MN 28
Maha-hatthipadopama Sutta
The Great Elephant Footprint Simile
Translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro BhikkhuPTS: M i 184
Source: Transcribed from a file provided by the translator.
Copyright © 2003 Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Access to Insight edition © 2003
For free distribution. This work may be republished, reformatted,
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I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi in
Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There Ven. Sariputta addressed the
monks, saying, "Friend monks!"
"Yes, friend," the monks responded.
Ven. Sariputta said: "Friends, just as the footprints of all legged animals are
encompassed by the footprint of the elephant, and the elephant's footprint is
reckoned the foremost among them in terms of size; in the same way, all skillful
qualities are gathered under the four noble truths. Under which four? Under the
noble truth of stress, under the noble truth of the origination of stress, under
the noble truth of the cessation of stress, and under the noble truth of the
path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.
"And what is the noble truth of stress? Birth is stressful, aging is stressful,
death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are
stressful; association with the unbeloved is stressful, separation from the
loved is stressful, not getting what is wanted is stressful. In short, the five
clinging-aggregates are stressful. And which are the five clinging-aggregates?
The form clinging-aggregate, the feeling clinging-aggregate, the perception
clinging-aggregate, the fabrication clinging-aggregate, & the consciousness
clinging-aggregate.
"And what is the form clinging-aggregate? The four great existents and the form
derived from them. And what are the four great existents? The earth property,
the liquid property, the fire property, & the wind property.
The Earth Property
"And what is the earth property? The earth property can be either internal or
external. Which is the internal earth property? Whatever internal, within
oneself, is hard, solid, & sustained [by craving]: head hairs, body hairs,
nails, teeth, skin, flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver,
pleura, spleen, lungs, large intestines, small intestines, contents of the
stomach, feces, or whatever else internal, within oneself, is hard, solid, &
sustained: This is called the internal earth property. Now both the internal
earth property and the external earth property are simply earth property. And
that should be seen as it actually is with right discernment: 'This is not mine,
this is not me, this is not my self.' When one sees it thus as it actually is
with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the earth property and
makes the mind dispassionate toward the earth property.
"Now there comes a time, friends, when the external liquid property is
provoked,1 and at that time the external earth property vanishes. So when even
in the external earth property — so vast — inconstancy will be discerned,
destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be discerned,
changeability will be discerned, then what in this short-lasting body, sustained
by clinging, is 'I' or 'mine' or 'what I am'? It has here only a 'no.'
"Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk [who has
discerned this], he discerns that 'A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has
arisen within me. And that is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what?
Dependent on contact.' And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is
inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant. His mind,
with the [earth] property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident,
steadfast, & released.
"And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing,
& disagreeable — through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with
sticks, or contact with knives — the monk discerns that 'This body is of such a
nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with
sticks come, & contacts with knives come. Now the Blessed One has said, in his
exhortation of the simile of the saw [MN 21], "Monks, even if bandits were to
carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who
let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding." So my
persistence will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused,
my body calm & unaroused, my mind centered & unified. And now let contact with
fists come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come
to this body, for this is how the Buddha's bidding is done.'
"And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive
at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: 'It is a loss for me, not a gain;
ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, &
Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established
within me.' Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels
apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency [to please him], in the same
way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive
at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: 'It is a loss for me, not a gain;
ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, &
Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established
within me.'
"But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is established, then he is gratified at
that. And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.
The Liquid Property
"And what is the liquid property? The liquid property may be either internal or
external. What is the internal liquid property? Whatever internal, belonging to
oneself, is liquid, watery, & sustained: bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat,
tears, skin-oil, saliva, mucus, fluid in the joints, urine, or whatever else
internal, within oneself, is liquid, watery, & sustained: This is called the
internal liquid property. Now both the internal liquid property and the external
liquid property are simply liquid property. And that should be seen as it
actually is present with right discernment: 'This is not mine, this is not me,
this is not my self.' When one sees it thus as it actually is present with right
discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the liquid property and makes the
mind dispassionate toward the liquid property.
"Now there comes a time, friends, when the external liquid property is provoked
and washes away village, town, city, district, & country. There comes a time
when the water in the great ocean drops down one hundred leagues, two hundred...
three hundred... four hundred... five hundred... six hundred... seven hundred
leagues. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands seven
palm-trees deep, six... five... four... three... two palm-trees deep, one
palm-tree deep. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands
seven fathoms deep, six... five... four... three... two fathoms deep, one fathom
deep. There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands half a fathom
deep, hip-deep, knee-deep, ankle deep. There comes a time when the water in the
great ocean is not even the depth of the first joint of a finger.
"So when even in the external liquid property — so vast — inconstancy will be
discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be
discerned, changeability will be discerned, then what in this short-lasting
body, sustained by clinging, is 'I' or 'mine' or 'what I am'? It has here only a
'no.'
"Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk [who has
discerned this], he discerns that 'A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has
arisen within me. And that is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what?
Dependent on contact.' And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is
inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant. His mind,
with the [liquid] property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident,
steadfast, & released.
"And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing,
& disagreeable — through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with
sticks, or contact with knives — the monk discerns that 'This body is of such a
nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with
sticks come, & contacts with knives come. Now the Blessed One has said, in his
exhortation of the simile of the saw, "Monks, even if bandits were to carve you
up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his
heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding." So my persistence
will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body
calm & unaroused, my mind centered & unified. And now let contact with fists
come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to
this body, for this is how the Buddha's bidding is done.'
"And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive
at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: 'It is a loss for me, not a gain;
ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, &
Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established
within me.' Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels
apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency [to please him], in the same
way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive
at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: 'It is a loss for me, not a gain;
ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, &
Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established
within me.'
"But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is established, then he is gratified at
that. And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.
The Fire Property
"And what is the fire property? The fire property may be either internal or
external. What is the internal fire property? Whatever internal, belonging to
oneself, is fire, fiery, & sustained: that by which [the body] is warmed, aged,
& consumed with fever; and that by which what is eaten, drunk, chewed, & savored
gets properly digested, or whatever else internal, within oneself, is fire,
fiery, & sustained: This is called the internal fire property. Now both the
internal fire property and the external fire property are simply fire property.
And that should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: 'This
is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.' When one sees it thus as it
actually is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the
fire property and makes the mind dispassionate toward the fire property.
"Now there comes a time, friends, when the external fire property is provoked
and consumes village, town, city, district, & country; and then, coming to the
edge of a green district, the edge of a road, the edge of a rocky district, to
the water's edge, or to a lush, well-watered area, goes out from lack of
sustenance. There comes a time when people try to make fire using a wing-bone &
tendon parings.2
"So when even in the external fire property — so vast — inconstancy will be
discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be
discerned, changeability will be discerned, then what in this short-lasting
body, sustained by clinging, is 'I' or 'mine' or 'what I am'? It has here only a
'no.'
"Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk [who has
discerned this], he discerns that 'A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has
arisen within me. And that is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what?
Dependent on contact.' And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is
inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant. His mind,
with the [fire] property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident,
steadfast, & released.
"And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing,
& disagreeable — through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with
sticks, or contact with knives — the monk discerns that 'This body is of such a
nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with
sticks come, & contacts with knives come. Now the Blessed One has said, in his
exhortation of the simile of the saw, "Monks, even if bandits were to carve you
up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his
heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding." So my persistence
will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body
calm & unaroused, my mind centered & unified. And now let contact with fists
come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to
this body, for this is how the Buddha's bidding is done.'
"And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive
at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: 'It is a loss for me, not a gain;
ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, &
Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established
within me.' Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels
apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency [to please him], in the same
way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive
at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: 'It is a loss for me, not a gain;
ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, &
Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established
within me.'
"But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is established, then he is gratified at
that. And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.
The Wind Property
"And what is the wind property? The wind property may be either internal or
external. What is the internal wind property? Whatever internal, belonging to
oneself, is wind, windy, & sustained: up-going winds, down-going winds, winds in
the stomach, winds in the intestines, winds that course through the body,
in-&-out breathing, or whatever else internal, within oneself, is wind, windy, &
sustained: This is called the internal wind property. Now both the internal wind
property and the external wind property are simply wind property. And that
should be seen as it actually is present with right discernment: 'This is not
mine, this is not me, this is not my self.' When one sees it thus as it actually
is present with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the wind
property and makes the mind dispassionate toward the wind property.
"Now there comes a time, friends, when the external wind property is provoked
and blows away village, town, city, district, & country. There comes a time
when, in the last month of the hot season, people try to start a breeze with a
fan or bellows, and even the grass at the fringe of a thatch roof doesn't stir.
"So when even in the external wind property — so vast — inconstancy will be
discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be
discerned, changeability will be discerned, then what in this short-lasting
body, sustained by clinging, is 'I' or 'mine' or 'what I am'? It has here only a
'no.'
"Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk [who has
discerned this], he discerns that 'A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has
arisen within me. And that is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what?
Dependent on contact.' And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is
inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant. His mind,
with the [wind] property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident,
steadfast, & released.
"And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing,
& disagreeable — through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with
sticks, or contact with knives — the monk discerns that 'This body is of such a
nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with
sticks come, & contacts with knives come. Now the Blessed One has said, in his
exhortation of the simile of the saw, "Monks, even if bandits were to carve you
up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his
heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding." So my persistence
will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body
calm & unaroused, my mind centered & unified. And now let contact with fists
come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to
this body, for this is how the Buddha's bidding is done.'
"And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive
at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: 'It is a loss for me, not a gain;
ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, &
Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established
within me.' Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels
apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency [to please him], in the same
way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is not established, he feels apprehensive
at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency: 'It is a loss for me, not a gain;
ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, &
Sangha in this way, equanimity based on what is skillful is not established
within me.'
