Connected Discourses on Gains and Honour

1Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthı̄ in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus!” [226]

2“Venerable sir!” those bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:

3“Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise, bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage.³¹⁶ Spk: Gain (lābha) is the gain of the four requisites; honour (sakkāra), the gain of (requisites) that are well made and well produced; praise (siloka), acclamation (vaṇṇaghosa). Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will abandon the arisen gain, honour, and praise, and we will not let the arisen gain, honour, and praise persist obsessing our minds.’ Thus should you train yourselves.”

2. The Hook

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise, bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. Suppose a fisherman would cast a baited hook into a deep lake, and a fish on the lookout for food would swallow it. That fish, having swallowed the fisherman’s hook, would meet with calamity and disaster, and the fisherman could do with it as he wishes.

2“‘Fisherman,’ bhikkhus: this is a designation for Māra the Evil One. ‘Baited hook’: this is a designation for gain, honour, and praise. Any bhikkhu who relishes and enjoys the arisen gain, honour, and praise is called a bhikkhu who has swallowed the baited hook, who has met with calamity and disaster, and the Evil One can do with him as he wishes. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise, so bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will abandon the arisen gain, honour, and praise, and we will not let the arisen gain, honour, and praise persist obsessing our minds.’ Thus should you train yourselves.”

3. The Turtle

1At Sāvatthı̄. [227] “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise.... Once in the past there was a large family of turtles that had been living for a long time in a certain lake.³¹⁷ Pāli indiscriminately uses two words, kumma and kacchapa, for both turtle and tortoise. Here kumma refers to the lake-dwelling variety, but at 35:240 kumma kacchapa jointly denote what seems to be a land-dwelling creature, while at 56:47 kacchapa alone refers to the sea-dwelling variety. Spk glosses mahākummakula with mahantaṁ aṭṭhikacchapakula, which further confirms the interchangeability of the two words. I have rendered both terms “turtle” when they denote a predominantly aquatic creature (here and at 56:47), “tortoise” when they refer to a land-dwelling creature. Then one turtle said to another: ‘Dear turtle, do not go to such and such a region.’ But that turtle went to that region, and a hunter struck him with a corded harpoon.³¹⁸ Papatā. Spk explains this as an iron spear shaped like a hooked dart, kept in an iron case. When it is dropped on its target with a certain force, the spear comes out from the case and the rope follows along, still attached to it. Then that turtle approached the first one. When the first turtle saw him coming in the distance, he said to him: ‘I hope, dear turtle, that you didn’t go to that region.’ –‘I did go to that region, dear.’–‘I hope you haven’t been hit or struck, dear.’–‘I haven’t been hit or struck; but there is this cord constantly following behind me.’–‘Indeed you’ve been hit, dear turtle, indeed you’ve been struck! Your father and grandfather also met with calamity and disaster on account of such a cord. Go now, dear turtle, you are no longer one of us.’

2“‘Hunter,’ bhikkhus: this is a designation for Māra the Evil One. ‘Corded harpoon’: this is a designation for gain, honour, and praise. ‘Cord’: this is a designation for delight and lust. Any bhikkhu who relishes and enjoys the arisen gain, honour, and praise is called a bhikkhu who has been struck with a corded harpoon, ³¹⁹ Although all three eds. read giddho papatāya, it seems we should read viddho papatāya, proposed by a note in Be. who has met with calamity and disaster, and the Evil One can do with him as he wishes. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. [228] Thus should you train yourselves.”

