Thus I heard:

On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Sāvatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. There he addressed the bhikkhus thus:

“Bhikkhus.”

“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Blessed One said this:

“Bhikkhus, when a herdsman is endowed with eleven factors he is incapable of rearing and keeping a herd of cattle. With what eleven? Here a herdsman has no knowledge of form, he is unskilled in characteristics, he fails to pick out flies’ eggs, he fails to cover up wounds, he fails to smoke out the byres, he does not know the watering-place, he does not know what it is to have drunk, he does not know the road, he is unskilled in pastures, as a milker he leaves none, and he makes no extra offering to those bulls who are the fathers and leaders of the herd. When a herdsman is endowed with these eleven factors, he is incapable of rearing and keeping a herd of cattle.

“So too, when a bhikkhu is endowed with eleven dhammas, he is incapable of growth, increase and fulfilment in this Dhamma and Discipline. With what eleven? Here a bhikkhu has no knowledge of form, he is unskilled in characteristics, he fails to pick out flies’ eggs, he fails to cover up wounds, he fails to smoke out the byres, he does not know the watering-place, he does not know what it is to have drunk, he does not know the road, he is unskilled in pastures, as a milker he leaves none, and he makes no extra offerings to those elder bhikkhus of longstanding knowledge and long gone forth, who are the fathers and leaders of the Sangha.

“How has a bhikkhu no knowledge of form? Here a bhikkhu fails to understand any kind of form as it actually is thus: ‘All form of whatever kind consists of the four great primary elements and any form derived from the four great primary elements.’ That is how a bhikkhu has no knowledge of form.

“How is a bhikkhu unskilled in characteristics? Here a bhikkhu fails to understand a characteristic as it actually is thus: ‘A fool is characterized by his acts, a wise man is characterized by his acts.’ That is how a bhikkhu is unskilled in characteristics.

“How does a bhikkhu fail to pick out flies’ eggs? Here when thinking with sensual desire has arisen, a bhikkhu endures it, he does not abandon it, remove it, do away with and annihilate it. When thinking with ill-will has arisen… When thinking with cruelty has arisen… When evil unprofitable dhammas have arisen, a bhikkhu endures them, he does not abandon them, remove them, do away with and annihilate them. That is how a bhikkhu fails to pick out flies’ eggs.

“How does a bhikkhu fail to cover up wounds? Here, on seeing a form with the eye, a bhikkhu apprehends signs and features through which, if he leaves the eye-faculty unguarded, evil unprofitable dhammas of covetousness and grief might invade him, he does not practise the way of its restraint, he does not guard the eye faculty, does not undertake the restraint of the eye faculty. On hearing a sound with the ear… On smelling an odour with the nose… On tasting a flavour with the tongue… On touching a tangible with the body… On cognizing a dhamma with the mind, he apprehends signs and features… does not undertake the restraint of the mind faculty. That is how a bhikkhu fails to cover up wounds.

“How does a bhikkhu fail to smoke out the byres? Here a bhikkhu does not teach others in detail the Dhamma as heard and mastered by him. That is how a bhikkhu fails to smoke out the byres.

“How does a bhikkhu not know the watering-place? Here a bhikkhu does not go from time to time to such bhikkus as have learned much, as are versed in scriptures, as remember the Dhamma, as remember the Codes, and he does not enquire and ask questions of them thus: ‘How is this, venerable sir? What is the meaning of this?’ These venerable ones do not reveal the unrevealed to him, make evident the unevident, or remove his doubts about the many kinds of dhammas that give rise to doubt. That is how a bhikkhu does not know the watering-place.

“How does a bhikkhu not know what it is to have drunk? Here when the Dhamma and Discipline proclaimed by the Tathagata is being taught, a bhikkhu does not gain experience of meaning, he does not gain experience of dhamma, he does not find gladness connected with the Dhamma. That is how a bhikkhu does not know what it is to have drunk.

“How does a bhikkhu not know the road? Here a bhikkhu does not understand the Noble Path as it actually is. That is how a bhikkhu does not know the road.

“How is a bhikkhu unskilled in pastures? Here a bhikkhu does not understand the foundations of mindfulness as they actually are. That is how a bhikkhu is unskilled in pastures.

“How does a bhikkhu as a milker leave none? Here faithful householders invite a bhikkhu with robes, alms-food, resting-place, and the requisite of medicine as cure for the sick, to take as much as he likes. The Bhikkhu does not know the right amount in accepting. That is how a bhikkhu as a milker leaves none.

“How does a bhikkhu make no extra offerings to those elder bhikkhus of long-standing knowledge and long gone forth, who are the fathers and leaders of the Sangha? Here a bhikkhu does not maintain in public and private towards such elder bhikkhus acts of loving-kindness by body, speech and mind. That is how a bhikkhu makes no extra offerings to those elder bhikkhus of long-standing knowledge and long gone forth, who are the fathers and leaders of the Sangha.

“When a bhikkhu is endowed with these eleven dhammas, he is incapable of growth, increase and fulfilment in this Dhamma and Discipline.