"But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha in this way,
equanimity based on what is skillful is established, then he is gratified at
that. And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.
The Space Property
"Friends, just as when — in dependence on timber, vines, grass, & clay — space
is enclosed and is gathered under the term 'house,' in the same way, when space
is enclosed in dependence on bones, tendons, muscle, & skin, it is gathered
under the term, 'form.'
Dependent Co-arising
"Now if internally the eye is intact but externally forms do not come into
range, nor is there a corresponding engagement, then there is no appearing of
the corresponding type of consciousness. If internally the eye is intact and
externally forms come into range, but there is no corresponding engagement, then
there is no appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness. But when
internally the eye is intact and externally forms come into range, and there is
a corresponding engagement, then there is the appearing of the corresponding
type of consciousness.
"The form of what has thus come into being is gathered under the form
clinging-aggregate. The feeling of what has thus come into being is gathered
under the feeling clinging-aggregate The perception of what has thus come into
being is gathered under the perception clinging-aggregate. The fabrications of
what has thus come into being are gathered under the fabrication
clinging-aggregate. The consciousness of what has thus come into being is
gathered under the consciousness clinging-aggregate. One discerns, 'This, it
seems, is how there is the gathering, meeting, & convergence of these five
clinging-aggregates. Now, the Blessed One has said, "Whoever sees dependent
co-arising sees the Dhamma; whoever sees the Dhamma sees dependent co-arising."3
And these things — the five clinging-aggregates — are dependently co-arisen.4
Any desire, embracing, grasping, & holding-on to these five clinging-aggregates
is the origination of stress. Any subduing of desire & passion, any abandoning
of desire & passion for these five clinging-aggregates is the cessation of
stress.' 5 And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great
deal.
"Now if internally the ear is intact...
"Now if internally the nose is intact...
"Now if internally the tongue is intact...
"Now if internally the body is intact...
"Now if internally the intellect is intact but externally ideas do not come into
range, nor is there a corresponding engagement, then there is no appearing of
the corresponding type of consciousness. If internally the intellect is intact
and externally ideas come into range, but there is no corresponding engagement,
then there is no appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness. But when
internally the intellect is intact and externally ideas come into range, and
there is a corresponding engagement, then there is the appearing of the
corresponding type of consciousness.
"The form of what has thus come into being is gathered under the form
clinging-aggregate. The feeling of what has thus come into being is gathered
under the feeling clinging-aggregate The perception of what has thus come into
being is gathered under the perception clinging-aggregate. The fabrications of
what has thus come into being are gathered under the fabrication
clinging-aggregate. The consciousness of what has thus come into being is
gathered under the consciousness clinging-aggregate. One discerns, 'This, it
seems, is how there is the gathering, meeting, & convergence of these five
clinging-aggregates. Now, the Blessed One has said, "Whoever sees dependent
co-arising sees the Dhamma; whoever sees the Dhamma sees dependent co-arising."
And these things — the five clinging-aggregates — are dependently co-arisen. Any
desire, embracing, grasping, & holding-on to these five clinging-aggregates is
the origination of stress. Any subduing of desire & passion, any abandoning of
desire & passion for these five clinging-aggregates is the cessation of stress.'
And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal."
That is what Ven. Sariputta said. Gratified, the monks delighted in Ven.
Sariputta's words.
Notes
1. The compilers of the Pali canon used a common theory to explain the physics
of heat & motion, meteorology, and the etiology of diseases. That theory
centered on the concept of 'dhatu': property or potential. The physical
properties presented in this theory were four: those of earth (solidity),
liquid, fire, & wind (motion). Three of them — liquid, fire, & wind — were
viewed as potentially active. When they were aggravated, agitated or provoked —
the Pali term here, 'pakuppati,' was used also on the psychological level, where
it meant angered or upset — they acted as the underlying cause for activity in
nature. For more on this topic, see The Mind Like Fire Unbound, Chapter 2.
2. AN 7.46 (quoted in The Mind Like Fire Unbound) cites a wing bone and tendon
parings as examples of items that will not catch fire. Perhaps the passage was
meant as a comical parody of someone who, having seen another person start fire
with a fire stick, tried to imitate that person without understanding the basic
principle involved. If you used a fire stick and wood shavings, you would get
fire. If you used a wing bone instead of a fire stick, and tendon parings
instead of wood shavings, you wouldn't.
3. This statement has not been traced in any other part of the extant Pali
canon.
4. See SN 12.2.
5. Although the fourth noble truth — the path of practice leading to the
cessation of stress — is not explicitly mentioned in this discussion, it is
implicit as the path of practice leading to the subduing of desire & passion,
the abandoning of desire & passion for the five clinging-aggregates.
See also: SN 22.5; Sn 4.9.
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