sutta » an » an4 » Aṅguttara Nikāya 4.122

Ūmibhayasutta

The Danger of Waves

“Cattārimāni, bhikkhave, bhayāni udakorohantassa pāṭikaṅkhitabbāni.
“Mendicants, anyone who enters the water should anticipate four dangers.

Katamāni cattāri?
What four?

Ūmibhayaṁ, kumbhīlabhayaṁ, āvaṭṭabhayaṁ, susukābhayaṁ—
The dangers of waves, gharials, whirlpools, and sharks.

Imāni kho, bhikkhave, cattāri bhayāni udakorohantassa pāṭikaṅkhitabbāni.
These are the four dangers that anyone who enters the water should anticipate.

Evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, cattāri bhayāni idhekaccassa kulaputtassa imasmiṁ dhammavinaye agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajitassa pāṭikaṅkhitabbāni.
In the same way, a gentleman gone forth from the lay life to homelessness in this teaching and training should anticipate four dangers.

Katamāni cattāri?
What four?

Ūmibhayaṁ, kumbhīlabhayaṁ, āvaṭṭabhayaṁ, susukābhayaṁ.
The dangers of waves, gharials, whirlpools, and sharks.

Katamañca, bhikkhave, ūmibhayaṁ?
And what, mendicants, is the danger of waves?

Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco kulaputto saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajito hoti:
It’s when a gentleman has gone forth out of faith from the lay life to homelessness, thinking:

‘otiṇṇomhi jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi, dukkhotiṇṇo dukkhapareto;
‘I’m swamped by rebirth, old age, and death; by sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. I’m swamped by suffering, mired in suffering.

appeva nāma imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriyā paññāyethā’ti.
Hopefully I can find an end to this entire mass of suffering.’

Tamenaṁ tathā pabbajitaṁ samānaṁ sabrahmacārino ovadanti anusāsanti:
When they’ve gone forth, their spiritual companions advise and instruct them:

‘evaṁ te abhikkamitabbaṁ, evaṁ te paṭikkamitabbaṁ, evaṁ te āloketabbaṁ, evaṁ te viloketabbaṁ, evaṁ te samiñjitabbaṁ, evaṁ te pasāritabbaṁ, evaṁ te saṅghāṭipattacīvaraṁ dhāretabban’ti.
‘You should go out like this, and come back like that. You should look to the front like this, and to the side like that. You should contract your limbs like this, and extend them like that. This is how you should bear your outer robe, bowl, and robes.’

Tassa evaṁ hoti:
They think:

‘mayaṁ kho pubbe agāriyabhūtā samānā aññe ovadāmapi anusāsāmapi.
‘Formerly, as laypeople, we advised and instructed others.

Ime panamhākaṁ puttamattā maññe nattamattā maññe ovaditabbaṁ anusāsitabbaṁ maññantī’ti.
And now these mendicants—who you’d think were our children or grandchildren—imagine they can advise and instruct us!’

So kupito anattamano sikkhaṁ paccakkhāya hīnāyāvattati.
Angry and upset, they resign the training and return to a lesser life.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ūmibhayassa bhīto sikkhaṁ paccakkhāya hīnāyāvatto.
This is called a mendicant who rejects the training and returns to a lesser life for fear of the danger of waves.

Ūmibhayanti kho, bhikkhave, kodhūpāyāsassetaṁ adhivacanaṁ.
‘Danger of waves’ is a term for anger and distress.

Idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, ūmibhayaṁ.
This is called the danger of waves.

Katamañca, bhikkhave, kumbhīlabhayaṁ?
And what, mendicants, is the danger of gharials?

Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco kulaputto saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajito hoti:
It’s when a gentleman has gone forth out of faith from the lay life to homelessness …

‘otiṇṇomhi jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi, dukkhotiṇṇo dukkhapareto;

appeva nāma imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriyā paññāyethā’ti.

