furthermore, O great king, a carpenter, having removed the sapwood, takes the heartwood. Even so, O great king, by a yogi, a practitioner, eternalism, annihilationism, that soul, that body, another soul, another body, that highest, another highest... Whoever holds the view that what is not done is not good, that there is no human effort, no holy life, destruction of beings, appearance of new beings, permanence of formations; that one acts and one experiences, or another acts and another experiences; and the view that there is no fruit of action and no fruit of deeds—having removed such and other paths of dispute, the nature of formations as ultimate emptiness, without striving, without life, utterly empty, should be adopted. This, O great king, is the second quality of the carpenter to be adopted. This, O great king, was also spoken by the Blessed One, the God of gods, in the Sutta Nipāta – “Drive out the crows, Remove the refuse; Then drive away the worthless, Those not recluses, who deem themselves recluses. “Having driven out the evil-willed, Those with evil conduct and ways; Pure ones, with the pure associate, Mindful; Then united, discerning, You will make an end of suffering.” The Tenth Question on the Carpenter's Quality. The Sixth Chapter on Monkeys. Its summary – Monkey, boy, tortoise, Forest, and tree is the fifth; Cloud, gem, hunter, Fishhook, and carpenter. 7. The Chapter on the Jar 1. The Question on the Jar's Quality 1. “Venerable Nāgasena, what is that one quality of the jar that you say should be adopted?” “Just as, O great king, a full jar makes no sound, even so, O great king, a yogi, a practitioner, having reached perfection in scripture, in realization, in study, in recluseship, should not make a sound. No conceit should be made by him, no arrogance should be shown; he should be one with crushed conceit, with crushed arrogance, straightforward, not garrulous, not boastful. This, O great king, is one quality of the jar to be adopted. This, O great king, was also spoken by the Blessed One, the God of gods, in the Sutta Nipāta – “What is lacking, that makes a sound; What is full, that is silent. The fool is like a half-jar, The wise one like a full lake.” The First Question on the Jar's Quality. 2. The Question on the Quality of Black Iron 2. “Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, ‘Two qualities of the black iron should be taken,’ which are those two qualities that should be taken?” “Just as, great king, black iron, when well-heated, vomits forth, even so, great king, the mind of a yogi, a practitioner, when not well-absorbed by proper attention, vomits forth. This, great king, is the first quality of the black iron to be taken. “Again, great king, black iron does not vomit forth water once absorbed. Even so, great king, the yogi, the practitioner, should not vomit forth the confidence that has arisen once, thinking: ‘Glorious is the Blessed One, the Fully Self-Enlightened One; well-expounded is the Dhamma; well-practicing is the Saṅgha.’ The knowledge that has arisen once, that ‘form is impermanent, feeling is impermanent, perception is impermanent, volitional formations are impermanent, consciousness is impermanent,’ should not be vomited forth again. This, great king, is the second quality of the black iron to be taken. And this, great king, was spoken by the Blessed One, the God beyond gods: “‘A person purified in vision, fixed in the noble Dhamma, a master of distinction, does not tremble in many ways, and he is entirely of a joyful nature.’” The Second Question on the Qualities of Black Iron. 3. The Question on the Qualities of the Umbrella 3. “Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, ‘Three qualities of the umbrella should be taken,’ which are those three qualities that should be taken?” “Just as, great king, an umbrella moves above the head, even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should be one who moves above the head of defilements. This, great king, is the first quality of the umbrella to be taken. “Again, great king, an umbrella is a support for the head. Even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should be supported by proper attention. This, great king, is the second quality of the umbrella to be taken. “Again, great king, an umbrella protects from wind It repels the scorching rain clouds. Even so, O great king, the yogi, the practitioner, should repel the defilement-rains of various views, of many recluses and brahmins, which are like dead winds, the three fires of torment. This, O great king, is the third quality of the umbrella to be taken. This was also said, O great king, by the Elder Sāriputta, the General of the Dhamma: "Just as a vast umbrella, without holes, firmly constructed, wards off wind and sun, and great rain clouds. "Even so, a son of the Buddha, holding the umbrella of virtue, pure, wards off the rain of defilements, the three fires of torment." The Third Question on the Qualities of the Umbrella. 4. The Question on the Qualities of the Field. 4. "Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, 'Three qualities of a field are to be taken,' what are those three qualities to be taken?" "Just as, O great king, a field is endowed with a watercourse, even so, O great king, the yogi, the practitioner, should be endowed with the watercourse of good conduct, of vows and counter-vows. This, O great king, is the first quality of the field to be taken. "Furthermore, O great king, a field is endowed with boundaries, and by those boundaries, protecting the water, it ripens the grain. Even so, O great king, the yogi, the practitioner, should be endowed with the boundaries of virtue and shame, and by those boundaries of virtue and shame, protecting recluseship, the four fruits of recluseship are to be attained. This, O great king, is the second quality of the field to be taken. "Furthermore, O great king, a field is endowed with fertility, generating joy for the farmer; even a little seed sown becomes much, much sown becomes much more. Even so, O great king, the yogi, the practitioner, should be endowed with fertility, yielding abundant fruit, generating joy for donors, so that little given becomes much, much given becomes much more. This, O great king, is the third quality of the field to be taken. This was also said, O great king, by the Elder Upāli By the Vinaya-holder – One should be like a field, Giving abundant yield through effort; That is called the best field, Which gives abundant fruit. The Fourth Question on the Qualities of a Field. 5. The Question on the Qualities of Medicine 5. Venerable Nāgasena, What you say, 'Two qualities of medicine should be adopted', What are those two qualities to be adopted? Just as, great king, Worms do not remain in medicine, Even so, great king, By the yogi, the practitioner, Defilements should not be allowed to remain in the mind. This, great king, Is the first quality of medicine to be adopted. Furthermore, great king, Medicine counteracts all poison, Whether bitten, touched, seen, Eaten, drunk, chewed, or tasted. Even so, great king, By the yogi, the practitioner, All the poison of lust, Hatred, delusion, conceit, And wrong view should be counteracted. This, great king, Is the second quality of medicine to be adopted. And this, great king, Was spoken by the Blessed One, The God of gods – By the yogi wishing to see The true nature of formations, One should be like medicine In destroying the poison of defilements. The Fifth Question on the Qualities of Medicine. 6. The Question on the Qualities of Food 6. Venerable Nāgasena, What you say, 'Three qualities of food should be adopted', What are those three qualities to be adopted? Just as, great king, Food is the support for all beings, Even so, great king, By the yogi, the practitioner, One should be a support for the path for all beings. This, great king, Is the first quality of food to be adopted. Furthermore, great king, Food increases the strength of all beings, Even so, great king, By the yogi, the practitioner, One should grow in the increase of merit. This, great king, Is the second quality of food to be adopted. Furthermore, great king, Food is desired by all beings, Even so, great king, By the yogi, the practitioner, One should be desired by all the world. This, great king, Is the third quality of food to be adopted. And this was spoken Yes, great king, by the Elder Mahāmoggallāna: ‘‘‘By self-restraint, by discipline, By virtue, by practice; One should be desired By the yogi of all the world.’’’ The Sixth Question on the Elements of Food. 7. The Seventh Question on the Elements of the Archer 7. ‘‘Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, ‘Four elements of the archer should be taken,’ which are these four elements that should be taken?