A deer-trapper lays down bait for a deer herd intending thus: 'The deer herd will eat food unwarily by going right in amongst the bait that I have laid down; by so doing they will become intoxicated; when they are intoxicated, they will fall into negligence; when they are negligent, I can do with them as I
like on account of this bait.'
'Bait' is a term for the five cords of sensual pleasure (What are the five? Forms cognizable by the eye that are wished for, desired, agreeable and likeable, connected with sensual desire, and provocative of lust.…and so on through sounds, odors, flavors, and tangibles)
.'Deer-trapper' is a term for Mara the Evil One. 'The deer-trapper's following' is a term for Mara's following. 'Deer herd' is a term for recluses and brahmins.
First Kind
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"Now the deer of the first herd ate food unwarily by going right in amongst the bait that the deer-trapper had laid down; by
so doing they became intoxicated; when they were intoxicated, they fell into negligence, when they were negligent, the deer-trapper did with them as he liked on account of that bait. That is how the deer of the first herd failed to get free from the deer-trapper's power and control. |
"Now recluses and brahmins of the first kind ate food
unwarily by going right in amongst the bait and the material things of the
world that Mara had laid down; [156] by so doing
they became intoxicated; when they were intoxicated, they fell into negligence; when they were negligent, Mara did with them as he liked on account of that bait and those material things of the world. That is how the recluses and brahmins of the first kind failed to get free from Mara's power and control. |
Second
kind
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Suppose we altogether shun that bait food; shunning that fearful enjoyment,
let us go out into the forest wilds and live there.'
And they did so. But in the last month of the hot season when the
grass and the water were used up, their bodies were reduced to extreme
emaciation; with that they lost their strength and energy; when they had lost
their strength and energy, they returned to that same bait that the
deer-trapper had laid down.
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Suppose we altogether shun that bait food and those material things
of the world; shunning that fearful enjoyment, let us go out into the forest
wilds and live there.'
And they did so. There they were eaters of greens or millet or wild
rice or hide-parings or moss or rice-bran or the discarded scum of boiled
rice or sesamum flour or grass or cowdung; they lived on forest roots and
fruits, they fed on fallen fruits.
"But in the last month of the hot season when the grass and the
water were used up, their bodies were reduced to extreme
emaciation; with that they lost their strength and energy; when they
had lost their strength and energy, they lost their deliver-
ance of mind;293 with the loss of their deliverance of mind, they returned
to that same bait that Mara had laid down and those
material things of the world; they ate food unwarily by going right
in amongst it; by so doing they became intoxicated; when
they were intoxicated, they fell into negligence; when they were negligent,
Mara did with them as he liked on account of that bait and those material
things of the world.
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Third
Kind
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Suppose we make our dwelling place within range of the deer-trapper's
bait. [153] Then, having done so, we shall eat food not unwarily and with-out
going right in amongst the bait that the deer-trapper has laid down; by doing
so we shall not become intoxicated; when we
are not intoxicated, we shall not fall into negligence; when we are
not negligent, the deer-trapper shall not do with us as he
likes on account of that bait.' And they did so.
"But then the deer-trapper and his following considered thus: 'These
deer of this third herd are as cunning and crafty as wizards and sorcerers.
They eat the bait laid down without our knowing how they come and go. Suppose
we have the bait that is laid down completely surrounded all round over a
wide area with wicker hurdles; then perhaps we might see the third deer herd's
dwelling place, where they go to hide.' They did so, and they saw the third
herd's dwelling place, where they went to
hide. And that is how the deer of the third herd also failed to get free
from the deer-trapper's power and control.
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Suppose we make our dwelling place within range of that bait that
Mara has laid down
and those material things of the world. Then, having done so, we
shall eat food not unwarily and without going right in amongst the bait that
Mara has laid down and the material
things of the world. By doing so we shall not become intoxicated; when
we are not intoxicated, we shall not fall into negligence;
when we are not negligent, Mara shall not do with us as he likes on
account of that bait and those material things of the world.'