4. The Long-Haired Goat

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Suppose a long-haired she-goat would enter a briar patch. She would get caught here and there, be held fast here and there, be bound here and there, and here and there she would meet with calamity and disaster. So too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu here whose mind is overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise dresses in the morning and, taking bowl and robe, enters a village or town for alms. He gets caught here and there, is held fast here and there, is bound here and there, and here and there he meets with calamity and disaster. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

5. The Dung Beetle

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Suppose there was a beetle, a dung-eater, stuffed with dung, full of dung, and in front of her was a large dunghill. Because of this she would despise the other beetles, thinking: ‘I am a dung-eater, stuffed with dung, full of dung, and in front of me there is a large dunghill.’ [229] So too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu here whose mind is overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise dresses in the morning and, taking bowl and robe, enters a village or town for alms. There he would eat as much as he wants, he would be invited for the next day’s meal, and his almsfood would be plentiful. When he goes back to the monastery, he boasts before a group of bhikkhus: ‘I have eaten as much as I want, I have been invited for tomorrow’s meal, and my almsfood is plentiful. I am one who gains robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicinal requisites, but these other bhikkhus have little merit and influence, and they do not gain robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicinal requisites.’ Thus, because his mind is overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, he despises the other well-behaved bhikkhus. That will lead to the harm and suffering of this senseless person for a long time. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

6. The Thunderbolt

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Whom should a thunderbolt strike, bhikkhus? A trainee upon whom come gain, honour, and praise while he has not yet reached his mind’s ideal.³²⁰ In all three eds. the text as it stands is unintelligible and is likely to be corrupt. Spk does not offer enough help to reconstruct an original reading, while Be appends a long note with a circuitous explanation intended to resolve the difficulties. I would prefer to amend the final verb in Be and Se (and SS) from anupāpuṇātu to anupāpuṇāti so that we read: Kaṁ bhikkhave asanivicakkaṁ āgacchatu? Sekhaṁ appattamānasaṁ lābhasakkārasiloko anupāpuṇāti. Ee does have anupāpuṇāti, and it is possible anupāpuṇātu entered the other eds. under the influence of the preceding āgacchatu and the corresponding sentences in 17:23, 24. Spk paraphrases the question: “Which person should a bright thunderbolt strike, hitting him on the head and crushing him?” and comments on the reply: “The Blessed One does not speak thus because he desires suffering for beings, but in order to show the danger. For a lightning bolt, striking one on the head, destroys only a single individual existence, but one with a mind obsessed by gain, honour, and praise experiences endless suffering in hell, etc.” While he has not yet reached his mind’s ideal (appattamānasa ): while he has not achieved arahantship.

2“‘Thunderbolt,’ bhikkhus: this is a designation for gain, honour, and praise. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

7. The Poisoned Dart

1At Sāvatthı̄. [230] “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Whom should one pierce with a dart smeared in poison, bhikkhus? A trainee upon whom come gain, honour, and praise while he has not yet reached his mind’s ideal.³²¹ Be and Se read: Kaṁ bhikkhave diddhagatena visallena sallena vijjhatu? The reading in Ee is less satisfactory. Spk: Diddhagatenā ti gatadiddhena [Spk-pṭ: acchavisayuttā ti vā diddhe gatena]; visallenā ti visamakkhitena; sallenā ti sattiyā. The rhetorical construction parallels that in the preceding sutta. Visallena is problematic, and we might accept C.Rh.D’s suggestion visa-sallena, though diddha (= Skt digdha) already conveys the idea of poisoned. See Ja IV 435,26: Saro diddho kalāpaṁ va/Alittaṁ upalimpati.

2“‘Dart,’ bhikkhus: this is a designation for gain, honour, and praise. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

8. The Jackal

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Did you hear an old jackal howling when the night was fading?”

2“Yes, venerable sir.”

3“That old jackal is afflicted with a disease called mange.³²² Ukkaṇṭaka (so Be and Se; Ee: ukkaṇṇaka). Spk: This is the name of a disease, said to arise in the cold season. The hairs fall off from the entire body, and the entire body, fully exposed, breaks open all over. Struck by the wind, the wounds ooze. Just as a man, bitten by a rabid dog, runs around in circles, so does the jackal when it has contracted this disease, and there is no place where it finds safety. He cannot feel at ease whether he goes into a cave, or to the foot of a tree, or into the open air. Wherever he goes, wherever he stands, wherever he sits, wherever he lies down, there he meets with calamity and disaster. So too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu here whose mind is overcome and obsessed with gain, honour, and praise does not feel at ease whether he goes into an empty hut, or to the foot of a tree, or into the open air. Wherever he goes, wherever he stands, wherever he sits, wherever he lies down, there he meets with calamity and disaster. [231] So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

