English
" "Just as, O great king, a cat, whether it has gone into a cave, or into a hole, or into the interior of a mansion, seeks only a mouse; even so, O great king, a yogi, a meditator, whether he has gone to a village, or to a forest, or to the foot of a tree, or to an empty house, should constantly and continuously, with diligence, seek only the food of mindfulness of the body. This, O great king, is the first quality of the cat to be adopted. "Furthermore, O great king, a cat seeks its prey only nearby; even so, O great king, a yogi, a meditator, should dwell observing the rise and fall in these very five aggregates of clinging: 'thus is form, thus is the arising of form, thus is the passing away of form; thus is feeling, thus is the arising of feeling, thus is the passing away of feeling; thus is perception, thus is the arising of perception, thus is the passing away of perception; thus are formations, thus is the arising of formations, thus is the passing away of formations; thus is consciousness, thus is the arising of consciousness, thus is the passing away of consciousness.' This, O great king, is the second quality of the cat to be adopted. And this, O great king, was spoken by the Blessed One, the God of gods – "One should not be far from here, what will the peak of existence do? In the present experience, you will find it in your own body." The Second Cat-Quality Question. 3. The Mouse-Quality Question 3. "Venerable Nāgasena, that which you say, 'one quality of the mouse is to be adopted,' what is that one quality to be adopted?" "Just as, O great king, a mouse, wandering here and there, goes about only seeking food; even so, O great king, a yogi, a meditator, wandering here and there, should be one who seeks only wise attention. This, O great king, is the one quality of the mouse to be adopted. Bh This was spoken, great king, by the Elder Upasena, son of Vaṅganta – Having made Dhamma his head, Dwelling as an insight-meditator; He dwells unattached, Peaceful, ever mindful. The third question on the qualities of the mouse. 4. The question on the qualities of the scorpion "Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, 'One quality of the scorpion should be adopted,' which one quality should be adopted?" "Just as, great king, a scorpion, whose weapon is its tail, walks with its tail raised, even so, great king, a yogi, a meditator, should have wisdom as their weapon, and should dwell with wisdom raised. This, great king, is the one quality of the scorpion to be adopted. This was also spoken, great king, by the Elder Upasena, son of Vaṅganta – Having taken the sword of wisdom, Dwelling as an insight-meditator; He is freed from all fears, And becomes difficult to overcome. The fourth question on the qualities of the scorpion. 5. The question on the qualities of the mongoose "Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, 'One quality of the mongoose should be adopted,' which one quality should be adopted?" "Just as, great king, a mongoose, when approaching a snake, anoints its body with medicine before approaching the snake to catch it, even so, great king, a yogi, a meditator, when approaching a world full of anger and hatred, overcome by quarrels, disputes, arguments, and opposition, should anoint their mind with the medicine of loving-kindness. This, great king, is the one quality of the mongoose to be adopted. This was also spoken, great king, by the Elder Sāriputta, the General of the Dhamma – Therefore, for oneself and others, The development of loving-kindness should be done; One should pervade with a mind of loving-kindness, This is the teaching of the Buddhas. The fifth question on the qualities of the mongoose. 6. The question on the qualities of the old jackal "Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, 'Two qualities of the old jackal should be adopted,' which two qualities should be adopted?" "Just as, great king, an old jackal, having obtained food, eats it without disgust, as much as it wants, Indeed, just so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, having received food, should consume it without disgust, only for the sustenance of the body. This, great king, is the first quality to be adopted from the old jackal. And this, great king, was spoken by the Elder Mahākassapa: "Having descended from my dwelling, I entered the village for alms. A leper man was eating, I attended him respectfully. "He, with his festering hand, offered me a morsel. As he put the morsel down, his finger broke off there. "Leaning against a wall, I ate that morsel. While eating or having eaten, no disgust arose in me." And furthermore, great king, the old jackal, having received food, does not discriminate whether it is coarse or fine. Just so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, having received food, should not discriminate 'coarse or fine, perfect or imperfect'. He should be content with what he has received. This, great king, is the second quality to be adopted from the old jackal. And this, great king, was spoken by the Elder Upasena, son of Vaṅganta: "One should be content even with coarse food, not longing for many other tastes. For one attached to tastes, the mind does not delight in jhāna. Content with whatever one gets, one fulfills the ascetic life." The Sixth Question on the Qualities of the Old Jackal. 