And they did so. "But then they came to hold views such as 'the
world is eternal' and 'the world is not eternal' and 'the world is finite'
and 'the world is infinite' and 'the soul and the body are the same' and 'the
soul is one thing and the body another' and 'after death a Tathagata exists'
and 'after death a Tathagata does not
exist' and 'after death a Tathagata both exists and does not exist'
and 'after death a Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist.'294 [158]
That is how those recluses and brahmins of the third kind failed to get free
from Mara's power and control. Those recluses and brahmins, I say, are just
like the deer of the
third herd.
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Fourth
kind
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Suppose we make our dwelling place where the deer-trapper and his
following
cannot go. Then, having done so, we shall eat food not unwarily and
without going right in amongst the bait that the deer-trap-
per has laid down; by doing so we shall not become intoxicated; when
we are not intoxicated, we shall not fall into negligence;
when we are not negligent, [155] the deer-trapper shall not do with
us as he likes on account of that bait.' And they did so.
"But then the deer-trapper and his following considered thus: 'These
deer of this fourth herd are as cunning and crafty as wizards and sorcerers.
They eat the bait laid down without our knowing how they come and go. Suppose
we have the bait that is laid down completely surrounded all round over a
wide area with wicker hurdles; then perhaps we might see the fourth deer herd's
dwelling place, where they go to hide.' They did so, but
they did not see the fourth deer herd's dwelling place, where they went
to hide. Then the deer-hunter and his following considered thus: 'If we scare
the fourth deer herd, being scared they will alert others, and so the deer
herds will all desert this bait that we have laid down. Suppose we treat the
fourth deer herd with indifference.' They did so. And that was how the deer
of the fourth deer herd got free from the deer-trapper's power and control.
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Suppose we make our dwelling place where Mara and his following
cannot go. Then, having done so, we shall eat food not unwarily and without
going right in amongst the
bait that Mara has laid down and the material things of the world. By
doing so we shall not become intoxicated; when we are not intoxicated, we
shall not fall into negligence; when we are not negligent, Mara shall not do
with us as he likes on account of that bait and those material things of the
world.' And
they did so. [159] And that is how those recluses and brahmins of the
fourth kind got free from Mara's power and control. Those recluses and
brahmins, I say, are just like the deer of the fourth herd.
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"And where is it that Mara and his following cannot go?
Here, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome
states, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhana, which is
accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of
seclusion. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Mara, to have become invisible
to the Evil One by depriving Mara's eye of its opportunity.295 "Again,
with the stilling of applied and sustained thought, a bhikkhu enters upon and
abides in the second jhana, which has self-confidence and singleness of mind
without applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of
concentration. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Mara.
14.
"Again, with the fading away as well of rapture, a bhikkhu abides in
equanimity, and mindful and fully aware, still feeling pleasure with the body,
he enters upon and abides in the third jhana, on account of which the noble
ones announce: 'He has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful.'
This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Mara...
15.
"Again, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous
disappearance of joy and grief, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the fourth
jhana, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure
and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. This bhikkhu is said to have
blindfolded Mara...
16.
"Again, with the complete surmounting of perceptions of form, with the
disappearance of perceptions of sensory impact, with non-attention to
perceptions of diversity, aware that 'space is infinite/ a bhikkhu enters upon
and abides in the base of infinite space. This bhikkhu is said to have
blindfolded Mara...
17.
"Again, by completely surmounting the base of infinite space, aware that
'consciousness is infinite/ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of
infinite consciousness. This
bhikkhu is
said to have blindfolded Mara...
18.
"Again, by completely surmounting the base of infinite consciousness,
[160] aware that 'there is nothing,' a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the
base of nothingness. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Mara...
19.
"Again, by completely surmounting the base of nothingness, a bhikkhu
enters upon and abides in the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Mara, to have become invisible to the
Evil One by depriving Mara's eye of its opportunity.
20.
"Again, by completely surmounting the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception,
a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the cessation of perception and feeling.
And his taints are
destroyed by his seeing with wisdom. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded
Mara, to have become invisible to the Evil One by depriving Mara's eye of its
opportunity, and to have crossed beyond attachment to the world."296
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