Aṅguttara Nikāya
Pañcaka Nipāta
14. Rāja Vaggo
The Book of the Gradual Sayings
The Book of the Fives
Chapter XIV: The Rajah
Sutta 140
Sotāra Suttaɱ
The Hearers
Translated by E. M. Hare
Copyright The Pali Text Society
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Once the Exalted One dwelt near Sāvatthī;
and there he addressed the monks, saying:
"Monks."
'Yes, lord,' they replied;
and the Exalted One said:
"Monks,[1] possessed of five things
a rajah's elephant is worthy of a rajah,
is a rajah's asset,
is verily reckoned a rajah's portion.
What five?
Herein, monks he is a hearer,
a destroyer,
a warder,
an endurer
and a goer.
■
And how, monks, is the rajah's elephant a hearer?
Monks, as soon as the tamer of tamable elephants
tasks him with a [122] task,
whether done before or not;
making it his business,
setting his mind to it,
bringing his whole heart to bear on it,
he hears with bended ear.
Monks, in this way
the rajah's elephant is a hearer.
-◦-
And how is he a destroyer?
Monks, the rajah's elephant,
gone forth to fight,
destroys an elephant,
destroys the rider,
destroys a horse,
destroys the rider,
destroys a chariot,
destroys the rider,
and indeed destroys a foot soldier.
Monks, in this way
he is a destroyer.
-◦-
And how is he a warder?
Monks, the rajah's elephant,
gone forth to fight,
wards his fore part,
he wards his hind part,
he wards his fore feet,
he wards his hind feet,
he wards his head,
his ears,
his tusks,
his trunk,
his tail,
he wards his rider.
Monks, in this way
he is a warder.
-◦-
And how is he an endurer?
Monks, the rajah's elephant,
gone forth to fight,
endures the blow of the spear,
the blow of the sword,
the blow of the arrow,
the blow of the axe,
the sound and noise of tabor,
drum,
conch
and tom-tom.
Monks, in this way
he is an endurer.
-◦-
And how is he a goer?
Monks, as soon as his driver sends him to some place,
whether it has been gone to before or not,
he even quickly is a goer there.
Monks, in this way
the rajah's elephant is a goer.
Monks, possessing these five things
a rajah's elephant is worthy of a rajah,
is a rajah's asset,
is verily reckoned a rajah's portion.
§
In just the same way, monks,
possessed of five things
a monk is worthy of offerings,
worthy of gifts,
worthy of oblations,
is meet to be reverently saluted,
is the world's peerless field for merit.
What five?
In this case also, monks,
he is a hearer,
a destroyer,
a warder,
an endurer
and a goer.
■
And how is he a hearer?
Monks, when the Dhamma-discipline, declared by the Tathāgata,
is being taught;
making it his object,
setting his mind to it,
bringing his whole heart to bear on it,
he listens with bended ear.
Monks, in this way
he is a hearer.
-◦-
And how is he a destroyer?
Monks, he lets not the surge[2] of lustful thoughts abide,
but voids[3] them forth,
drives them [123] out
makes an end of them completely
and makes them go
where there is no becoming;
—
he lets not the surge of fell thoughts abide,
but voids them forth,
drives them out
makes an end of them completely
and makes them go
where there is no becoming;
—
he lets not the surge of cruel thoughts abide,
but voids them forth,
drives them out
makes an end of them completely
and makes them go
where there is no becoming;
—
he lets not the continuous surge of evil and wrong ideas,[4]
but voids them forth,
drives them out
makes an end of them completely
and makes them go
where there is no becoming.
Monks, in this way
he is a destroyer.
-◦-
And how is he a warder?
Monks, on seeing a form with the eye,
he is not entranced[5] with its appearance or detail;
since by abiding uncontrolled in the sight-sense,
covetousness,
dejection;
and wicked and evil thoughts
would flow in over him,
he sets himself to control the sight-sense;
he wards the sight-sense
and wins control over the sight-sense.
—
So too, on hearing a sound with the ear,
he is not entranced with its appearance or detail;
since by abiding uncontrolled in the hearing-sense,
covetousness,
dejection;
and wicked and evil thoughts
would flow in over him,
he sets himself to control the hearing-sense;
he wards the hearing-sense
and wins control over the hearing-sense.
—
So too, on smelling a smell with the nose,
he is not entranced with its appearance or detail;
since by abiding uncontrolled in the smell-sense,
covetousness,
dejection;
and wicked and evil thoughts
would flow in over him,
he sets himself to control the smell-sense;
he wards the smell-sense
and wins control over the smell-sense.
—
So too, on tasting a taste with the tongue,
he is not entranced with its appearance or detail;
since by abiding uncontrolled in the tasting-sense,
covetousness,
dejection;
and wicked and evil thoughts
would flow in over him,
he sets himself to control the tasting-sense;
he wards the tasting-sense
and wins control over the tasting-sense.
—
So too, on touching a touch with the body,
he is not entranced with its appearance or detail;
since by abiding uncontrolled in the touching-sense,
covetousness,
dejection;
and wicked and evil thoughts
would flow in over him,
he sets himself to control the touching-sense;
he wards the touching-sense
and wins control over the touching-sense.
—
So too, on apprehending an idea with the mind,
he is not entranced with its appearance or detail;
since by abiding uncontrolled in the apprehension-sense,
covetousness,
dejection;
and wicked and evil thoughts
would flow in over him,
he sets himself to control the apprehension-sense;
he wards the apprehension-sense
and wins control over the apprehension-sense.
Monks, in this way he is a warder.
-◦-
And how is he an endurer?
Monks, he endures cold,
heat,
hunger,
thirst;
the bite of gadfly,
gnat,
wind,
heat
and creeping thing,
rough,
unwelcome[6] ways of speech;
he is the kind of man
who abides the onset
of bodily aches and pains
that rack
and shoot
and stab,
bitter,
galling
and life-taking.[7]
Monks, in this way he is an endurer.
-◦-
And how, monks, is he a goer?
Monks, that quarter where
in this long journeying on
he has not been before,
where there is rest for all things made,
a complete pouring[8] away
of all (rebirth) substance,
a destruction of craving,
a release from passion,
an ending,
Nibbāna[9] —
verily be quickly is a goer thither.
Monks, in this way the monk is a goer.
[124] Monks, possessed of these five things
a monk is worthy of offerings,
worthy of gifts,
worthy of oblations,
meet to he reverently saluted,
the world's peerless field for merit.'
[1] Cf. the whole sutta with A. ii, 116.
[2] Uppanna, and lower, uppannuppanna.
[3] Pajahati. For the phrase Cf. It. 115; Mil. 11; D. iii, 226; A. ii, 118, where the whole section recurs, also M. i, 115 with anabhāvaɱ gameti omitted. (P.E.D. s.v. anabhāvay considers this a late idiom [?].)
[4] Dhammā.
[5] Cf. above, § 76.
[6] Durāgata.
[7] Cf. M. i, 10; A. v, 132; Vin. i, 78; below IV, § 58; [sic. VI § 58] above, § 123.
[8] Sabb'ūpadhi-paṭinissaggo, from √sṛj to pour out.
[9] S. iii, 133; A, ii, 118; v, 8.
