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in defecating and urinating, in walking, standing, sitting, sleeping, waking, speaking, and being silent, one should act with clear comprehension. This, great king, is the one quality of a well-post to be taken. And this, great king, was spoken by the Blessed One, the God of gods: ‘Mindful, monks, should a bhikkhu dwell, with clear comprehension; this is our instruction to you.’ The Seventh Question on the Qualities of a Well-post. 8. The Question on the Qualities of a Helmsman 8. ‘Venerable Nāgasena, what are those three qualities of a helmsman that you say should be taken?’ ‘Just as, great king, a helmsman, day and night, constantly, continuously, is diligent and strives the diligent one steers the boat. Even so, great king, by the yogi, the meditator, who controls the mind, day and night, constantly, continuously, undiligent, with effort and diligence, with wise attention, the mind should be controlled. This, great king, is to be taken as the first quality of a controller. And this, great king, was spoken by the Exalted One, the God of gods, in the Dhammapada: “Delight in diligence, guard your own mind; lift yourselves from the mire, like an elephant stuck in the mud.” Again, great king, whatever is good or bad in the great ocean, all that is known to the controller. Even so, great king, by the yogi, the meditator, the wholesome and unwholesome, the blameworthy and blameless, the inferior and superior, the dark and bright with their counterparts, should be understood. This, great king, is to be taken as the second quality of a controller. Again, great king, the controller gives a seal to the machine, saying, “Let no one touch the machine.” Even so, great king, by the yogi, the meditator, a seal of restraint should be given to the mind, saying, “Let no evil, unwholesome thought be thought.” This, great king, is to be taken as the third quality of a controller. And this, great king, was spoken by the Exalted One, the God of gods, in the excellent Saṃyutta Nikāya: “Monks, do not think evil, unwholesome thoughts, that is to say, thoughts of sensual desire, thoughts of ill-will, thoughts of harm.” The Eighth Question: The Qualities of a Controller. 9. The Ninth Question: The Qualities of a Worker. “Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, ‘one quality of a worker should be taken,’ which is that one quality to be taken?” “Just as, great king, a worker thinks thus: ‘I am a hired hand, I work on this boat. By steering this boat, I receive my food and wages. No negligence should be done by me. This boat should be steered by me with diligence.’ Even so, great king, by the yogi, the meditator, it should be thought thus: ‘This body, composed of the four great elements, Reflecting on the body, constantly, continuously, diligent, with mindfulness established, mindful, clearly comprehending, concentrated, with one-pointed mind, 'I shall be liberated from birth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair' – 'Diligence is what I must do.' This, O great king, is one quality to be adopted by a worker. And this, O great king, was spoken by the Elder Sāriputta, the General of the Dhamma: '''Reflect on this body, comprehend it again and again; Seeing the nature of the body, you will make an end to suffering.''' The Ninth Question on the Qualities of a Worker. 10. The Question on the Qualities of the Ocean. 10. "Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, 'Five qualities of the ocean are to be adopted,' what are those five qualities to be adopted?" "Just as, O great king, the great ocean does not dwell with a dead corpse, even so, O great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should not dwell with the defilements and stains of lust, hatred, delusion, conceit, wrong view, denigration, envy, jealousy, hypocrisy, deceit, crookedness, unwholesomeness, and evil conduct. This, O great king, is the first quality of the ocean to be adopted. "Furthermore, O great king, the great ocean, holding a collection of various jewels such as pearls, gems, lapis lazuli, conch, rock, coral, crystal, and other precious stones, conceals them; it does not scatter them outside. Even so, O great king, a yogi, a practitioner, having attained various jewel-like qualities such as the paths, fruits, jhānas, liberations, concentrations, attainments, insights, and supernormal powers, should conceal them; they should not bring them out. This, O great king, is the second quality of the ocean to be adopted. "Furthermore, O great king, the great ocean dwells with mighty great beings. Even so, O great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should associate with those who are of few wishes, content, upholders of ascetic practices, of austere conduct, accomplished in conduct, conscientious, amiable, venerable, worthy of esteem, good speakers, patient with words, reprovers, censurers of evil, advisors, instructors, explainers, demonstrators, encouragers, inspirers, gladdeners, noble friends, fellow practitioners... to abide. This, great king, is the