The four types of questions

First the categorical answer,
then the qualified,
third, the type to be counter-questioned,
& fourth, the one to be set aside.
Any monk who knows which is which,
in line with the Dhamma,
is said to be skilled
in the four types of questions:
hard to overcome, hard to beat,
profound, hard to defeat.
He knows what’s worthwhile
& what’s not,
proficient in (recognizing) both,
he rejects the worthless,
grasps the worthwhile.
He’s called one who has broken through
to what’s worthwhile,
prudent,
wise.

Pañha Sutta

A bag of bone

[In this body there is:]

hair of the head,
	hair of the body,
nails,
	teeth,
skin,
	muscle,
tendons,
	bones,
bone marrow,
	spleen,
heart,
	liver,
membranes,
	kidneys,
lungs,
	large intestines,
small intestines,
	gorge,
feces,
	gall,
phlegm,
	lymph,
blood,
	sweat,
fat,
	tears,
oil,
	saliva,
mucus,
	oil in the joints
urine,
	brain.

Dvattimsakara

Protection

When all these devas with Indras & Brahmas had come,
Mara’s army came as well.
Now look at the Dark One’s foolishness!
[He said:] “Come seize them! Bind them!
Tie them down with passion!
Surround them on every side!
Don’t let anyone at all escape!”
Thus the great war-lord urged on his dark army,
slapping the ground with his hand,
making a horrendous din, as when
a storm cloud bursts with thunder,
lightning, and torrents of rain.
But then he withdrew-enraged,
with none under his sway.
Realizing all this,
the One-with-Vision felt moved to speak.
The Teacher then said to them,
disciples delighting in his instruction,
“Mara’s army has approached.
Detect them, monks!”

Maha-samaya Sutta

Young

You shouldn’t look down on
— for being young —
a noble warrior of consummate birth,
a high-born prince of great status.
A person shouldn’t disparage him.

For it’s possible
that this lord of human beings,
this noble warrior,
will gain the throne
and, angered at that disparagement,
come down harshly
with his royal might.
So, guarding your life,
avoid him.

You shouldn’t look down on
— for being young —
a serpent you meet
in village or wilderness:
A person shouldn’t disparage it.

As that potent snake slithers along
with vibrant colors,
it may someday burn the fool,
whether woman or man.
So, guarding your life,
avoid it.

You shouldn’t look down on
— for being young —
a blaze that feeds on many things,
a flame with its blackened trail:
A person shouldn’t disparage it.

For if it gains sustenance,
becoming a great mass of flame,
it may someday burn the fool,
whether woman or man.
So, guarding your life,
avoid it.

When a fire burns down a forest
— that flame with its blackened trail —
the shoots there
take birth once more
with the passage of days & nights.
But if a monk,
his virtue consummate,
burns you with his potency,
you won’t acquire sons or cattle
nor will your heirs enjoy wealth.
They become barren,
heir-less,
like palm tree stumps.

So a person who’s wise,
out of regard for his own good,
should always show due respect
for a serpent,
a fire,
a noble warrior with high status,
& a monk, his virtue consummate.

Dahara Sutta

Rebirth

Steered by the elephant trainer, the elephant to be tamed runs in only one direction: east, west, north, or south. But steered by the Tathagata — worthy and rightly self-awakened — the person to be tamed fans out in eight directions. Salayatana-vibhanga Sutta

Heritage

When seized by death as you abandon the human state

what’s truly your own?

what do you take along when you go?

What follows behind you like a shadow that never leaves?

Piya Sutta, Samyutta