English
How from seeking? Even having endured such a repulsive journey, having entered the village, covered in the outer robe, like a poor person with a begging bowl in hand, one must walk in the village streets, house by house. Where, in the rainy season, in places trodden again and again, even the calves of the legs sink into the muddy water, with one hand the bowl must be held, with the other, the robe must be lifted. In the hot season, with the body covered in dust and grass stirred up by the wind, one must walk. Reaching each house door, mixed with fish-wash, meat-wash, rice-wash, spittle, snot, dog-excrement, pig-excrement, and so on, swarming with worms, surrounded by blue flies, both cesspits and places for washing must be seen, and so on. even to the alms-bowl. For those flies rise up and settle on the outer robe, on the bowl, and on the head. Some give to one who has entered the village, some do not. Even those who give, sometimes give yesterday's cooked rice, old snacks, rotten gruel, cakes, and so forth. Even those who do not give, some merely say, "Please come in, venerable sir," but some act as if they do not see, and remain silent; some turn their faces away; some address them with harsh words such as, "Go away, you shaven-headed ones!" Thus, one must wander for alms in the village like a wretched person and then depart. Thus, from the time of entering the village until departing, one must step through, see, and endure the repulsive mud and water for the sake of food. Oh, how repulsive is food! Thus, the repulsiveness of food should be contemplated from the perspective of its seeking. 297. How from the perspective of its consumption? With such food, obtained outside the village, comfortably seated in a suitable place, as long as one has not put one's hand into it, it is possible to invite a venerable bhikkhu or a modest person of such a kind, if seen. But when the hand is put in, due to the desire to eat, one feels ashamed to say, "Take it." When one puts one's hand in and kneads it, the sweat flowing along the five fingers moistens even dry, stiff rice, making it soft. Then, when a lump is made from that, whose beauty is destroyed by mere kneading, and placed in the mouth, the lower teeth perform the function of a mortar, the upper teeth the function of a pestle, and the tongue the function of a hand. That, being pounded there by the teeth and pestles like a dog's lump in a dog's trough, and being turned around by the tongue, is smeared by thin, clear saliva at the tip of the tongue, and by thick saliva from the middle onwards; and tooth-filth is smeared in places not reached by the tooth-stick. That, thus crushed and smeared, immediately becomes a special substance whose color and smell have disappeared, like a dog's vomit lying in a dog's trough. it reaches a state of extreme loathsomeness. Even being such, since it has passed beyond the range of sight, it must be swallowed. Thus, from the perspective of consumption, loathsomeness should be contemplated. 298. How from the perspective of its receptacle? When it has been consumed in this way, and enters inside, it becomes a receptacle for bile, phlegm, pus, or blood, one of these four, even for Buddhas, Paccekabuddhas, kings, or universal monarchs. For those with little merit, there are four such receptacles. Therefore, for one in whom the bile receptacle is excessive, it is extremely loathsome, as if smeared with thick, sweet oil. For one in whom the phlegm receptacle is excessive, it is like being smeared with the juice of the Nāgabalā leaf. For one in whom the pus receptacle is excessive, it is like being smeared with putrid buttermilk. For one in whom the blood receptacle is excessive, it is extremely loathsome, as if smeared with dye. Thus, from the perspective of its receptacle, loathsomeness should be contemplated. 299. How from the perspective of its storage? This food, smeared by one of these four receptacles, enters the inner abdomen and is not stored in golden vessels, nor in vessels of jewels or silver. If it is swallowed by a ten-year-old, it remains for ten years in a place like an uncleaned latrine pit. If by a twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety-year-old, if by a hundred-year-old, it remains for a hundred years in a place like an uncleaned latrine pit. Thus, from the perspective of its storage, loathsomeness should be contemplated. 300. How from the perspective of its unripeness? This food, having reached storage in such a place, as long as it is unripened, it remains in that very place, as described, in extreme, dense darkness, where winds scented with various corpses circulate, in an extremely foul-smelling, loathsome region. Just as in summer, when an unseasonal cloudburst occurs, and grass, leaves, rags, pieces, and the corpses of snakes, dogs, and humans fall into a ditch at the entrance to an outcaste village, and are heated by the sun's rays, they stand covered with foam and bubbles, even so, on that very day, What was eaten yesterday, and the day before that, all together, having become one, covered with a layer of phlegm, covered with foamy bubbles produced by putrefaction and decay, heated by the body's fire, remains having reached an extremely loathsome state. Thus, from its unripe state, its repulsiveness should be contemplated. 