Aṅguttara Nikāya 5.77
Translators: sujato
Numbered Discourses 5.77
8. Yodhājīvavagga
8. Warriors
Paṭhamaanāgatabhayasutta
Future Perils (1st)
“Pañcimāni, bhikkhave, anāgatabhayāni sampassamānena alameva āraññikena bhikkhunā appamattena ātāpinā pahitattena viharituṁ appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāya.
“Mendicants, seeing these five future perils is quite enough for a wilderness mendicant to meditate diligently, keenly, and resolutely for attaining the unattained, achieving the unachieved, and realizing the unrealized.
Katamāni pañca?
What five?
Idha, bhikkhave, āraññiko bhikkhu iti paṭisañcikkhati:
Firstly, a wilderness mendicant reflects:
‘ahaṁ kho etarahi ekako araññe viharāmi.
‘Currently I’m living alone in a wilderness.
Ekakaṁ kho pana maṁ araññe viharantaṁ
While living here alone
ahi vā maṁ ḍaṁseyya, vicchiko vā maṁ ḍaṁseyya, satapadī vā maṁ ḍaṁseyya,
I might get bitten by a snake, a scorpion, or a centipede.
tena me assa kālaṅkiriyā, so mamassa antarāyo;
And if I died from that it would be an obstacle to my progress.
handāhaṁ vīriyaṁ ārabhāmi appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāyā’ti.
I’d better rouse up energy for attaining the unattained, achieving the unachieved, and realizing the unrealized.’
Idaṁ, bhikkhave, paṭhamaṁ anāgatabhayaṁ sampassamānena alameva āraññikena bhikkhunā appamattena ātāpinā pahitattena viharituṁ appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāya.
This is the first future peril …
Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, āraññiko bhikkhu iti paṭisañcikkhati:
Furthermore, a wilderness mendicant reflects:
‘ahaṁ kho etarahi ekako araññe viharāmi.
‘Currently I’m living alone in a wilderness.
Ekako kho panāhaṁ araññe viharanto
While living here alone
upakkhalitvā vā papateyyaṁ, bhattaṁ vā bhuttaṁ me byāpajjeyya, pittaṁ vā me kuppeyya, semhaṁ vā me kuppeyya, satthakā vā me vātā kuppeyyuṁ,
I might stumble off a cliff, or get food poisoning, or suffer a disturbance of bile, phlegm, or piercing winds.
tena me assa kālaṅkiriyā, so mamassa antarāyo;
And if I died from that it would be an obstacle to my progress.
handāhaṁ vīriyaṁ ārabhāmi appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāyā’ti.
I’d better rouse up energy for attaining the unattained, achieving the unachieved, and realizing the unrealized.’
Idaṁ, bhikkhave, dutiyaṁ anāgatabhayaṁ sampassamānena alameva āraññikena bhikkhunā appamattena ātāpinā pahitattena viharituṁ appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāya.
This is the second future peril …
Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, āraññiko bhikkhu iti paṭisañcikkhati:
Furthermore, a wilderness mendicant reflects:
‘ahaṁ kho etarahi ekako araññe viharāmi.
‘Currently I’m living alone in a wilderness.
Ekako kho panāhaṁ araññe viharanto
While living here alone
vāḷehi samāgaccheyyaṁ, sīhena vā byagghena vā dīpinā vā acchena vā taracchena vā, te maṁ jīvitā voropeyyuṁ,
I might encounter wild beasts—a lion, a tiger, a leopard, a bear, or a hyena—which might take my life.
tena me assa kālaṅkiriyā, so mamassa antarāyo;
And if I died from that it would be an obstacle to my progress.
handāhaṁ vīriyaṁ ārabhāmi appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāyā’ti.
I’d better rouse up energy for attaining the unattained, achieving the unachieved, and realizing the unrealized.’
Idaṁ, bhikkhave, tatiyaṁ anāgatabhayaṁ sampassamānena alameva āraññikena bhikkhunā appamattena ātāpinā pahitattena viharituṁ appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāya.
This is the third future peril …
Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, āraññiko bhikkhu iti paṭisañcikkhati:
Furthermore, a wilderness mendicant reflects:
‘ahaṁ kho etarahi ekako araññe viharāmi.
‘Currently I’m living alone in a wilderness.
Ekako kho panāhaṁ araññe viharanto
While living here alone
māṇavehi samāgaccheyyaṁ katakammehi vā akatakammehi vā, te maṁ jīvitā voropeyyuṁ,
I might encounter youths escaping a crime or on their way to commit one, and they might take my life.
tena me assa kālaṅkiriyā, so mamassa antarāyo;
And if I died from that it would be an obstacle to my progress.
handāhaṁ vīriyaṁ ārabhāmi appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāyā’ti.
I’d better rouse up energy for attaining the unattained, achieving the unachieved, and realizing the unrealized.’
Idaṁ, bhikkhave, catutthaṁ anāgatabhayaṁ sampassamānena alameva āraññikena bhikkhunā appamattena ātāpinā pahitattena viharituṁ appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāya.
This is the fourth future peril …
Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, āraññiko bhikkhu iti paṭisañcikkhati:
Furthermore, a wilderness mendicant reflects:
‘ahaṁ kho etarahi ekako araññe viharāmi.
‘Currently I’m living alone in a wilderness.
Santi kho panāraññe vāḷā amanussā, te maṁ jīvitā voropeyyuṁ,
But in a wilderness there are savage monsters who might take my life.
tena me assa kālaṅkiriyā, so mamassa antarāyo;
And if I died from that it would be an obstacle to my progress.
handāhaṁ vīriyaṁ ārabhāmi appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāyā’ti.
I’d better rouse up energy for attaining the unattained, achieving the unachieved, and realizing the unrealized.’
Idaṁ, bhikkhave, pañcamaṁ anāgatabhayaṁ sampassamānena alameva āraññikena bhikkhunā appamattena ātāpinā pahitattena viharituṁ appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāya.
This is the fifth future peril …
Imāni kho, bhikkhave, pañca anāgatabhayāni sampassamānena alameva āraññikena bhikkhunā appamattena ātāpinā pahitattena viharituṁ appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāyā”ti.
These are the five future perils, seeing which is quite enough for a wilderness mendicant to meditate diligently, keenly, and resolutely for attaining the unattained, achieving the unachieved, and realizing the unrealized.”
Sattamaṁ.