sutta » sn » sn17 » Saṁyutta Nikāya 17.2

Baḷisasutta

A Hook

Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.
At Sāvatthī.

“Dāruṇo, bhikkhave, lābhasakkārasiloko kaṭuko pharuso antarāyiko anuttarassa yogakkhemassa adhigamāya.
“Possessions, honor, and popularity are brutal, bitter, and harsh. They’re an obstacle to reaching the supreme sanctuary from the yoke.

Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, bāḷisiko āmisagataṁ baḷisaṁ gambhīre udakarahade pakkhipeyya.
Suppose a fisherman was to cast a baited hook into a deep lake.

Tamenaṁ aññataro āmisacakkhu maccho gileyya.
Seeing the bait, a fish would swallow it.

Evañhi so, bhikkhave, maccho gilabaḷiso bāḷisikassa anayaṁ āpanno byasanaṁ āpanno yathākāmakaraṇīyo bāḷisikassa.
And so the fish that swallowed the hook would meet with tragedy and disaster, and the fisherman can do what he wants with it.

Bāḷisikoti kho, bhikkhave, mārassetaṁ pāpimato adhivacanaṁ.
‘Fisherman’ is a term for Māra the Wicked.

Baḷisanti kho, bhikkhave, lābhasakkārasilokassetaṁ adhivacanaṁ.
‘Hook’ is a term for possessions, honor, and popularity.

Yo hi koci, bhikkhave, bhikkhu uppannaṁ lābhasakkārasilokaṁ assādeti nikāmeti, ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu gilabaḷiso mārassa anayaṁ āpanno byasanaṁ āpanno yathākāmakaraṇīyo pāpimato.
Whoever enjoys and likes arisen possessions, honor, and popularity is called a mendicant who has swallowed Māra’s hook. They’ve met with tragedy and disaster, and the Wicked One can do with them what he wants.

Evaṁ dāruṇo kho, bhikkhave, lābhasakkārasiloko kaṭuko pharuso antarāyiko anuttarassa yogakkhemassa adhigamāya.
So brutal are possessions, honor, and popularity—bitter and harsh, an obstacle to reaching the supreme sanctuary from the yoke.

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ:
So you should train like this:

‘uppannaṁ lābhasakkārasilokaṁ pajahissāma, na ca no uppanno lābhasakkārasiloko cittaṁ pariyādāya ṭhassatī’ti.
‘We will give up arisen possessions, honor, and popularity, and we won’t let them occupy our minds.’

Evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.
That’s how you should train.”

Dutiyaṁ.