9. The Gale Winds

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Bhikkhus, high in the sky winds called gales are blowing.³²³ Verambhavātā. Spk: A strong type of wind, discerned at a height from which the four continents appear the size of lotus leaves. If a bird goes up there, the gale winds fling it about, and as it is flung about by the gale winds, its feet go one way, its wings another way, its head still another way, and its body still another way. So too, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu here whose mind is overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise dresses in the morning and, taking bowl and robe, enters a village or town for alms with body, speech, and mind unguarded, without setting up mindfulness, unrestrained in his sense faculties. He sees women there lightly clad or lightly attired and lust invades his mind. With his mind invaded by lust he gives up the training and returns to the lower life. Some take his robe, others his bowl, others his sitting cloth, and still others his needle case, as with the bird flung by the gale winds. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

10. With Verses

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Bhikkhus, I see some person here [232] whose mind is overcome and obsessed by honour, with the breakup of the body, after death, reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the nether world, in hell. Then I see some person here whose mind is overcome and obsessed by lack of honour ... reborn in a state of misery…. Then I see some person here whose mind is overcome and obsessed by both honour and lack of honour, with the breakup of the body, after death, reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the nether world, in hell. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

2This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this:

3“Whether he is showered with honour,
Shown dishonour, or offered both,
His concentration does not vacillate
As he dwells in the measureless state.³²⁴ This verse and the next are at Th 1011-12 and It 74,22-75,3. Here I read with Be and Se appamāṇavihārino, as against Ee appamādavihārino. The latter, however, is found in all three eds. of Th 1011d; readings of It 74,25 are divided. Spk supports appamāṇa- with its gloss: appamāṇena phalasamādhinā viharantassa; “as he is dwelling in the measureless fruition concentration.” Th-a does not comment on the pāda at Th 1011, and the comment in It-a reads appamāda- in Be and appamāṇa- in Se.

4When he meditates with perseverance,
An insight-seer of subtle view
Delighting in the destruction of clinging,
They call him truly a superior man.”³²⁵ We should read pāda b with Se sukhumadiṭṭhivipassakaṁ as against sukhumaṁ diṭṭhivipassakaṁ in Be and Ee. The former is also the reading at Th 1012b and It 75,1. Spk: It is a subtle view because (it is reached) through the view of the path of arahantship, and he is an insight-seer (vipassaka) because he has arrived there after having set up insight for the sake of fruition attainment. Delighting in the destruction of clinging: Delighted with Nibbāna, called the destruction of clinging.

[233]

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Bhikkhus, I have known of a certain person here whose mind I have encompassed with my own mind: ‘This venerable one would not tell a deliberate lie even for the sake of a golden bowl filled with powdered silver.’ Yet some time later I see him, his mind overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, telling a deliberate lie. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

12. Silver Bowl

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Bhikkhus, I have known of a certain person here whose mind I have encompassed with my own mind: ‘This venerable one would not tell a deliberate lie even for the sake of a silver bowl filled with powdered gold.’ Yet some time later I see him, his mind overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, telling a deliberate lie. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

13–20. Suvaṇṇanikkha, Etc.

2At Sāvatthı̄. [234] “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Bhikkhus, I have known of a certain person here whose mind I have encompassed with my own mind: ‘This venerable one would not tell a deliberate lie even for the sake of a suvaṇṇanikkha … even for the sake of a hundred suvaṇṇanikkhas … even for the sake of a siṅginikkha … for a hundred siṅginikkhas³²⁶ The suvaṇṇanikkha and the siṅginikkha seem to be two different types of golden coin, the latter presumably of greater value than the former, or made from a superior species of gold. Spk glosses suvaṇṇanikkhassa as ekassa kañcananikkhassa , and siṅginikkhassa as siṅgisuvaṇṇanikkhassa. … for the earth filled with gold ... for any material reward ... for the sake of his life ... for the most beautiful girl of the land.³²⁷ Janapadakalyāṇī. See below 17:22 and 47:20, and the famous simile at MN II 33,6-22. Yet some time later I see him, his mind overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, telling a deliberate lie. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. [235] Bhikkhus, even though a woman, when one is alone with her, may not persist obsessing one’s mind, still gain, honour, and praise might persist obsessing one’s mind. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

