AN 10.71

Ākaṅkhasutta

Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: “bhikkhavo”ti. “Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. Bhagavā etadavoca:

One Might Wish

At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Sampannasīlā, bhikkhave, viharatha sampannapātimokkhā, pātimokkhasaṁvarasaṁvutā viharatha ācāragocarasampannā aṇumattesu vajjesu bhayadassāvino, samādāya sikkhatha sikkhāpadesu.

“Mendicants, live by the ethical precepts and the monastic code. Live restrained in the monastic code, conducting yourselves well and resorting for alms in suitable places. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, keep the rules you’ve undertaken.

Ākaṅkheyya ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ‘sabrahmacārīnaṁ piyo cassaṁ manāpo ca garu ca bhāvanīyo cā’ti, sīlesvevassa paripūrakārī ajjhattaṁ cetosamathamanuyutto anirākatajjhāno vipassanāya samannāgato brūhetā suññāgārānaṁ.

A mendicant might wish: ‘May I be liked and approved by my spiritual companions, respected and admired.’ So let them fulfill their precepts, be committed to inner serenity of the heart, not neglect absorption, be endowed with discernment, and frequent empty huts.

Ākaṅkheyya ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ‘lābhī assaṁ cīvarapiṇḍapātasenāsanagilānapaccayabhesajjaparikkhārānan’ti, sīlesvevassa paripūrakārī ajjhattaṁ cetosamathamanuyutto anirākatajjhāno vipassanāya samannāgato brūhetā suññāgārānaṁ.

A mendicant might wish: ‘May I receive robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick.’ So let them fulfill their precepts, be committed to inner serenity of the heart, not neglect absorption, be endowed with discernment, and frequent empty huts.

Ākaṅkheyya ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ‘yesāhaṁ paribhuñjāmi cīvarapiṇḍapātasenāsanagilānapaccayabhesajjaparikkhārānaṁ tesaṁ te kārā mahapphalā assu mahānisaṁsā’ti, sīlesvevassa …pe… brūhetā suññāgārānaṁ.

A mendicant might wish: ‘May the services of those whose robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick I enjoy be very fruitful and beneficial for them.’ So let them fulfill their precepts …

Ākaṅkheyya ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ‘ye me petā ñātī sālohitā kālaṅkatā pasannacittā anussaranti tesaṁ taṁ mahapphalaṁ assa mahānisaṁsan’ti, sīlesvevassa …pe… brūhetā suññāgārānaṁ.

A mendicant might wish: ‘When deceased family and relatives who have passed away recollect me with a confident mind, may this be very fruitful and beneficial for them.’ So let them fulfill their precepts …

Ākaṅkheyya ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ‘santuṭṭho assaṁ itarītaracīvarapiṇḍapātasenāsanagilānapaccayabhesajjaparikkhārenā’ti, sīlesvevassa …pe… brūhetā suññāgārānaṁ.

A mendicant might wish: ‘May I be content with any kind of robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick.’ So let them fulfill their precepts …

Ākaṅkheyya ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ‘khamo assaṁ sītassa uṇhassa jighacchāya pipāsāya ḍaṁsamakasavātātapasarīsapasamphassānaṁ, duruttānaṁ durāgatānaṁ vacanapathānaṁ uppannānaṁ sārīrikānaṁ vedanānaṁ dukkhānaṁ tibbānaṁ kharānaṁ kaṭukānaṁ asātānaṁ amanāpānaṁ pāṇaharānaṁ adhivāsakajātiko assan’ti, sīlesvevassa …pe… brūhetā suññāgārānaṁ.

A mendicant might wish: ‘May I endure cold, heat, hunger, and thirst. May I endure the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and reptiles. May I endure rude and unwelcome criticism. And may I put up with physical pain—sharp, severe, acute, unpleasant, disagreeable, and life-threatening.’ So let them fulfill their precepts …

Ākaṅkheyya ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ‘aratiratisaho assaṁ, na ca maṁ aratirati saheyya, uppannaṁ aratiratiṁ abhibhuyya abhibhuyya vihareyyan’ti, sīlesvevassa …pe… brūhetā suññāgārānaṁ.

A mendicant might wish: ‘May I prevail over desire and discontent, and may desire and discontent not prevail over me. May I live having mastered desire and discontent whenever they have arisen.’ So let them fulfill their precepts …

Ākaṅkheyya ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ‘bhayabheravasaho assaṁ, na ca maṁ bhayabheravo saheyya, uppannaṁ bhayabheravaṁ abhibhuyya abhibhuyya vihareyyan’ti, sīlesvevassa …pe… brūhetā suññāgārānaṁ.

A mendicant might wish: ‘May I prevail over fear and dread, and may fear and dread not prevail over me. May I live having mastered fear and dread whenever they arise.’ So let them fulfill their precepts …

Ākaṅkheyya ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ‘catunnaṁ jhānānaṁ ābhicetasikānaṁ diṭṭhadhammasukhavihārānaṁ nikāmalābhī assaṁ akicchalābhī akasiralābhī’ti, sīlesvevassa …pe… brūhetā suññāgārānaṁ.

A mendicant might wish: ‘May I get the four absorptions—blissful meditations in this life that belong to the higher mind—when I want, without trouble or difficulty.’ So let them fulfill their precepts …

Ākaṅkheyya ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ‘āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihareyyan’ti, sīlesvevassa paripūrakārī ajjhattaṁ cetosamathamanuyutto anirākatajjhāno vipassanāya samannāgato brūhetā suññāgārānaṁ.

A mendicant might wish: ‘May I realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom, and live having realized it with my own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements.’ So let them fulfill their precepts, be committed to inner serenity of the heart, not neglect absorption, be endowed with discernment, and frequent empty huts.

‘Sampannasīlā, bhikkhave, viharatha sampannapātimokkhā, pātimokkhasaṁvarasaṁvutā viharatha ācāragocarasampannā aṇumattesu vajjesu bhayadassāvino, samādāya sikkhatha sikkhāpadesū’ti, iti yaṁ taṁ vuttaṁ, idametaṁ paṭicca vuttan”ti.

‘Live by the ethical precepts and the monastic code. Live restrained in the monastic code, conducting yourselves well and resorting for alms in suitable places. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, keep the rules you’ve undertaken.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it.”