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!”
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.”
[1] Breathing in long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing in long’; or breathing out long, he discerns, ‘I am breathing out long’. Dipa Sutta
From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications. From fabrications as a requisite condition comes consciousness. From consciousness as a requisite condition comes name-&-form. From name-&-form as a requisite condition come the six sense media. From the six sense media as a requisite condition comes contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair come into play. Such is the origination of this entire mass of stress & suffering. Vera Sutta
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
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!”
What do you think, brahman: Do friends & colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come to you as guests?
Yes, Master Gotama, sometimes friends & colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come to me as guests.
And what do you think: Do you serve them with staple & non-staple foods & delicacies?
Yes, sometimes I serve them with staple & non-staple foods & delicacies.
And if they don’t accept them, to whom do those foods belong?
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.
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
As a water-vessel is
variously perceived by beings:
Nectar to celestials,
is for a man plain drinking-water,
While to the hungry ghost it seems
a putrid ooze of pus and blood,
Is for the water serpent-spirits
and the fish a place to live in,
While it is space to gods who dwell
in the sphere of infinite space.
So any object, live or dead,
within the person or without —
Differently is seen by beings
according to their fruits of kamma.