22. The Most Beautiful Girl of the Land

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Bhikkhus, even though the most beautiful girl of the land, when one is alone with her, may not persist obsessing one’s mind, still gain, honour, and praise might persist obsessing one’s mind. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

23. Only Son

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. A faithful female lay follower, rightly imploring her only son, dear and beloved, might implore him thus: ‘Dear, you should become like Citta the householder and Hatthaka of Āḷavaka’—for this is the standard and criterion for my male disciples who are lay followers, that is, Citta the householder and Hatthaka of Āḷavaka.³²⁸ Cp. AN I 88,13-89,3. This sutta and the next seem to be quoting from AN II 164,4-22, where the Buddha names the “standards and criteria” for the four classes of his followers. Citta the householder was the foremost male lay disciple among the speakers on the Dhamma; see the Cittasaṁyutta (41:1-10). Hatthaka Āḷavaka was the foremost of those who propitiate an assembly with the four means of beneficence; see AN I 26,5-9 and AN IV 217-20, and I, n. 604. ‘But if, dear, you go forth from the household life into homelessness, you should become like Sāriputta and Moggallāna’—for this is the standard and criterion for my male disciples who are bhikkhus, that is, Sāriputta and Moggallāna. ‘While, dear, you are a trainee, one who has not yet reached his mind’s ideal, may gain, honour, and praise not come upon you!’

2“Bhikkhus, if [236] gain, honour, and praise come upon a bhikkhu while he is a trainee, one who has not yet reached his mind’s ideal, this is an obstacle for him. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

24. Only Daughter

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. A faithful female lay follower, rightly imploring her only daughter, dear and beloved, might implore her thus: ‘Dear, you should become like Khujjuttarā the lay follower and Veḷukaṇḍakiyā, Nanda’s mother’—for this is the standard and criterion for my female disciples who are lay followers, that is, Khujjuttarā the lay follower and Veḷukaṇḍakiyā, Nanda’s mother.³²⁹ Khujjuttarā was the foremost female lay disciple among those who have learned much, Veḷukaṇḍakiyā (or Uttarā) Nandamātā the foremost of the meditators; see AN I 26,19, 21. Khemā and Uppalavaṇṇā, mentioned just below, were the foremost bhikkhunīs in regard to wisdom and spiritual power, respectively. Uppalavaṇṇā has appeared at 5:5, and Khemā gives a discourse at 44:1. ‘But if, dear, you go forth from the household life into homelessness, you should become like the bhikkhunı̄s Khemā and Uppalavaṇṇā’—for this is the standard and criterion for my female disciples who are bhikkhunı̄s, that is, Khemā and Uppalavaṇṇā. ‘While, dear, you are a trainee, one who has not yet reached her mind’s ideal, may gain, honour, and praise not come upon you!’

2“Bhikkhus, if gain, honour, and praise come upon a bhikkhunı̄ while she is still a trainee, one who has not yet reached her mind’s ideal, this is an obstacle for her. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

25. Ascetics and Brahmins (1)

1At Sāvatthı̄. [237] “Bhikkhus, those ascetics or brahmins who do not understand as they really are the gratification, the danger, and the escape in the case of gain, honour, and praise:³³⁰ See above n. 249. these I do not consider to be ascetics among ascetics or brahmins among brahmins, and these venerable ones do not, by realizing it for themselves with direct knowledge, in this very life enter and dwell in the goal of asceticism or the goal of brahminhood.

