6: The Practice of Austere Striving – 327 

 

hearing that the Bodhisatta had, they began to visit villages, market towns, etc., 
one after another, to look for the Bodhisatta and finally caught up with him in 
Uruvelā forest. Having strong hopes that: “In no time he will become a Buddha! 
In no time he will become a Buddha!” they waited upon the Bodhisatta who was 
engaged in austere striving (

dukkara-cariyā

) which would last for six years. 

They moved about with him, fulfilling their duties, such as sweeping the place, 
fetching hot and cold water and so on. 

The Bodhisatta’s Strenuous Exertions 

The austere striving of the fourfold determination: 1) “Let only the skin be left!” 
2) “Let only the sinews be left!” 3) “Let only the bones be left!” and 4) “Let the 
flesh and the blood dry up!” is called the strenuous exertion (

padhāna-viriya

). 

The practices to be mentioned now are called the work of exertion (

padhāna

) as 

they are done with strenuous exertion. They are also called austere striving 
(

dukkara-cariyā

) as they are difficult for ordinary people to practise. 

The first paragraph below is from the Ornaments of the Victor 
(

Jinālaṅkāra

); the next six paragraphs are from the Long Discourse about 

Saccaka (

Mahā-saccaka-sutta

, MN 36). 

Having repaired to the market town of Senā for alms round, the Bodhisatta 
spent a lot of days practising meditation for the development of loving-kindness 
(

mettā-bhāvanā

), and then it occurred to him: “What benefit will accrue from 

depending on this coarse and rough food, swallowed in morsels? By eating such 
food to my heart’s content and developing loving-kindness, I will not achieve 
omniscience which is my goal.” And so he gave up living on alms food and 
sustained himself by eating big and small fruits, which fell from the trees in the 
Uruvelā forest. Failing to achieve omniscience even in this way, he thought to 
himself: “This food consisting of big and small fruits is still coarse. Searching 
for fruit is also an impediment (

paḷibodha

).” Accordingly, he sustained himself 

only with the fruit which dropped from the tree he was using as a shelter. 

Then the Bodhisatta considered: “It would be good if I, grinding my teeth and 
clicking my tongue, were to suppress unwholesome consciousness associated 
with wrong thoughts, such as sensual thoughts, with my wholesome 
consciousness associated with powerful right thoughts. It would be good if I 
were to eradicate it. It would be good if I were to remove it by means of the fire 
of energy.”