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- Anguttara Nikaya V.75
- Yodhajiva Sutta
- The Warrior (1)
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
Translator's note: This discourse is addressed to monks, and deals with their
battle to maintain their celibacy and to come out victorious in the practice. The Buddha
compares the victorious monk with a victorious warrior, an analogy that was probably
intended to appeal to the monks' masculine pride (see AN VII.48).
In this analogy, a celibate is not a wimp, but is instead a warrior to the highest degree.
Because the first confrontation for a man trying to maintain his celibacy involves his
attraction to women, women play the role of first-line enemy in this discourse.
Unfortunately, we don't have any record of how the Buddha advised his nun followers on how
to maintain their celibacy, so we don't know if he would have used a woman-warrior analogy
when teaching them to resist their attraction to men, or if he would have replaced it with
another analogy to appeal more specifically to their feminine pride (again, see AN VII.48). However, there are discourses in the Pali Canon that
depict nuns as successfully maintaining their celibacy when confronted by men in the
forest. A prime example is Therigatha IV; there are other examples of nuns resisting
temptation in the Bhikkhuni Samyutta.
Ultimately, of course, the true enemy lies, not without, but within. This is shown by the
fact that the monk in this discourse has to go off alone and put an end to the
fermentation of sensual passion in his own mind before he can be considered truly
victorious.
"Monks, there are these five types of warriors who can be found existing in the
world. Which five?
"There is the case of a warrior who, on seeing a cloud of dust [stirred up by the
enemy army], falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't engage in the battle. Some
warriors are like this. This is the first type of warrior who can be found existing in the
world.
"Then there is the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, but on seeing the top
of the enemy's banner, he falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't engage in the
battle. Some warriors are like this. This is the second type of warrior who can be found
existing in the world.
"Then there is the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust & the top of the
enemy's banner, but on hearing the tumult [of the approaching forces], he falters, faints,
doesn't steel himself, can't engage in the battle. Some warriors are like this. This is
the third type of warrior who can be found existing in the world.
"Then there is the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the
enemy's banner, & the tumult, but when in hand-to-hand combat he is struck and falls
wounded. Some warriors are like this. This is the fourth type of warrior who can be found
existing in the world.
"Then there is the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the
enemy's banner, the tumult, & the hand-to-hand combat. On winning the battle,
victorious in battle, he comes out at the very head of the battle. Some warriors are like
this. This is the fifth type of warrior who can be found existing in the world.
"These are the five types of warriors who can be found existing in the world.
"In the same way, monks, there are these five warrior-like individuals who can be
found existing among the monks. Which five?
[1] "There is the case of the monk who, on seeing a cloud of dust, falters,
faints, doesn't steel himself, can't continue in the holy life. Declaring his weakness in
the training, he leaves the training and returns to the lower life. What is the cloud of
dust for him? There is the case of the monk who hears, 'In that village or town over there
is a woman or girl who is shapely, good-looking, charming, endowed with the foremost
lotus-like complexion.' On hearing this, he falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't
continue in the holy life. Declaring his weakness in the training, he leaves the training
and returns to the lower life. That, for him, is the cloud of dust. This individual, I
tell you, is like the warrior who, on seeing a cloud of dust, falters, faints, doesn't
steel himself, can't engage in the battle. Some individuals are like this. This is the
first type of warrior-like individual who can be found existing among the monks.
[2] "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of dust, but on
seeing the top of the enemy's banner, he falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't
continue in the holy life. Declaring his weakness in the training, he leaves the training
and returns to the lower life. What is the top of the banner for him? There is the case of
the monk who not only hears that 'In that village or town over there is a woman or girl
who is shapely, good-looking, charming, endowed with the foremost lotus-like complexion.'
He sees for himself that in that village or town over there is a woman or girl who is
shapely, good-looking, charming, endowed with the foremost lotus-like complexion. On
seeing her, he falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't continue in the holy life.
Declaring his weakness in the training, he leaves the training and returns to the lower
life. That, for him, is the top of the banner. This individual, I tell you, is like the
warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, but on seeing the top of the enemy's banner, he
falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't engage in the battle. Some individuals are
like this. This is the second type of warrior-like individual who can be found existing
among the monks.
