Saṃyutta Nikāya
4. Saḷāyatana Vagga
35. Saḷāyatana Saṃyutta
§ IV: Paññāsaka Catuttha
4. Āsīvisa Vagga
The Book of the Kindred Sayings
4. The Book Called the Saḷāyatana-Vagga
Containing Kindred Sayings on the 'Six-Fold Sphere' of Sense and Other Subjects
35. Kindred Sayings the Sixfold Sphere of Sense
§ IV: The 'Fourth Fifty' Suttas
4. The Chapter on the Snake
Sutta 198
Rath'Ūpama Suttaṃ
Delighting In
Translated by F. L. Woodward
Edited by Mrs. Rhys Davids
Copyright The Pali Text Society
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The Exalted One once addressed the brethren, saying:
"Brethren."
"Lord," responded those brethren to the Exalted One.
The Exalted One thus spake:
"Proficient in three ways, Brethren,
a brother dwells to the full
with ease and pleasure in this very life,
and he has strong grounds[1]
for the destruction of the āsavas.
In what three things?
He keeps guard on the door of the faculties,
he is moderate in eating,
he is given to watchfulness.
§
And how, Brethren, does a brother
keep guard on the door of the faculties?
Herein a brother,
seeing an object with the eye,[2]
is not misled by its outer view
nor by its lesser details.
Since coveting and dejection,
those evil, unprofitable states,
might overwhelm one
who dwells with the faculty of eye uncontrolled,
he applies himself to such control,
sets a guard over the faculty of eye,
attains control thereof.
■
When he hears a sound with the ear,
he is not misled by its outer view
nor by its lesser details.
Since coveting and dejection,
those evil, unprofitable states,
might overwhelm one
who dwells with the faculty of ear uncontrolled,
he applies himself to such control,
sets a guard over the faculty of ear,
attains control thereof.
■
When with the nose he smells a scent,
he is not misled by its outer view
nor by its lesser details.
Since coveting and dejection,
those evil, unprofitable states,
might overwhelm one
who dwells with the faculty of nose uncontrolled,
he applies himself to such control,
sets a guard over the faculty of nose,
attains control thereof.
■
When with the tongue he tastes a savour,
he is not misled by its outer view
nor by its lesser details.
Since coveting and dejection,
those evil, unprofitable states,
might overwhelm one
who dwells with the faculty of tongue uncontrolled,
he applies himself to such control,
sets a guard over the faculty of tongue,
attains control thereof.
■
When with body he contacts tangibles,
he is not misled by its outer view
nor by its lesser details.
Since coveting and dejection,
those evil, unprofitable states,
might overwhelm one
who dwells with the faculty of body uncontrolled,
he applies himself to such control,
sets a guard over the faculty of body,
attains control thereof.
■
When with mind he cognizes a mind-state,
[111] he is not misled by its outer view
nor by its lesser details.
Since coveting and dejection,
those evil, unprofitable states,
might overwhelm one
who dwells with the faculty of ear uncontrolled,
he applies himself to such control,
sets a guard over the faculty of ear,
attains control thereof.
§
Suppose, Brethren, on level ground
at the crossing of the four highways[3]
a car be drawn by thoroughbreds,
with a goad set in rest therein,[4]
and a clever trainer,
a driver who tames steeds.
He mounts thereon,
with his left hand holding the reins,
and in his right he takes the goad,
and drives the car forward and backward,
whither and how he wills.
Just so, Brethren, a brother practises the guard over the six faculties,
he practises for their restraint,
for their taming,
for their calming.
That, Brethren, is how a brother keeps a guard over the faculties.
§
And how, Brethren, is a brother moderate in eating?
Herein, Brethren, a brother takes his food
thoughtfully and prudently,
not for sport,
not for indulgence,
not for personal charm and adornment,
but sufficient for the support
and upkeep of body,
to allay its pains,
to help the practice of the righteous life,
with the thought:
'My former feeling I check
and set on foot
no new feeling.
So shall I keep going,
be blameless
and live at ease.'
Just as a man, Brethren, anoints a wound
just for the healing of it,
or just as he oils an axle
enough for carrying the load,
even so
thoughtfully and prudently
does a brother take his food,
not for sport,
not for indulgence,
not for personal charm and adornment,
but sufficient for the support
and upkeep of body,
to allay its pains,
to help the practice of the righteous life,
with the thought:
'My former feeling I check
and set on foot
no new feeling.
So shall I keep going,
be blameless
and live at ease.'
That, Brethren, is how a brother is moderate in eating.
§
And how, Brethren, is a brother given to watchfulness?
Herein, Brethren, by day
a brother walks up and down and sits,
and so cleanses his heart
from states that may hinder.|| ||
By night, for the first watch,
a brother walks up and down and sits,
and so cleanses his heart
from states that may hinder.|| ||
In the middle watch of the night,
lying on his right side,
he takes up the posture of a lion,
resting one foot on the other,
and thus collected and composed
fixes his thought on rising up again.
In the last watch of the night,
at early dawn,
he walks up and [112] down and sits,
and so cleanses his heart
from states that may hinder.
Thus, Brethren, is a brother given to watchfulness.
So, Brethren, possessed of these three things,
a brother dwells to the full
with ease and pleasure in this very life,
and so has strong grounds
for the destruction of the āsavas."
[1] Yoni, as source or origin. Cf. A. ii, 76, where yoni āraddhā is explained by Comy. as pañña. In the present passage Comy. says kāraṇaṇ c'assa paripuṇṇaṇ yeva hoti The passage occurs at A. i, 118. [But ?]
[3] Cf. M. i, 124 - A. iii, 28.
[4] Odhasta-patoda. (Comy. odhasta = ratha-majjhe ṭhapita.) At M. Lord Chalmers trans. 'lying ready to hand': AA. ad loc. cit., 'resting on the rail.'
