{"collection":"Majjhima Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_mn25/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_mn25","id":"suttacentral_mn25","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/mn25/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Majjhima Nikaya"],"text":"So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near S\u0101vatth\u012b in Jeta\u2019s Grove, An\u0101thapi\u1e47\u1e0dika\u2019s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, \u201cMendicants!\u201d \u201cVenerable sir,\u201d they replied. The Buddha said this: \u201cMendicants, a sower does not sow seed for deer thinking, \u2018May the deer, enjoying this seed, be long-lived and beautiful. May they live long and prosper!\u2019 A sower sows seed for deer thinking, \u2018When these deer encroach on where I sow the seed, they\u2019ll recklessly enjoy eating it. They\u2019ll become indulgent, then they\u2019ll become negligent, and then I\u2019ll be able to do what I want with them on account of this seed.\u2019 And indeed, the first herd of deer encroached on where the sower sowed the seed and recklessly enjoyed eating it. They became indulgent, then they became negligent, and then the sower was able to do what he wanted with them on account of that seed. And that\u2019s how the first herd of deer failed to get free from the sower\u2019s power. So then a second herd of deer thought up a plan, \u2018The first herd of deer became indulgent \u2026 and failed to get free of the sower\u2019s power. Why don\u2019t we refrain from eating the seed altogether? Refraining from dangerous food, we can venture deep into a wilderness region and live there.\u2019 And that\u2019s just what they did. But when it came to the last month of summer, the grass and water ran out. Their bodies became much too thin, and they lost their strength and energy. So they returned to where the sower had sown the seed. Encroaching, they recklessly enjoyed eating it \u2026 And that\u2019s how the second herd of deer failed to get free from the sower\u2019s power. So then a third herd of deer thought up a plan, \u2018The first \u2026 and second herds of deer \u2026 failed to get free of the sower\u2019s power. Why don\u2019t we set up our lair close by where the sower has sown the seed? Then we can encroach and enjoy eating without being reckless. We won\u2019t become indulgent, then we won\u2019t become negligent, and then the sower won\u2019t be able to do what he wants with us on account of that seed.\u2019 And that\u2019s just what they did. So the sower and his helpers thought, \u2018Wow, this third herd of deer is so sneaky and devious, they must be some kind of strange spirits with magical abilities! For they eat the seed we\u2019ve sown without us knowing how they come and go. Why don\u2019t we surround the seed on all sides by staking out high nets? Hopefully we might get to see the lair where they go to hide out.\u2019 And that\u2019s just what they did. And they saw the lair where the third herd of deer went to hide out. And that\u2019s how the third herd failed to get free from the sower\u2019s power. So then a fourth herd of deer thought up a plan, \u2018The first \u2026 second \u2026 and third herds of deer \u2026 failed to get free of the sower\u2019s power. Why don\u2019t we set up our lair somewhere the sower and his helpers can\u2019t go? Then we can intrude on where the sower has sown the seed and enjoy eating it without being reckless. We won\u2019t become indulgent, then we won\u2019t become negligent, and then the sower won\u2019t be able to do with us what he wants on account of that seed.\u2019 And that\u2019s just what they did. So the sower and his helpers thought, \u2018Wow, this fourth herd of deer is so sneaky and devious, they must be some kind of strange spirits with magical abilities! For they eat the seed we\u2019ve sown without us knowing how they come and go. Why don\u2019t we surround the seed on all sides by staking out high nets? Hopefully we might get to see the lair where they go to hide out.\u2019 And that\u2019s just what they did. But they couldn\u2019t see the lair where the fourth herd of deer went to hide out. So the sower and his helpers thought, \u2018If we disturb this fourth herd of deer, they\u2019ll disturb others, who in turn will disturb even more. Then all of the deer will escape this seed we\u2019ve sown. Why don\u2019t we just keep an eye on that fourth herd?\u2019 And that\u2019s just what they did. And that\u2019s how the fourth herd of deer escaped the sower\u2019s power. I\u2019ve made up this simile to make a point. And this is what it means. \u2018Seed\u2019 is a term for the five kinds of sensual stimulation. \u2018Sower\u2019 is a term for M\u0101ra the Wicked. \u2018Sower\u2019s helpers\u2019 is a term for M\u0101ra\u2019s assembly. \u2018Deer\u2019 is a term for ascetics and brahmins. Now, the first group of ascetics and brahmins encroached on where the seed and the worldly pleasures of the flesh were sown by M\u0101ra and recklessly enjoyed eating it. They became indulgent, then they became negligent, and then M\u0101ra was able to do what he wanted with them on account of that seed and the worldly pleasures of the flesh. And that\u2019s how the first group of ascetics and brahmins failed to get free from M\u0101ra\u2019s power. This first group of ascetics and brahmins is just like the first herd of deer, I say. So then a second group of ascetics and brahmins thought up a plan, \u2018The first group of ascetics and brahmins became indulgent \u2026 and failed to get free of M\u0101ra\u2019s power. Why don\u2019t we refrain from eating the seed and the worldly pleasures of the flesh altogether? Refraining from dangerous food, we can venture deep into a wilderness region and live there.