On one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's monastery. Then Anāthapiṇḍika the householder went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, bowed down to him and sat to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him, "Householder, are gifts still given in your family?" "Gifts are still given in my family, lord, but they are coarse: broken rice cooked with bran, accompanied by pickle brine." "Householder, regardless of whether a gift is coarse or refined, if it is given inattentively, disrespectfully, not with one's own hand, as if throwing it away, with the view that nothing will come of it: Wherever the result of that gift comes to fruition, one's mind will not incline to the enjoyment of splendid food, will not incline to the enjoyment of splendid clothing, will not incline to the enjoyment of splendid vehicles, will not incline to the enjoyment of the splendid five strings of sensuality. And one's sons & daughters, slaves, servants, & workers will not listen to one, will not lend ear, will not make their minds attend for the sake of knowledge. Why is that? Because that is the result of inattentive actions 1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s Park. There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus.” - “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Blessed One said this: 2. “Bhikkhus, that any bhikkhu who has not abandoned five wildernesses in the heart and not severed five shackles in the heart should come to growth, increase, and fulfilment in this Dhamma and Discipline - that is impossible. 3. “What, bhikkhus, are the five wildernesses in the heart that he has not abandoned? Here a bhikkhu is doubtful, uncertain, undecided, and unconfident about the Teacher, and thus his mind does not incline to ardour, devotion, perseverance, and striving. As his mind does not incline to ardour, devotion, perseverance, and striving, that is the first wilderness in the heart that he has not abandoned. ... To hear the rest of the sutta, download the talk. Join us live every Friday from 7-8:30 AN 6:86 Avaranata Sutta: Obstructions translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Endowed with these six qualities, a person is incapable of alighting on the lawfulness, the rightness of skillful mental qualities even when listening to the true Dhamma. Which six? "He is endowed with a [present] kamma obstruction, a defilement obstruction, a result-of-[past]-kamma obstruction; he lacks conviction, has no desire [to listen], and has dull discernment. "Endowed with these six qualities, a person is incapable of alighting on the lawfulness, the rightness of skillful mental qualities even when listening to the true Dhamma. "Endowed with these six qualities, a person is capable of alighting on the lawfulness, the rightness of skillful mental qualities even while listening to the true Dhamma. Which six? "He is not endowed with a [present] kamma obstruction, a defilement obstruction, or a result-of-[past]-kamma obstruction; he has conviction, has the desire [to listen], and is discerning. "Endowed with these six qualities, a person is capable of alighting on the lawfulness, the rightness of skillful mental qualities even while listening to the true Dhamma." ©1997 Thanissaro Bhikkhu. The text of this page ("Avaranata Sutta: Obstructions", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Transcribed from a file provided by the translator. Last revised for Access to Insight on 4 July 2010. How to cite this document (a suggested style): "Avaranata Sutta: Obstructions" (AN 6.86), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 4 July 2010, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an06/an06.086.than.html . 365. On one occasion, the nun Subhā was going to the delightful Jīvaka mango garden. Then suddenly a rogue appeared and stood blocking her way. Subhā said this to him:
366. What wrong have I done to you, that you should stand there blocking my way? It is not fitting, sir, that a man should touch a nun. 367. I deeply respect the Buddha’s path. The Sublime One has taught us about the precepts. I protect those precepts purely. I am taintless. So, why are you standing here blocking me? 368. You have a disturbed mind. My mind is undisturbed. You are a defiled person. I am a taintless person with no lust. I am liberated from every single defilement. So, why are you standing here blocking me? 369. [Rogue:] You are still young. You are not ugly. What good will nunhood do for you? Throw away your robe. Come, let’s enjoy ourselves in this forest full of blooms. |