Numbered Discourses 3.133
- A Warrior
A Warrior
“Mendicants, a warrior with three factors is worthy of a king, fit to serve a king, and is reckoned as a factor of kingship.
What three?
He’s a long-distance shooter, a marksman, one who shatters large objects.
A warrior with these three factors is worthy of a king, fit to serve a king, and is reckoned as a factor of kingship.
In the same way, a mendicant with three factors is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of veneration with cupped palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world.
What three?
They’re a long-distance shooter, a marksman, and one who shatters large objects.
And how is a mendicant a long-distance shooter?
It’s when a mendicant truly sees any kind of form at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: all form—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’
They truly see any kind of feeling at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: all feeling—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’
They truly see any kind of perception at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: all perception—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’
They truly see any kind of choices at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: all choices—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’
They truly see any kind of consciousness at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near, all consciousness—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’
That’s how a mendicant is a long-distance shooter.
And how is a mendicant a marksman?
It’s when a mendicant truly understands: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’.
That’s how a mendicant is a marksman.
And how does a mendicant shatter large objects?
It’s when a mendicant shatters the great mass of ignorance.
That’s how a mendicant shatters large objects.
A mendicant with these three qualities is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of veneration with cupped palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world.”