Tamenaṁ tathā pabbajitaṁ samānaṁ sabrahmacārino ovadanti anusāsanti:
When they’ve gone forth, their spiritual companions advise and instruct them:

‘idaṁ te khāditabbaṁ, idaṁ te na khāditabbaṁ, idaṁ te bhuñjitabbaṁ, idaṁ te na bhuñjitabbaṁ, idaṁ te sāyitabbaṁ, idaṁ te na sāyitabbaṁ, idaṁ te pātabbaṁ, idaṁ te na pātabbaṁ, kappiyaṁ te khāditabbaṁ, akappiyaṁ te na khāditabbaṁ, kappiyaṁ te bhuñjitabbaṁ, akappiyaṁ te na bhuñjitabbaṁ, kappiyaṁ te sāyitabbaṁ, akappiyaṁ te na sāyitabbaṁ, kappiyaṁ te pātabbaṁ, akappiyaṁ te na pātabbaṁ, kāle te khāditabbaṁ, vikāle te na khāditabbaṁ, kāle te bhuñjitabbaṁ, vikāle te na bhuñjitabbaṁ, kāle te sāyitabbaṁ, vikāle te na sāyitabbaṁ, kāle te pātabbaṁ, vikāle te na pātabban’ti.
‘You may eat, consume, taste, and drink these things, but not those. You may eat what’s allowable, but not what’s unallowable. You may eat at the right time, but not at the wrong time.’

Tassa evaṁ hoti:
They think:

‘mayaṁ kho pubbe agāriyabhūtā samānā yaṁ icchāma taṁ khādāma, yaṁ na icchāma na taṁ khādāma;
‘Formerly, as laypeople, we used to eat, consume, taste, and drink what we wanted, not what we didn’t want.

yaṁ icchāma taṁ bhuñjāma, yaṁ na icchāma na taṁ bhuñjāma;

yaṁ icchāma taṁ sāyāma, yaṁ na icchāma na taṁ sāyāma;

yaṁ icchāma taṁ pivāma, yaṁ na icchāma na taṁ pivāma;

kappiyampi khādāma akappiyampi khādāma kappiyampi bhuñjāma akappiyampi bhuñjāma kappiyampi sāyāma akappiyampi sāyāma kappiyampi pivāma akappiyampi pivāma, kālepi khādāma vikālepi khādāma kālepi bhuñjāma vikālepi bhuñjāma kālepi sāyāma vikālepi sāyāma kālepi pivāma vikālepi pivāma;
We ate and drank both allowable and unallowable things, at the right time and the wrong time.

yampi no saddhā gahapatikā divā vikāle paṇītaṁ khādanīyaṁ vā bhojanīyaṁ vā denti, tatrapime mukhāvaraṇaṁ maññe karontī’ti.
And these faithful householders give us delicious fresh and cooked foods at the wrong time of day. But these guys imagine they can gag our mouths!’

So kupito anattamano sikkhaṁ paccakkhāya hīnāyāvattati.
Angry and upset, they resign the training and return to a lesser life.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu kumbhīlabhayassa bhīto sikkhaṁ paccakkhāya hīnāyāvatto.
This is called a mendicant who rejects the training and returns to a lesser life for fear of the danger of gharials.

Kumbhīlabhayanti kho, bhikkhave, odarikattassetaṁ adhivacanaṁ.
‘Danger of gharials’ is a term for gluttony.

Idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, kumbhīlabhayaṁ.
This is called the danger of gharials.

Katamañca, bhikkhave, āvaṭṭabhayaṁ?
And what, mendicants, is the danger of whirlpools?

Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco kulaputto saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajito hoti:
It’s when a gentleman has gone forth out of faith from the lay life to homelessness …

‘otiṇṇomhi jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi, dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi dukkhotiṇṇo dukkhapareto;

appeva nāma imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriyā paññāyethā’ti.