2“But, bhikkhus, those ascetics and brahmins who understand as they really are the gratification, the danger, and the escape in the case of gain, honour, and praise: these I consider to be ascetics among ascetics and brahmins among brahmins, and these venerable ones, by realizing it for themselves with direct knowledge, in this very life enter and dwell in the goal of asceticism and the goal of brahminhood.”

26. Ascetics and Brahmins (2)

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, those ascetics or brahmins who do not understand as they really are the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in the case of gain, honour, and praise: these I do not consider to be ascetics among ascetics….

2“But, bhikkhus, those ascetics and brahmins who understand these things: these I consider to be ascetics among ascetics and brahmins among brahmins, and these venerable ones, by realizing it for themselves with direct knowledge, in this very life enter and dwell in the goal of asceticism and the goal of brahminhood.”

27. Ascetics and Brahmins (3)

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, those ascetics or brahmins who do not understand gain, honour, and praise, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation: these I do not consider to be ascetics among ascetics....³³¹ Spk: Its origin (samudaya): an individual form of existence together with past kamma, status as a son of good family, beauty of complexion, eloquence as a speaker, the display of ascetic virtues, the wearing of the robe, possession of a retinue, etc., are called the origin of gain and honour. They do not understand this by way of the truth of the origin, and so cessation and the path should be understood by way of the truths of cessation and the path.

2“But, bhikkhus, those ascetics and brahmins who understand these things: these I consider to be ascetics among ascetics and brahmins among brahmins, and these venerable ones, by realizing it for themselves with direct knowledge, in this very life enter and dwell in the goal of asceticism and the goal of brahminhood.”

28. Skin

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. [238] Gain, honour, and praise cut through the outer skin, then through the inner skin, then through the flesh, then through the sinews, then through the bone. Having cut through the bone, they reach right to the marrow. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

29. The Rope

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. Gain, honour, and praise cut through the outer skin, then through the inner skin, then through the flesh, then through the sinews, then through the bone. Having cut through the bone, they reach right to the marrow. Suppose, bhikkhus, a strong man would wrap one’s leg with a taut horsehair rope and pull it tight. It would cut through the outer skin, then through the inner skin, then through the flesh, then through the sinews, then through the bone. Having cut through the bone, it would reach right to the marrow. So too, bhikkhus, gain, honour, and praise cut through the outer skin ... they reach right to the marrow. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

30. The Bhikkhu

1At Sāvatthı̄. [239] “Bhikkhus, gain, honour, and praise, I say, are an obstacle even for a bhikkhu who is an arahant, one with taints destroyed.”

2When this was said, the Venerable Ānanda asked the Blessed One: “Why, venerable sir, are gain, honour, and praise an obstacle even for a bhikkhu with taints destroyed?”

3“I do not say, Ānanda, that gain, honour, and praise are an obstacle to his unshakable liberation of mind. But I say they are an obstacle to [his attainment of] those pleasant dwellings in this very life which are achieved by one who dwells diligent, ardent, and resolute.³³² Spk: The pleasant dwellings in this very life (diṭṭhadhammasukhavihārā ) are the pleasant dwellings in fruition attainment. For when a meritorious arahant receives conjee, sweets, etc., he must give thanks to those who come, teach them the Dhamma, answer questions, etc., and thus he does not get a chance to sit down and enter fruition attainment. Spk’s identification of the “pleasant dwellings” with fruition attainment is certainly too narrow. The term usually means the jhānas, as at II 278,10-11.
So dreadful, Ānanda, are gain, honour, and praise, so bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. Therefore, Ānanda, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will abandon the arisen gain, honour, and praise, and we will not let the arisen gain, honour, and praise persist obsessing our minds.’ Thus should you train yourselves.”

1At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise…. [240] Because his mind was overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, Devadatta provoked a schism in the Saṅgha. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

32. Wholesome Root

1… “Because his mind was overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, Devadatta’s wholesome root was cut off....”³³³ The three wholesome roots are nongreed, nonhatred, and nondelusion. Spk explains this to mean that the wholesome roots have been cut off to such an extent that Devadatta is incapable of taking rebirth in heaven or of achieving the path and fruit; it does not mean that his wholesome roots have been permanently eradicated. The next two suttas state the same meaning using different terms.

