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or of beds or chairs, or of clothes or ornaments, or of things used or things enjoyed, or of varieties of food, no sign should be taken, one should be impartial, the perception of a recluse should be established. This, O great king, is the one quality of the house pigeon to be adopted. And this, O great king, was spoken by the Blessed One, the God of gods, in the Cūḷanārada Jātaka – "‘Having entered another's family, drink..." for the purpose of food. Eat in moderation, consume in moderation, and do not set your mind on forms. The Fourth Question on the Dove's Qualities. 5. The Question on the Owl's Qualities 5. "Venerable Nāgasena, when you say that 'two qualities of an owl should be adopted,' which are those two qualities that should be adopted?" "Just as, great king, an owl is at odds with crows, and at night goes to a flock of crows and kills many crows, even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should be at odds with ignorance; sitting alone in solitude, one should crush ignorance, cut it off at the root. This, great king, is the first quality of an owl to be adopted. "Furthermore, great king, an owl is very secluded. Even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should delight in seclusion, should be devoted to seclusion. This, great king, is the second quality of an owl to be adopted. This, great king, was also spoken by the Blessed One, the God of gods, in the excellent Saṃyutta Nikāya: "'Here, monks, a monk who delights in seclusion, who is devoted to seclusion, understands 'this is suffering' as it really is; understands 'this is the origin of suffering' as it really is; understands 'this is the cessation of suffering' as it really is; understands 'this is the path leading to the cessation of suffering' as it really is.' The Fifth Question on the Owl's Qualities. 6. The Question on the Woodpecker's Qualities 6. "Venerable Nāgasena, when you say that 'one quality of a woodpecker should be adopted,' which is that one quality that should be adopted?" "Just as, great king, a woodpecker, by its cry, announces safety or danger to others, even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, while teaching the Dhamma to others, should show the lower realms as danger, and show Nibbāna as safety. This, great king, is the one quality of a woodpecker to be adopted. This, great king, was also spoken by the Elder Piṇḍolabhāradvāja: "'The fear and terror in hell, the abundant bliss in Nibbāna..." no happiness; Both these disadvantages should be shown by the yogi. The Sixth Question on the Hornbill. 7. The Question on the Bat 7. "Venerable Nāgasena, what are those two qualities of a bat that you say should be adopted?" "Just as, great king, a bat enters a house, moves about, and then leaves, not becoming entangled there, even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, having entered a village for alms, moved about in due order, should quickly leave with the alms received, and not become entangled there. This, great king, is the first quality of a bat to be adopted. "Furthermore, great king, a bat, living in another's house, does not cause them any loss. Even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, having approached families, should not cause them any regret through excessive asking, or through much entreaty, or through much bodily fault, or through much speaking, or through sharing their happiness and sorrow; nor should their fundamental work be diminished; rather, their increase should always be desired. This, great king, is the second quality of a bat to be adopted. And this, great king, was spoken by the Blessed One, the God of gods, in the Lakkhaṇa Suttanta of the excellent Dīgha Nikāya: "'By purity, by virtue, by wisdom, by generosity, by Dhamma, by many good deeds; By wealth, by grain, by fields and land, by sons, by wives, and by four-footed creatures. "'By relatives, by friends, and by kinsmen, by strength, by beauty, and by happiness both; How should others not decline? Thus he desires, and he longs for the attainment of welfare.' The Seventh Question on the Bat. 8. The Question on the Leech 8. "Venerable Nāgasena, what is that one quality of a leech that you say should be adopted?" "Just as, great king, a leech, wherever it clings, clings firmly there and drinks blood, even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, in whatever object the mind that to which it clings, that object, by color and by shape, by direction and by space, by delimitation and by characteristic, by sign, having firmly established it, with that very object, the undiluted taste of liberation should be drunk. This, O great king, is one quality to be taken from the leech. This, O great king, was also spoken by the Elder Anuruddha – “With a purified mind, having established oneself on the object; With that mind, one should drink, the undiluted taste of liberation.” The eighth question on the qualities of the leech. 