third quality of the great ocean to be taken. ‘‘Again, great king, though the great ocean is filled with fresh water from hundreds of thousands of rivers like the Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Aciravatī, Sarabhū, and Mahī, and with streams of water from the sky, it does not overflow its shore. Even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should not intentionally transgress a training rule, even for the sake of gain, honor, fame, veneration, respect, and homage, or even for the sake of life. This, great king, is the fourth quality of the great ocean to be taken. This, great king, was also spoken by the Blessed One, the God of gods: ‘Just as, great king, the great ocean, being of a stable nature, does not transgress its shore, even so, great king, the training rule that has been laid down for the great disciples, my disciples do not transgress it even for the sake of life.’ ‘‘Again, great king, the great ocean is not filled by all the rivers like the Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Aciravatī, Sarabhū, and Mahī, nor by the streams of water in the sky. Even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should not be satisfied by listening to the excellent teaching of the Conqueror, which has nine divisions, with its exposition, questioning, hearing, retention, discernment, Abhidhamma, Vinaya, profound Suttantas, analysis of words, placement of words, word connections, and word inflections. This, great king, is the fifth quality of the great ocean to be taken. This, great king, was also spoken by the Blessed One, the God of gods, in the Sutasoma Jātaka: ‘‘‘Just as fire, burning grass and wood, is not satisfied, or the ocean by rivers; even so, O best of kings, the wise are not satisfied by hearing good speech.’ The Question on the Qualities of the Ocean, the Tenth. The Chapter on the Ocean, the Second. Its summary: The gourd creeper and the lotus, the seed, the excellent sāla tree; The ship and the ship's mooring, the mast and the helmsman likewise; The worker and the ocean, thus is the chapter called. 3. The Chapter on the Earth 1. The Question on the Qualities of the Earth 1. ‘‘Venerable Nāgasena, ‘ You speak of five qualities to be taken from the earth, What are these five qualities to be taken? Just as, great king, the earth, even when pleasant and unpleasant things are scattered upon it, such as camphor, aloe, tagara, sandalwood, saffron, and so on, and even when bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, saliva, snot, joint-fluid, urine, feces, and so on, are scattered upon it, remains the same; even so, great king, a yogi, a meditator, should be the same in pleasant and unpleasant things, in gain and loss, in fame and disrepute, in blame and praise, in pleasure and pain, everywhere. This, great king, is the first quality to be taken from the earth. Furthermore, great king, the earth is free from adornment and embellishment, pervaded by its own scent; even so, great king, a yogi, a meditator, should be free from embellishment, pervaded by the scent of their own virtue. This, great king, is the second quality to be taken from the earth. Furthermore, great king, the earth is continuous, without breaks or holes, not hollow, thick, dense, and vast; even so, great king, a yogi, a meditator, should have continuous virtue, without breaks or holes, not hollow, thick, dense, and vast. This, great king, is the third quality to be taken from the earth. Furthermore, great king, the earth, even while supporting villages, towns, cities, countries, trees, mountains, rivers, lakes, ponds, animals, birds, men, women, and crowds of people, does not become weary; even so, great king, a yogi, a meditator, should not become weary in teaching the Dhamma, in advising, in instructing, in making understand, in showing, in urging, in inspiring, in gladdening. This, great king, is the fourth quality to be taken from the earth. Furthermore, great king, the earth is free from favor and aversion; even so, great king, a yogi, a meditator, should dwell with a mind free from favor and aversion, like the earth. This, great king, is the fifth quality to be taken from the earth. This too, great king, was spoken by the Upā Cūḷasubhaddā, praising her own ascetics, said: "If one arm with an axe, they were to cut, with an angry mind; And one arm with perfume, they were to anoint, with a joyful mind. In that there is no aversion, in this no passion is found; Their minds are like the earth, such are my ascetics." First, the question on the qualities of earth. 2. The question on the qualities of water. "Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, 'Five qualities of water are to be adopted,' what are those five qualities to be adopted?" "Just as, great king, water is well-settled, unmoving, undisturbed, pure in nature, even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, having removed deceit, flattery, fortune-telling, and hinting, should be of well-settled, unmoving, undisturbed, pure conduct. This, great king, is the first quality of water to be adopted.