301. How from its ripe state? Being ripened by the heat of the body's fire, it does not become gold or silver, like gold or silver ores. But releasing foamy bubbles, having been ground into a fine paste, like yellow clay put into a pipe, it becomes feces and fills the large intestine, and becoming urine, it fills the bladder. Thus, from its ripe state, its repulsiveness should be contemplated. 302. How from its results? And when it is properly digested, it produces various foul things like hair, body-hair, nails, teeth, and so forth. When it is improperly digested, it produces hundreds of diseases such as ringworm, itching, scabies, leprosy, skin diseases, consumption, cough, dysentery, and so forth. These are its results. Thus, from its results, its repulsiveness should be contemplated. 303. How from its outflow? When it is eaten, it enters through one door, but when it flows out, it flows out through many doors in various ways: eye-excretion from the eyes, ear-wax from the ears, and so on. And at the time of eating, it is eaten with a large retinue. But at the time of outflow, having become feces and urine, it is expelled alone. And on the first day, one who consumes it is delighted and overjoyed, filled with joy and happiness. On the second day, when it flows out, one covers one's nose, makes a disgusted face, is loathsome, and ashamed. And on the first day, one who is attached, greedy, infatuated, and deluded eats it, but on the second day, after one night's stay, one is disgusted, wearied, ashamed, and loathsome when expelling it. Therefore, the ancients said – Food, drink, edibles, and sumptuous meals; Entering through one door, it flows out through nine doors. Food, drink, edibles, and sumptuous meals; One eats with... He enters, he hides when going out. Food, drink, edibles, And very fine meals; He eats, delighting, He loathes when going out. Food, drink, edibles, And very fine meals; After one night's stay, All becomes putrid. Thus, the repulsiveness by way of oozing should be contemplated. 304. How by way of smearing? Even during the time of consumption, it smears the hands, lips, tongue, and palate. These, being smeared by it, become repulsive, so much so that even when washed, they must be washed again and again to remove the smell. When consumed, just as when rice is cooking, the husks, grains, and bran rise up and smear the mouth of the pot and its lid, so too, when cooked by the bodily fire pervading the entire body, rising up as foam and froth, it smears the teeth in the form of tooth-filth. It smears the tongue, palate, and so forth in the form of saliva and phlegm. It smears the eyes, ears, nose, and lower passages in the form of eye-gum, ear-wax, snot, urine, and feces. These orifices, though washed day by day, are neither clean nor pleasant because of what has smeared them. After washing some of these, the hand must be washed again with water. After washing some, even when washed two or three times with cow dung, or with clay, or with fragrant powder, the repulsiveness does not disappear. Thus, the repulsiveness by way of smearing should be contemplated. 305. To one who thus contemplates the repulsiveness in these ten ways, making it struck by reasoning and struck by thought, the nutriment of a morsel becomes manifest in the aspect of repulsiveness. He repeatedly attends to, develops, and cultivates that sign. As he does so, the hindrances are suppressed. Due to the profound nature of the nutriment of a morsel, the mind is concentrated with access concentration, not having attained absorption. Here, the perception becomes manifest by way of grasping the aspect of repulsiveness. Therefore, this meditation subject is known as the perception of repulsiveness in food. This And for a bhikkhu who is devoted to the perception of repulsiveness in food, his mind shrinks back, recoils, and turns away from the craving for taste. He eats food like one intent on crossing a desert, like one eating his son's flesh, without infatuation, only for the purpose of overcoming suffering. Then, with little difficulty, through the full understanding of edible food, his passion for the five sense pleasures comes to be fully understood. Through the full understanding of the five sense pleasures, he fully understands the form aggregate. And through the repulsiveness of the body, such as its being unripe, his cultivation of mindfulness of the body also reaches completion; he has entered the path conducive to the perception of impurity. By relying on this practice, even if he does not attain the ultimate goal of the Deathless in this very life,