\u2019 And that\u2019s just what they did. They ate herbs, millet, wild rice, poor rice, water lettuce, rice bran, scum from boiling rice, sesame flour, grass, or cow dung. They survived on forest roots and fruits, or eating fallen fruit. But when it came to the last month of summer, the grass and water ran out. Their bodies became much too thin, and they lost their strength and energy. Because of this, they lost their heart\u2019s release, so they went back to where M\u0101ra had sown the seed and the worldly pleasures of the flesh. Intruding on that place, they recklessly enjoyed eating them \u2026 And that\u2019s how the second group of ascetics and brahmins failed to get free from M\u0101ra\u2019s power. This second group of ascetics and brahmins is just like the second herd of deer, I say. So then a third group of ascetics and brahmins thought up a plan, \u2018The first \u2026 and second groups of ascetics and brahmins \u2026 failed to get free of M\u0101ra\u2019s power. Why don\u2019t we set up our lair close by where M\u0101ra has sown the seed and those worldly pleasures of the flesh? Then we can encroach on it and enjoy eating without being reckless. We won\u2019t become indulgent, then we won\u2019t become negligent, and then M\u0101ra won\u2019t be able to do what he wants with us on account of that seed and those worldly pleasures of the flesh.\u2019 And that\u2019s just what they did. Still, they had such views as these: \u2018The cosmos is eternal\u2019 or \u2018The cosmos is not eternal\u2019; \u2018The cosmos is finite\u2019 or \u2018The cosmos is infinite\u2019; \u2018The soul and the body are one and the same\u2019 or \u2018The soul is one thing, the body another\u2019; or that after death, a realized one still exists, or no longer exists, or both still exists and no longer exists, or neither still exists nor no longer exists. And that\u2019s how the third group of ascetics and brahmins failed to get free from M\u0101ra\u2019s power. This third group of ascetics and brahmins is just like the third herd of deer, I say. So then a fourth group of ascetics and brahmins thought up a plan, \u2018The first \u2026 second \u2026 and third groups of ascetics and brahmins \u2026 failed to get free of M\u0101ra\u2019s power. Why don\u2019t we set up our lair where M\u0101ra and his assembly can\u2019t go? Then we can encroach on where M\u0101ra has sown the seed and those worldly pleasures of the flesh, and enjoy eating without being reckless. We won\u2019t become indulgent, then we won\u2019t become negligent, and then M\u0101ra won\u2019t be able to do what he wants with us on account of that seed and those worldly pleasures of the flesh.\u2019 And that\u2019s just what they did. And that\u2019s how the fourth group of ascetics and brahmins got free from M\u0101ra\u2019s power. This fourth group of ascetics and brahmins is just like the fourth herd of deer, I say. And where is it that M\u0101ra and his assembly can\u2019t go? It\u2019s when a mendicant, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra, put out his eyes without a trace, and gone where the Wicked One cannot see. Furthermore, as the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, a mendicant enters and remains in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, with the fading away of rapture, a mendicant enters and remains in the third absorption, where they meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, experiencing for themselves the bliss of which the noble ones declare, \u2018Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.\u2019 This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, with the giving up of pleasure and pain and the disappearance of former happiness and sadness, a mendicant enters and remains in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that \u2018space is infinite\u2019, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite space. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite space, aware that \u2018consciousness is infinite\u2019, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite consciousness. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, aware that \u2018there is nothing at all\u2019, enters and remains in the dimension of nothingness. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of nothingness, enters and remains in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And, having seen with wisdom, their defilements come to an end. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra, put out his eyes without a trace, and gone where the Wicked One cannot see. And they\u2019ve crossed over clinging to the world.\u201d That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said.","title":"Sowing","tradition":"Majjhima Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":1892}