9. The question on the qualities of the snake. 9. “Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, ‘three qualities of the snake should be taken,’ what are those three qualities to be taken?” “Just as, O great king, a snake moves with its chest, even so, O great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should move with wisdom. For a yogi moving with wisdom, O great king, the mind moves in the right way, it avoids wrong characteristics, it cultivates right characteristics. This, O great king, is the first quality to be taken from the snake. “Furthermore, O great king, a snake, when moving, avoids medicine. Even so, O great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should move avoiding bad conduct. This, O great king, is the second quality to be taken from the snake. “Furthermore, O great king, a snake, seeing humans, suffers, grieves, and worries. Even so, O great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should, having contemplated evil thoughts, having produced discontent, suffer, grieve, and worry, ‘My day has been wasted by heedlessness, it cannot be regained.’ This, O great king, is the third quality to be taken from the snake. This, O great king, was also spoken by the Blessed One in the Bhallāṭiya Jātaka, by the two kinnaras – “‘We spent one night apart, O hunter, unwillingly, remembering each other; Regretting that one night, we grieve, ‘that night will not return.’” The question on the qualities of the snake. Here is the ninth. 10. The Question on the Python’s Quality 10. “Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, ‘One quality of a python should be adopted,’ which one quality should be adopted?” “Just as, great king, a python, though very large-bodied, goes many days with an empty stomach, feeling weak, not getting enough food to fill its belly, and sustains itself only with what is just enough for the maintenance of its body; even so, great king, for a yogi, a meditating monk, devoted to alms-gathering, dependent on others’ alms, expecting what others give, abstaining from taking things for oneself, food to fill the belly is hard to come by. But a good son, for the sake of the goal, having eaten four or five mouthfuls, should fill the rest with water. This, great king, is one quality of a python to be adopted. This, great king, was also spoken by the Elder Sāriputta, the General of the Dhamma – “‘Eating food, wet or dry, one should not be excessively full; With an empty stomach, moderate in food, mindful, a monk should wander. “‘Having eaten four or five mouthfuls, one should drink water; That is enough for comfortable living, for a monk with a resolute mind.’” The Question on the Python’s Quality, the tenth. The Lion Chapter, the fifth. Its summary – Lion and Cuckoo, with the Peṇā birds and the domestic pigeon; Owl and Satapatta, Bat and Water-leech; Snake and Python, that is how the chapter is called. 6. The Monkey Chapter 1. The Question on the Roadside Monkey’s Quality 1. “Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, ‘One quality of a roadside monkey should be adopted,’ which one quality should be adopted?” “Just as, great king, a roadside monkey, having made a web of monkey-net on the path, if a worm or a fly or a moth gets caught in that net, it seizes and eats it; even so, great king, a yogi, a meditating monk, having made a web of mindfulness-foundation at the six doors, if defilement-flies get caught there, they should be killed right there. This, great king, is one quality of a roadside monkey to be adopted. This was spoken This was said, great king, by the Elder Anuruddha: “The mind should be restrained At the six doors, In the supreme foundations of mindfulness; If defilements cling there, They must be slain by the vipassin.” The first question, on the road-monkey’s quality. 2. The question on the quality of the suckling infant 2. “Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, ‘One quality of a suckling infant should be adopted,’ which one quality should be adopted?” “Just as, great king, a suckling infant clings to its own purpose, and cries for milk, even so, great king, a yogi, a practitioner, should cling to his own purpose, and be endowed with knowledge of Dhamma in all things, in instruction, in questioning, in proper application, in seclusion, in association with teachers, in serving good friends. This, great king, is the one quality of a suckling infant that should be adopted. This was also said, great king, by the Blessed One, the God of gods, in the supreme Dīgha Nikāya, in the Parinibbāna Sutta: “‘Come, Ānanda, strive for the essential, Devote yourselves to the essential; Dwell heedful, ardent, And resolute for the essential.’” The second question, on the quality of the suckling infant. 3. The question on the quality of the painted tortoise 3. “Venerable Nāgasena, when you say, ‘One quality of a painted tortoise should be adopted,’ which one quality should be adopted?