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- Samyutta Nikaya XXXV.206
- Chappana Sutta
- The Six Animals
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
"Suppose that
a man, wounded and festering, were to go into
a swampy jungle. Its sharp-bladed grasses would pierce his feet; its thorns would scratch
his festering sores. And so, from that cause, he would experience an even greater measure
of pain and unhappiness. In the same way, there is the case where a certain monk, having
gone to a village or to the wilderness, meets up with someone who upbraids him: 'This
venerable one, acting in this way, undertaking practices in this way, is a thorn of
impurity in this village.' Knowing this person to be a thorn, one should understand
restraint and lack of restraint.
"And what is lack of restraint? There is the case where a monk, seeing a form with
the eye, is obsessed with pleasing forms, is repelled by unpleasing forms, and remains
with body-mindfulness unestablished, with limited awareness. He does not discern, as it
actually is present, the release of awareness, the release of discernment where any evil,
unskillful mental qualities that have arisen utterly cease without remainder.
"Hearing a sound with the ear...
"Smelling an aroma with the nose...
"Tasting a flavor with the tongue...
"Touching a tactile sensation with the body...
"Cognizing an idea with the intellect, he is obsessed with pleasing ideas, is
repelled by unpleasing ideas, and remains with body-mindfulness unestablished, with
limited awareness. He does not discern, as it actually is present, the release of
awareness, the release of discernment where any evil, unskillful mental qualities that
have arisen utterly cease without remainder.
"Just as if a person, catching six animals of different ranges,
of different habitats, were to bind them with a strong rope. Catching a snake, he would
bind it with a strong rope. Catching a crocodile...a bird...a dog...a hyena...a monkey, he
would bind it with a strong rope. Binding them all with a strong rope, and tying a knot in
the middle, he would set chase to them.
"Then those six animals, of different ranges, of different habitats, would each
pull toward its own range & habitat. The snake would pull, thinking, 'I'll go into the
anthill.' The crocodile would pull, thinking, 'I'll go into the water.' The bird would
pull, thinking, 'I'll fly up into the air.' The dog would pull, thinking, 'I'll go into
the village.' The hyena would pull, thinking, 'I'll go into the charnel ground.' The
monkey would pull, thinking, 'I'll go into the forest.' And when these six animals became
internally exhausted, they would submit, they would surrender, they would come under the
sway of whichever among them was the strongest. In the same way, when a monk whose
mindfulness immersed in the body is undeveloped & unpursued, the eye pulls toward
pleasing forms, while unpleasing forms are repellent. The ear pulls toward pleasing
sounds...The nose pulls toward pleasing aromas...The tongue pulls toward pleasing
flavors...The body pulls toward pleasing tactile sensations...The intellect pulls toward
pleasing ideas, while unpleasing ideas are repellent. This, monks, is lack of restraint.
"And what is restraint? There is the case where a monk,
seeing a form with the eye, is not obsessed with pleasing forms, is not repelled by
unpleasing forms, and remains with body-mindfulness established, with immeasurable
awareness. He discerns, as it actually is present, the release of awareness, the release
of discernment where all evil, unskillful mental qualities that have arisen utterly cease
without remainder.
"Hearing a sound with the ear...
"Smelling an aroma with the nose...
"Tasting a flavor with the tongue...
"Touching a tactile sensation with the body...
"Cognizing an idea with the intellect, he is not obsessed with pleasing ideas, is
not repelled by unpleasing ideas, and remains with body-mindfulness established, with
immeasurable awareness. He discerns, as it actually is present, the release of awareness,
the release of discernment where all evil, unskillful mental qualities that have arisen
utterly cease without remainder.
"Just as if a person, catching six animals of different ranges, of different
habitats, were to bind them with a strong rope. Catching a snake, he would bind it with a
strong rope. Catching a crocodile...a bird...a dog...a hyena...a monkey, he would bind it
with a strong rope. Binding them all with a strong rope, he would tether them to a strong
post or stake.
"Then those six animals, of different ranges, of different habitats, would each
pull toward its own range & habitat. The snake would pull, thinking, 'I'll go into the
anthill.' The crocodile would pull, thinking, 'I'll go into the water.' The bird would
pull, thinking, 'I'll fly up into the air.' The dog would pull, thinking, 'I'll go into
the village.' The hyena would pull, thinking, 'I'll go into the charnel ground.' The
monkey would pull, thinking, 'I'll go into the forest.' And when these six animals became
internally exhausted, they would stand, sit, or lie down right there next to the post or
stake. In the same way, when a monk whose mindfulness immersed in the body is developed
& pursued, the eye does not pull toward pleasing forms, and unpleasing forms are not
repellent. The ear does not pull toward pleasing sounds...The nose does not pull toward
pleasing aromas...The tongue does not pull toward pleasing flavors...The body does not
pull toward pleasing tactile sensations...The intellect does not pull toward pleasing
ideas, and unpleasing ideas are not repellent. This, monks, is restraint.
"The 'strong post or stake' is a term for mindfulness immersed in the body.
"Thus you should train yourselves: 'We will develop mindfulness immersed in the
body. We will pursue it, give it a means of transport, give it a grounding. We will steady
it, consolidate it, and set about it properly.' That's how you should train
yourselves."