7. The Question on the Qualities of the Deer 7. "Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, 'three qualities of the deer are to be adopted,' which are those three qualities to be adopted?" "Just as, great king, a deer roams in the forest by day, and in the open by night; just so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should dwell in the forest by day, and in the open by night. This, great king, is the first quality to be adopted from the deer." And this, great king, was spoken by the Blessed One, the God of gods, in the discourse on hair-raising awe: 'I, Sāriputta, those cold nights of winter, during the eight-day period... in the season of snow, in such nights, I dwell in the open at night, in the forest by day. In the last month of summer, I dwell in the open by day, in the forest at night. Again, great king, when a spear or arrow falls, the deer evades it and flees, it does not offer its body. Even so, great king, when defilements fall, the yogi, the meditator, should evade them and flee, should not offer the mind. This, great king, is the second quality of the deer to be taken. Again, great king, seeing humans, the deer flees this way or that, 'May they not see me.' Even so, great king, seeing quarrelsome, contentious, disputatious, argumentative, immoral, lazy, and company-loving people, the yogi, the meditator, should flee this way or that, 'May they not see me, and may I not see them.' This, great king, is the third quality of the deer to be taken. This too, great king, was spoken by the Elder Sāriputta, the General of the Dhamma: 'May never a wicked person, lazy, of weak energy, of little learning, of bad conduct, be associated with me anywhere.' The Seventh Question on the Qualities of the Deer. 8. The Question on the Qualities of the Ox "Venerable Nāgasena, what are those four qualities of the ox to be taken, which you speak of?" "Just as, great king, an ox does not abandon its own home, even so, great king, the yogi, the meditator, should not abandon his own body, thinking: 'This body is subject to impermanence, to covering, to rubbing, to breaking, to scattering, to destruction.' This, great king, is the first quality of the ox to be taken. Again, great king, the ox, having taken up its burden, carries the burden with ease and difficulty. Even so, great king, the yogi, the meditator, having taken up the holy life, should carry the holy life with ease and difficulty, until the end of life, until the last breath. should be practiced. This, great king, is the second quality to be taken from the ox. Again, great king, the ox drinks water when it desires to graze. Even so, great king, the yogi, the practitioner, should receive the instructions of his teachers and preceptors with desire, with love, with faith, as if grazing. This, great king, is the third quality to be taken from the ox. Again, great king, the ox carries a burden when it is made to carry it by anyone. Even so, great king, the yogi, the practitioner, should accept with his head the advice and admonition of elder, new, and middle monks, and even of lay followers. This, great king, is the fourth quality to be taken from the ox. And this was spoken, great king, by the elder Sāriputta, the general of the Dhamma: “Though he be one who has just gone forth, seven years old by birth; If he should instruct me, I accept it on my head. “Having seen in him intense desire and love, I would establish him; I would place him in the teacher’s place, and honor him again and again.” The Eighth Question: The Qualities of the Ox. 9. The Question: The Qualities of the Boar. “Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, ‘Two qualities of the boar are to be taken,’ which are those two qualities to be taken?” “Just as, great king, when the hot summer season arrives, the boar goes to water when it is heated and parched. Even so, great king, the yogi, the practitioner, when his mind is agitated, stumbling, bewildered, and heated by hatred, should go to the cool, immortal, excellent cultivation of loving-kindness. This, great king, is the first quality to be taken from the boar. Again, great king, the boar, having gone to muddy water, digs the earth with its snout, makes a trough, and lies down in the trough. Even so, great king, the yogi, the practitioner, having laid his body in his mind, should lie down having entered the object. This, great king, is the second quality to be taken from the boar. And this was spoken, great king, by the elder Not by Piṇḍolabhāradvāja – ‘‘‘Seeing one's own nature in the body, Having discerned, the insight-practitioner; Alone, without a second, Rests in the midst of objects.’’’ The Ninth Question of the Boar's Qualities. 10.