33. Wholesome Nature

1… “Because his mind was overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, Devadatta’s wholesome nature was cut off….”

34. Bright Nature

1… “Because his mind was overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, Devadatta’s bright nature was cut off….”

35. Not Long After He Left

1[241] On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling in Rājagaha on Mount Vulture Peak not long after Devadatta had left. There, with reference to Devadatta, the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus:³³⁴ This sutta and the following one also occur at Vin II 187-88 in inverted order, without the homily on gains, honour, and fame, and with the verse at the end. See too AN II 73. The verse = I, v. 597, also spoken with reference to Devadatta. On the simile of the mule just below, Spk says that they mate her with a horse. If she becomes pregnant, when her time for delivery arrives she is unable to give birth. She stands striking the ground with her feet. Then they tie her feet to four stakes, split open her belly, and remove the foal. She dies right there.

2“Bhikkhus, Devadatta’s gain, honour, and praise arose to his own downfall and destruction. Just as a plantain tree, a bamboo, or a reed yields fruit to its own downfall and destruction, so Devadatta’s gain, honour, and praise arose to his own downfall and destruction. Just as a mule becomes pregnant to its own downfall and destruction, so Devadatta’s gain, honour, and praise arose to his own downfall and destruction. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

3This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this:

4“As its own fruit brings destruction
To the plantain, bamboo, and reed,
As its embryo destroys the mule,
So do honours destroy the scoundrel.” [242]

36. Five Hundred Carts

1While dwelling at Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrel Sanctuary. Now on that occasion Prince Ajātasattu was going to attend upon Devadatta morning and evening with five hundred carts, and an offering of food was conveyed to him in five hundred pots. Then a number of bhikkhus approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and reported this matter to the Blessed One. [The Blessed One said:]

2“Bhikkhus, do not be envious of Devadatta’s gain, honour, and praise. As long as Prince Ajātasattu goes to attend upon Devadatta morning and evening with five hundred carts, and an offering of food is conveyed to him in five hundred pots, only decline can be expected of Devadatta in regard to wholesome states, not growth.

3“Just as a wild dog becomes even wilder when they sprinkle bile over its nose,³³⁵ Pittaṁ bhindeyyuṁ. PED, s.v. pittaṁ, says the passage is unclear and refers to an alternative interpretation proposed by Morris, JPTS 1893, 4. My rendering accords with Spk’s comment: “They throw (pakhippeyyuṁ) bear bile or fish bile over its nostrils.” Spk-pṭ glosses pakhippeyyuṁ here with osiñceyyuṁ, “they sprinkle.” Horner renders “as if they were to throw a bladder at a fierce dog’s nose” (BD 5:263). so too, bhikkhus, so long as Prince Ajātasattu goes to attend upon Devadatta … only decline can be expected of Devadatta in regard to wholesome states, not growth. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise…. Thus should you train yourselves.”

37–43. Mother Sutta, Etc.

4At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, dreadful are gain, honour, and praise, bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. [243] Bhikkhus, I have known of a certain person here, whose mind I have encompassed with my own mind: ‘This venerable one would not tell a deliberate lie even for the sake of his mother ... even for the sake of his father ... even for the sake of his brother ... his sister ... his son ... his daughter … his wife.’³³⁶ Spk: When bandits grab hold of his mother in the wilderness and say they will release her only if he tells a deliberate lie, even then he won’t tell a deliberate lie. The same method in the other cases. Yet some time later I see him, his mind overcome and obsessed by gain, honour, and praise, telling a deliberate lie. So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honour, and praise, so bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: [244] ‘We will abandon the arisen gain, honour, and praise, and we will not let the arisen gain, honour, and praise persist obsessing our minds.’ Thus should you train yourselves.”