So evaṁ pabbajito samāno pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya gāmaṁ vā nigamaṁ vā piṇḍāya pavisati arakkhiteneva kāyena arakkhitāya vācāya arakkhitena cittena anupaṭṭhitāya satiyā asaṁvutehi indriyehi.
When they’ve gone forth, they robe up in the morning and, taking their bowl and robe, enter a village or town for alms without guarding body, speech, and mind, without establishing mindfulness, and without restraining the sense faculties.

So tattha passati gahapatiṁ vā gahapatiputtaṁ vā pañcahi kāmaguṇehi samappitaṁ samaṅgībhūtaṁ paricārayamānaṁ.
There they see a householder or their child amusing themselves, supplied and provided with the five kinds of sensual stimulation.

Tassa evaṁ hoti:
They think:

‘mayaṁ kho pubbe agāriyabhūtā samānā pañcahi kāmaguṇehi samappitā samaṅgībhūtā paricārimhā;
‘Formerly, as laypeople, we amused ourselves, supplied and provided with the five kinds of sensual stimulation.

saṁvijjanti kho pana me kule bhogā.
And it’s true that my family is wealthy.

Sakkā bhoge ca bhuñjituṁ puññāni ca kātuṁ.
I can both enjoy my wealth and make merit.

Yannūnāhaṁ sikkhaṁ paccakkhāya hīnāyāvattitvā bhoge ca bhuñjeyyaṁ puññāni ca kareyyan’ti.
Why don’t I resign the training and return to a lesser life, so I can enjoy my wealth and make merit?’

So sikkhaṁ paccakkhāya hīnāyāvattati.
They resign the training and return to a lesser life.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu āvaṭṭabhayassa bhīto sikkhaṁ paccakkhāya hīnāyāvatto.
This is called a mendicant who rejects the training and returns to a lesser life for fear of the danger of whirlpools.

Āvaṭṭabhayanti kho, bhikkhave, pañcannetaṁ kāmaguṇānaṁ adhivacanaṁ.
‘Danger of whirlpools’ is a term for the five kinds of sensual stimulation.

Idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, āvaṭṭabhayaṁ.
This is called the danger of whirlpools.

Katamañca, bhikkhave, susukābhayaṁ?
And what, mendicants, is the danger of sharks?

Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco kulaputto saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajito hoti:
It’s when a gentleman has gone forth out of faith from the lay life to homelessness …

‘otiṇṇomhi jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi, dukkhotiṇṇo dukkhapareto;

appeva nāma imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriyā paññāyethā’ti.

So evaṁ pabbajito samāno pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya gāmaṁ vā nigamaṁ vā piṇḍāya pavisati arakkhiteneva kāyena arakkhitāya vācāya arakkhitena cittena anupaṭṭhitāya satiyā asaṁvutehi indriyehi.
When they’ve gone forth, they robe up in the morning and, taking their bowl and robe, enter a village or town for alms without guarding body, speech, and mind, without establishing mindfulness, and without restraining the sense faculties.

So tattha passati mātugāmaṁ dunnivatthaṁ vā duppārutaṁ vā.
There they see a female scantily clad, with revealing clothes.

Tassa mātugāmaṁ disvā dunnivatthaṁ vā duppārutaṁ vā rāgo cittaṁ anuddhaṁseti.
Lust infects their mind,

So rāgānuddhaṁsitena cittena sikkhaṁ paccakkhāya hīnāyāvattati.
so they resign the training and return to a lesser life.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu susukābhayassa bhīto sikkhaṁ paccakkhāya hīnāyāvatto.
This is called a mendicant who rejects the training and returns to a lesser life because they’re afraid of the danger of sharks.

Susukābhayanti kho, bhikkhave, mātugāmassetaṁ adhivacanaṁ.
‘Danger of sharks’ is a term for females.

Idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, susukābhayaṁ.
This is called the danger of sharks.

Imāni kho, bhikkhave, cattāri bhayāni idhekaccassa kulaputtassa imasmiṁ dhammavinaye agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajitassa pāṭikaṅkhitabbānī”ti.
These are the four dangers that a gentleman gone forth from the lay life to homelessness in this teaching and training should anticipate.”

Dutiyaṁ.