[ Dhamma Talk ]
The Cesspit[1]
Important Note: The tendency here is going to be to read the first two or three lines and skip to the end. Resist that tendency. Read, if you are going to read this, S-L-O-W-L-Y; and visualize what is being described; but better than reading it to yourself would be reciting it out loud, also slowly ... wait after each line until you feel the issue has penetrated through and you are ready to handle a new cycle ...; even better would be to recite this to someone else. If you do decide to recite this to others, do so after you have explained how what they are to be doing is to make a small meditation out of each phrase ... and, again, deliver it slowly, watching for the notion that 'this is just boring!' to pass off. This is deeply powerful if done properly. This little spell which can be read in a minute should take hours, even days, to deliver.
This Body, Beggars,
is like a cesspit,
filled with filth
from the top of the tips of
the hairs of the head above
to the bottom of the soles of
the feet below.
The intestines of
a one-month old baby, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in one month.
§
The intestines of
a two-month old baby, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in two months.
§
The intestines of
a three-month old baby, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in three months.
§
The intestines of
a five-month old baby, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in five months.
§
The intestines of
a one-year old child, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in one year.
§
The intestines of
a two-year old child, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in two years.
§
The intestines of
a three-year old child, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in three years.
§
The intestines of
a five-year old child, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in five years.
§
The intestines of
a ten-year old child, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in ten years.
§
The intestines of
a twenty-year old man, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in twenty years.
§
The intestines of
a thirty-year old man, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in thirty years.
§
The intestines of
a forty old man, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in forty years.
§
The intestines of
a fifty-year old man, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in fifty years.
§
The intestines of
a eighty-year old man, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in eighty years.
§
The intestines of
a ninety-year old man, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in ninety years.
§
The intestines of
a one-hundred-year old man, Beggars,
if examined,
look like a cesspit
that has not been cleaned
in one-hundred years.
So seeing this body
as it really is,
a beggar should lose
his attraction to body,
put it away, and
disassociate himself
from body;
putting away desire for body,
disassociating himself from body,
he becomes free from body and
to this extent
he has become cool and
has attained a taste of Nibbāna
in the here and now.
Wherefore, beggars,
train yourselves this way:
"We shall look upon the body
as a cesspit,
putting away lust for bodies,
disassociating ourselves
from body.
This is the way to train yourselves,
say I.
[1]By recollection, not a translation.
