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1. Kāyapiyāyanapañha

Love of the Body Question

Rājā āha—
The king asked:

“bhante nāgasena, piyo pabbajitānaṁ kāyo”ti?
“Venerable Nāgasena, is the body dear to recluses?”

“Na kho, mahārāja, piyo pabbajitānaṁ kāyo”ti.
“No, your majesty, the body is not dear to recluses.”

“Atha kissa nu kho, bhante, kelāyatha mamāyathā”ti?
“Then, venerable sir, why do you cherish and treasure it?”

“Kiṁ pana te, mahārāja, kadāci karahaci saṅgāmagatassa kaṇḍappahāro hotī”ti?
“But, your majesty, when you have gone into battle have you been struck by arrows from time to time?”

“Āma, bhante, hotī”ti.
“Yes, venerable sir, I have”

“Kiṁ nu kho, mahārāja, so vaṇo ālepena ca ālimpīyati telena ca makkhīyati sukhumena ca coḷapaṭṭena paliveṭhīyatī”ti?
“And would the wound, your majesty, be anointed with a salve, smeared with oil, and wrapped in a soft bandage?”

“Āma, bhante, ālepena ca ālimpīyati telena ca makkhīyati sukhumena ca coḷapaṭṭena paliveṭhīyatī”ti.
“Yes, venerable sir, the wound would be.”

“Kiṁ nu kho, mahārāja, piyo te vaṇo, tena ālepena ca ālimpīyati telena ca makkhīyati sukhumena ca coḷapaṭṭena paliveṭhīyatī”ti?
“And was the wound dear to you, your majesty, that it was anointed with a salve, smeared with oil, and wrapped in a soft bandage?”

“Na me, bhante, piyo vaṇo, api ca maṁsassa ruhanatthāya ālepena ca ālimpīyati telena ca makkhīyati sukhumena ca coḷapaṭṭena paliveṭhīyatī”ti.
“No, venerable sir, the wound was not dear to me, it was for the healing of the flesh that it was anointed with a salve, smeared with oil, and wrapped in a soft bandage.”

“Evameva kho, mahārāja, appiyo pabbajitānaṁ kāyo, atha ca pabbajitā anajjhositā kāyaṁ pariharanti brahmacariyānuggahāya.
“In the same way, your majesty, the body is not dear to recluses, but recluses look after the body without attachment for the maintenance of the holy life.

Api ca kho, mahārāja, vaṇūpamo kāyo vutto bhagavatā, tena pabbajitā vaṇamiva kāyaṁ pariharanti anajjhositā.
And moreover, your majesty, the body is said by the Blessed One to be like a wound, and therefore recluses look after the body as they would a wound without attachment.

Bhāsitampetaṁ, mahārāja, bhagavatā—
And this too, your majesty, was said by the Blessed One:

‘Allacammappaṭicchanno,
‘Covered with moist skin,

navadvāro mahāvaṇo;
the great wound with nine openings

Samantato paggharati,
Oozes everywhere

asucipūtigandhiyo’”ti.
putrid-smelling secretions.’”

“Kallosi, bhante nāgasenā”ti.
“You are clever, venerable Nāgasena.”

Kāyapiyāyanapañho paṭhamo.
Love of the Body Question first