Fear and terror

The thought would occur to me: ‘Is this that fear & terror coming?’ Then the thought occurred to me: ‘Why do I just keep waiting for fear? What if I were to subdue fear & terror in whatever state they come?’ So when fear & terror came while I was walking back & forth, I would not stand or sit or lie down. I would keep walking back & forth until I had subdued that fear & terror. When fear & terror came while I was standing, I would not walk or sit or lie down. I would keep standing until I had subdued that fear & terror. When fear & terror came while I was sitting, I would not lie down or stand up or walk. I would keep sitting until I had subdued that fear & terror. When fear & terror came while I was lying down, I would not sit up or stand or walk. I would keep lying down until I had subdued that fear & terror. Bhaya-bherava Sutta

Abandon

The greed with which
beings go to a bad destination,
coveting:
from rightly discerning that greed,
those who see clearly
let go.
Letting go,
they never come to this world
again.

Endurance

Then 700 devatas from the Satullapa retinue, in the far extreme of the night, their extreme radiance lighting up the entirety of Maddakucchi, went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to him, they stood to one side.

As she was standing there, one of the devatas exclaimed in the Blessed One’s presence, “What a naga is Gotama the contemplative! And like a naga, when bodily feelings have arisen — painful, fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent, disagreeable — he endures them mindful, alert, & unperturbed!” Sakalika Sutta

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

Footprint

“But what, lord, is that one quality…?”

“Heedfulness, great king. Just as the footprints of all living beings with legs can be encompassed by the footprint of the elephant, and the elephant’s footprint is declared to be supreme among them in terms of its great size; in the same way, heedfulness is the one quality that keeps both kinds of benefit secure — benefits in this life & benefits in lives to come.” Appamada Sutta

Aged

As if sent by a curse,
it drops on us —
aging.
The body seems other,
though it’s still the same one.
I’m still here
& have never been absent from it,
but I remember myself
as if somebody else’s.
Kimbila Sutta

The foolish me

This is how he attends inappropriately: ‘Was I in the past? Was I not in the past? What was I in the past? How was I in the past? Having been what, what was I in the past? Shall I be in the future? Shall I not be in the future? What shall I be in the future? How shall I be in the future? Having been what, what shall I be in the future?’ Or else he is inwardly perplexed about the immediate present: ‘Am I? Am I not? What am I? How am I? Where has this being come from? Where is it bound?’ Sabbasava Sutta

Sakka and Maha Kassapa

Then, bowing down to Ven. Maha Kassapa and circumambulating him three times, Sakka rose up into the air and, while up in the sky, exclaimed three times:

“O the alms, the foremost alms, well-established in Kassapa!”
“O the alms, the foremost alms, well-established in Kassapa!”
“O the alms, the foremost alms, well-established in Kassapa!”

Kassapa Sutta

Purity

I have heard that on one occasion Ven. Anuruddha was staying near Savatthi in the Dark Forest — diseased, in pain, severely ill. Then a large number of monks went to Ven. Anuruddha and on arrival said to him, “What dwelling are you dwelling in so that the pains that have arisen in the body do not invade or remain in the mind?”

“When I dwell with my mind well-established in the four frames of reference, the pains that have arisen in the body do not invade or remain in the mind. Which four? There is the case where I remain focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. I remain 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. When I dwell with my mind well-established in these four frames of reference, the pains that have arisen in the body do not invade or remain in the mind.”

Gilana Sutta

Breathe

There is the case where a monk — having gone to the wilderness, to the shade of a tree, or to an empty building — sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body erect and setting mindfulness to the fore [lit: the front of the chest]. Always mindful, he breathes in; mindful he breathes out. Maha-satipatthana Sutta