[3] "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of dust & the
top of the enemy's banner, but on hearing the tumult [of the approaching forces], he
falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't continue in the holy life. Declaring his
weakness in the training, he leaves the training and returns to the lower life. What is
the tumult for him? There is the case of the monk who has gone to the wilderness, to the
foot of a tree, or to an empty building. A woman approaches him and giggles at him, calls
out to him, laughs aloud, & teases him. On being giggled at, called out to, laughed
at, & teased by the woman, he falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't continue
in the holy life. Declaring his weakness in the training, he leaves the training and
returns to the lower life. That, for him, is the tumult. This individual, I tell you, is
like the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust & the top of the enemy's banner, but
on hearing the tumult he falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't engage in the
battle. Some individuals are like this. This is the third type of warrior-like individual
who can be found existing among the monks.
[4] "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of dust, the top
of the enemy's banner, & the tumult, but when in hand-to-hand combat he is struck and
falls wounded. What is the hand-to-hand combat for him? There is the case of the monk who
has gone to the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty building. A woman
approaches him and sits down right next to him, lies down right next to him, throws
herself all over him. When she sits down right next to him, lies down right next to him,
and throws herself all over him, he -- without renouncing the training, without declaring
his weakness -- engages in sexual intercourse. This, for him, is hand-to-hand combat. This
individual, I tell you, is like the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of
the enemy's banner, & the tumult, but when in hand-to-hand combat he is struck and
falls wounded. Some individuals are like this. This is the fourth type of warrior-like
individual who can be found existing among the monks.
[5] "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of dust, the top
of the enemy's banner, the tumult, & hand-to-hand combat. On winning the battle,
victorious in battle, he comes out at the very head of the battle. What is victory in the
battle for him? There is the case of the monk who has gone to the wilderness, to the foot
of a tree, or to an empty dwelling. A woman approaches him and sits down right next to
him, lies down right next to him, throws herself all over him. When she sits down right
next to him, lies down right next to him, and throws herself all over him, he extricates
himself, frees himself, and goes off where he will.
"He resorts to a secluded dwelling place: the wilderness, the foot of a tree, a
mountain, a glen, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a forest grove, the open air, a
haystack. Having gone to the wilderness, the foot of a tree, or an empty building, he sits
down, crosses his legs, holds his body erect, and brings mindfulness to the fore.
"Abandoning covetousness with regard to the world, he dwells with an awareness
devoid of covetousness. He cleanses his mind of covetousness. Abandoning ill will &
anger, he dwells with an awareness devoid of ill will, sympathetic with the welfare of all
living beings. He cleanses his mind of ill will & anger. Abandoning sloth &
drowsiness, he dwells with an awareness devoid of sloth & drowsiness, mindful, alert,
percipient of light. He cleanses his mind of sloth & drowsiness. Abandoning
restlessness & anxiety, he dwells undisturbed, his mind inwardly stilled. He cleanses
his mind of restlessness & anxiety. Abandoning uncertainty, he dwells having crossed
over uncertainty, with no perplexity with regard to skillful mental qualities. He cleanses
his mind of uncertainty.
"Having abandoned these five hindrances, corruptions of awareness that weaken
discernment, then -- quite withdrawn from sensual pleasures, withdrawn from unskillful
(mental) qualities -- he enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure
born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the stilling
of directed thought & evaluation, he enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture
& pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought
& evaluation -- internal assurance. With the fading of rapture, he remains in
equanimity, mindful & fully aware, and physically sensitive of pleasure. He enters
& remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous &
mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding.' With the abandoning of pleasure & pain -- as
with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress -- he enters & remains in the
fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain.
"With his mind thus concentrated, purified, & bright, unblemished, free from
defects, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, he directs and
inclines it to the knowledge of the ending of the mental fermentations. He discerns, as it
is actually present, that 'This is stress...This is the origination of stress...This is
the cessation of stress...This is the way leading to the cessation of stress...These are
mental fermentations...This is the origination of fermentations...This is the cessation of
fermentations...This is the way leading to the cessation of fermentations.' His heart,
thus knowing, thus seeing, is released from the fermentation of sensuality, the
fermentation of becoming, the fermentation of ignorance. With release, there is the
knowledge, 'Released.' He discerns that 'Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task
done. There is nothing further for this world.'
"This, for him, is victory in the battle. This individual, I tell you, is like the
warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the enemy's banner, the tumult, &
hand-to-hand combat. On winning the battle, victorious in battle, he comes out at the very
head of the battle. Some individuals are like this. This is the fifth type of warrior-like
individual who can be found existing among the monks.
"These are these five warrior-like individuals who can be found existing among the
monks."