THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS
622
heretics who caused inconvenience by their senseless antagonistic views)
Further, a noble
bhikkhu
in striving for the attainment of NibbÈna by following a good
true path should suppress the following five ‚internal enemies‛ in addition to those just
described.
(4) (1) Disease, (2) hunger, (3) cold, (4) heat, and (5) when the noble
bhikkhu
experienced
inconvenience through contact with any of these dangers, he must resist or put up with
them, as such sensations and ailments are conducive to the arising of the ten modes of
wrong conducts (by deed, word and thought). He should protect himself by means of
Earnest Effort (
sammappadhÈna
).
(In answer to the question (b) the Buddha mentioned these 5 kinds of ‚internal
enemies‛, viz., (1) disease, (2) hunger, (3) cold, (4) heat and (5) a group of ten
modes of wrong conduct arising through them.
Having dealt with (a) and (b), the Buddha proceeded to deal with (c), (d), (e), and
(f) in nine stanzas as enumerated below.)
(5) A noble
bhikkhu
must always refrain himself from stealing and lying; he must wish for
the well being of both, i.e., (i) those who still have taints of craving (
tasa
) and (ii) those
who have already eradicated craving (
thavara
). He must dispel all the ten modes of wrong
deeds, in short, the group of unwholesome acts, as they are the associates of Mara.
(The Four modes of moral conducts as prescribed in this verse are: Avoidance of
stealing and lying, wishing for the well being of all fellow men and abandonment
of immoral conduct.)
(6) A noble
bhikkhu
must not yield to anger (
kodha
) and unrestrained conceit (
atimÈna
).
The root causes of these two unwholesome factors are six in number, viz., Ignorance
(
avijjÈ
), wrong attitude (
manasikÈra
), self-conceit (
asamimÈna
), lack of sense of shame
(
ahÊri
), lack of dread of evil consequences of misdeeds (
anottappa
), and distraction
(
uddhacca
). These root causes must be up-rooted or extirpated. In addition, sense of
affection (liking) and hatred (disliking) must be overcome by a state of balance of the mind
or equanimity.
(By this, four practices are described, namely, anger and conceit must be
discarded; and the six root causes of these must be removed; and objects of
affection and hatred must be avoided by means of equanimity)
A noble
bhikkhu
is required to cultivate comprehension and develop the ten
contemplation. With the force of joyful satisfactions (
pÊti
), developed thereby, the
aforesaid enemies, both internal and external must be abandoned.
(This is Buddha's exhortation for expulsion or destruction of internal and
external enemies shown in (a) and (b) by means of contemplation of ten (
anusati
)
recollections
3
.
PÊti
arising from meditation should be utilized as a means of
developing forbearance. This is a means of overcoming those forces of enemy)
(7) One should overcome disinterestedness in a hermitage of seclusion and development
of meditation by such means of expediency to ensure full measure of success. Such means
of expediency should also be adopted in defeating the four causes of crying enumerated
below:
Four Causes of Lamentation
(i) What kind of food shall I have to eat today (is it rice, or barley cake, or dinner-role or
fish, or meat)? (ii) At what place shall I have to eat (at the palace of a king, or the house of
a brahmin or of a rich man)? (iii) I had to sleep miserably last night (on a-piece of plank,
or on a coarse mattress, or a piece of leather or a heap of grass). (iv) In what kind of
luxurious place shall I have to sleep tonight (on an ornamented bed, or a four legged bed-
stead)? These four kinds of reflections or speculations are known as four causes of
3. The ten Contemplations or reflections on the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha,
SÊla
,
CÈga
,
DevatÈ, Marana, KÈyagatÈ, ŒnapÈna, UpasamÈna
. (For details, vide Visuddhimagga).