Tipitaka » Sutta
Pitaka » Samyutta Nikaya » Context
of this sutta
- Samyutta Nikaya XLVII.6
- Sukunagghi Sutta
- The Hawk
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
"Once a hawk suddenly swooped down on a quail and seized it. Then the quail, as it
was being carried off by the hawk, lamented, 'O, just my bad luck and lack of merit that I
was wandering out of my proper range and into the territory of others! If only I had kept
to my proper range today, to my own ancestral territory, this hawk would have been no
match for me in battle.'
"'But what is your proper range?' the hawk asked. 'What is your own ancestral
territory?'
"'A newly plowed field with clumps of earth all turned up.'
"So the hawk, without bragging about its own strength, without mentioning its own
strength, let go of the quail. 'Go, quail, but even when you have gone there you won't
escape me.'
"Then the quail, having gone to a newly plowed field with clumps of earth all
turned up and climbing up on top of a large clump of earth, stood taunting the hawk, 'Now
come and get me, you hawk! Now come and get me, you hawk!'
"So the hawk, without bragging about its own strength, without mentioning its own
strength, folded its two wings and suddenly swooped down toward the quail. When the quail
knew, 'The hawk is coming at me full speed,' it slipped behind the clump of earth, and
right there the hawk shattered its own breast.
"This is what happens to anyone who wanders into what is not his proper range and
is the territory of others.
"For this reason, you should not wander into what is not your proper range and is
the territory of others. In one who wanders into what is not his proper range and is the
territory of others, Mara gains an opening, Mara gains a foothold. And
what, for a monk, is not his proper range and is the territory of others? The five strands of sensuality. Which five? Forms cognizable by the eye --
agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing. Sounds cognizable by
the ear...Aromas cognizable by the nose...Flavors cognizable by the tongue...Tactile
sensations cognizable by the body -- agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, fostering
desire, enticing. These, for a monk, are not his proper range and are the territory of
others.
"Wander, monks, in what is your proper range, your own ancestral territory. In one
who wanders in what is his proper range, his own ancestral territory, Mara gains no
opening, Mara gains no foothold. And what, for a monk, is his proper range, his own
ancestral territory? The four frames of reference. Which four? There is
the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself -- ardent, alert,
& mindful -- putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He
remains focused on feelings in & of themselves...mind in & of itself...mental
qualities in & of themselves -- ardent, alert, & mindful -- putting aside greed
& distress with reference to the world. This, for a monk, is his proper range, his own
ancestral territory."