“Bhikkhus, when a herdsman is endowed with eleven factors, he is capable of rearing and keeping a herd of cattle. With what eleven? Here a herdsman has knowledge of form, he is skilled in characteristics, he picks out flies’ eggs, he covers up wounds, he smokes out the byres, he knows the watering-place, he knows what it is to have drunk, he knows the road, he is skilled in pastures, as a milker he leaves some, and he makes extra offerings to those bulls who are the fathers and leaders of the herd.

“So too, when a bhikkhu is endowed with eleven dhammas, he is capable of growth, increase and fulfilment in this Dhamma and Discipline. With what eleven? Here a bhikkhu has knowledge of form, he is skilled in characteristics, he picks out flies’ eggs, he covers up wounds, he smokes out the byres, he knows the watering-place, he knows what it is to have drunk, he knows the road, he is skilled in pastures, as a milker he leaves some, and he makes extra offerings to those elder bhikkhus of long-standing knowledge and long gone forth who are the fathers and leaders of the Sangha.

“How does a bhikkhu have knowledge of form? Here a bhikkhu understands form as it actually is thus: ‘All forms of whatever kind consist of the four great primary elements and any form derived from the four great primary elements.’ That is how a bhikkhu has knowledge of form.

“How is a bhikkhu skilled in characteristics? Here a bhikkhu understands a characteristic as it actually is thus: ‘A fool is characterized by his acts; a wise man is characterized by his acts.’ That is how a bhikkhu is skilled in characteristics.

“How does a bhikkhu pick out flies’ eggs? Here when thinking with sensual desire has arisen, a bhikkhu does not endure it, he abandons it, removes it, does away with it and annihilates it. When thinking with ill-will has arisen… When thinking with cruelty has arisen… When evil unprofitable dhammas have arisen, a bhikkhu does not endure them, he abandons them, removes them, does away with them and annihilates them. That is how a bhikkhu picks out flies’ eggs.

“How does a bhikkhu cover up wounds? Here on seeing a form with the eye, a bhikkhu does not apprehend signs and features through which if he leaves the eye faculty unguarded, evil unprofitable dhammas of covetousness and grief might invade him, he practises the way of its restraint, he guards the eye faculty, undertakes the restraint of the eye faculty. On hearing a sound with the ear… On smelling an odour with the nose… On tasting a flavour with the tongue… On touching a tangible with the body… On cognizing a dhamma with the mind… undertakes the restraint of the mind faculty. That is how a bhikkhu covers up wounds.

“How does a bhikkhu smoke out the byres? Here a bhikkhu teaches others in detail the Dhamma as learnt and mastered by him. That is how a bhikkhu smokes out the byres.

“How does a bhikkhu know the watering-place? Here a bhikkhu goes from time to time to such bhikkhus as have learnt much, as are versed in scriptures, as remember the Dhamma, as remember the Discipline, as remember the Codes, and he enquires and asks questions of them thus: ‘How is this, venerable sir? What is the meaning of this?’ These venerable ones reveal the unrevealed, make evident the unevident, and remove his doubts about the many kinds of dhammas that give rise to doubt. That is how a bhikkhu knows the watering-place.

“How does a bhikkhu know what it is to have drunk? Here when the Dhamma and Discipline proclaimed by the Tathagata is being taught, a bhikkhu gains experience of meaning, he gains experience of dhamma, he finds gladness connected with the Dhamma. That is how a bhikkhu knows what it is to have drunk.

“How does a bhikkhu know the road? Here a bhikkhu understands the Noble Eightfold Path as it actually is. That is how a bhikkhu knows the road.

“How is a bhikkhu skilled in pastures? Here a bhikkhu understands the four foundations of mindfulness as they actually are. That is how a bhikkhu is skilled in pastures.

“How does a bhikkhu as a milker leave some? Here faithful householders invite a bhikkhu, with robes, alms-food, resting place, and the requisite of medicine as cure for the sick, to take as much as he likes. The bhikkhu knows the right amount in accepting. That is how a bhikkhu as a milker leaves some.

“How does a bhikkhu make extra offerings to those elder bhikkhus of long-standing knowledge and long gone forth, who are the fathers and leaders of the Sangha? Here a bhikkhu maintains in public and in private toward such elder bhikkhus acts of loving-kindness by body, speech and mind. That is how a bhikkhu makes extra offerings to those elder bhikkhus of long-standing knowledge and long gone forth, who are the fathers and leaders of the Sangha.

“When a bhikkhu is endowed with these eleven dhammas, he is capable of growth, increase and fulfilment in this Dhamma and Discipline.”

That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied, and they delighted in the Blessed One’s words.

The Middle Discourses

|_A. The First Fifty

|__IV. The Greater Chapter on Pairs

MN33. The Cowherd 1

Translations [27]

English

繁體字

日本語

Français

Deutsch

Italiano

Español

Português

Русский

Norsk

Magyar

Srpski

Čeština

Slovenščina

हिंदी

বাংলা

Việt Ngữ

Bahasa Indonesia

සිංහල

ပြန်သွားရန်

ภาษาไทย

पाळिभासा (Pāli)

Reference