1.
The Discourse on the Lion's Roar
21.
"Monks, a lion, the king of beasts, goes out from his dwelling place in the evening.
Having gone out from his dwelling place, he stretches himself.
Having stretched himself, he surveys all around the four directions.
Having surveyed all around the four directions, he roars the lion's roar three times.
Having roared the lion's roar three times, he departs for his food resort.
What is the reason for this?
'Let me not bring destruction to small creatures gone to uneven places!'
'Lion', monks, this is a designation for the Truth-finder, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One. Whatever, monks, the Truth-finder expounds the Teaching to an assembly, this is his lion's roar.
"There are, monks, these ten powers of the Truth-finder, endowed with which powers the Truth-finder acknowledges a distinguished position, roars the lion's roar in assemblies, and sets in motion the divine wheel. What are the ten? Here, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the possible as possible and the impossible as impossible. That, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the possible as possible and the impossible as impossible - this too, monks, is a power of the Truth-finder, based on which power the Truth-finder acknowledges a distinguished position, roars the lion's roar in assemblies, and sets in motion the divine wheel.
"Furthermore, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the result of undertakings of action past, future, and present, with reason and cause. That, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the result of undertakings of action past, future, and present, with reason and cause - this too, monks, is a power of the Truth-finder, based on which power the Truth-finder acknowledges a distinguished position, roars the lion's roar in assemblies, and sets in motion the divine wheel.
"Furthermore, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the practice leading to all destinations. That, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the practice leading to all destinations - this too, monks, is a power of the Truth-finder, based on which power the Truth-finder acknowledges a distinguished position, roars the lion's roar in assemblies, and sets in motion the divine wheel.
"Furthermore, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the world with its many elements and various elements. That, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the world with its many elements and various elements - this too, monks, is a power of the Truth-finder, etc. sets in motion the divine wheel.
"Furthermore, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the various dispositions of beings. That, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the various dispositions of beings - this too, monks, is a power of the Truth-finder, etc. sets in motion the divine wheel.
"Furthermore, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the superiority and inferiority of the faculties of other beings, of other persons. That, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the superiority and inferiority of the faculties of other beings, of other persons - this too, monks, is a power of the Truth-finder, etc. sets in motion the divine wheel.
"Furthermore, monks, the Truth-finder understands as it really is the defilement, the cleansing, and the emergence from meditative absorptions, deliverances, concentrations, and attainments. That, etc. understands - this too, monks, is a power of the Truth-finder, etc. sets in motion the divine wheel.
"Furthermore, monks, the Truth-finder recollects manifold past lives, as follows - one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many cosmic cycles of universe-contraction, many cosmic cycles of universe-expansion, many cosmic cycles of universe-contraction and expansion: 'There I was, having such a name, such a clan, such beauty, such food, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a life span; passing away from there, I arose there; there too I was, having such a name, such a clan, such beauty, such food, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a life span; passing away from there, I arose here.' Thus with aspects and terms he recollects manifold past lives. That, monks, the Truth-finder recollects manifold past lives, as follows - one birth, two births, etc. thus with aspects and terms he recollects manifold past lives - this too, monks, is a power of the Truth-finder, based on which power the Truth-finder acknowledges a distinguished position, roars the lion's roar in assemblies, and sets in motion the divine wheel.
"Furthermore, monks, the Truth-finder with the divine eye, which is pure and surpasses the human, sees beings passing away and arising, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands beings according to their actions - 'These beings indeed, sirs, endowed with bodily misconduct, endowed with verbal misconduct, endowed with mental misconduct, revilers of the noble ones, holding wrong views, undertaking actions based on wrong views, upon the body's collapse at death, they have arisen in a realm of misery, an unfortunate realm, a nether world, in hell. But these beings, sirs, endowed with bodily good conduct, endowed with verbal good conduct, endowed with mental good conduct, not revilers of the noble ones, holding right views, undertaking actions based on right views, upon the body's collapse at death, they have arisen in a fortunate realm, in a heavenly world.' Thus with the divine eye, which is pure and surpasses the human, he sees beings passing away and arising, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands beings according to their actions. That, monks, the Truth-finder with the divine eye, which is pure and surpasses the human, etc. he understands beings according to their actions - this too, monks, is a power of the Truth-finder, based on which power the Truth-finder acknowledges a distinguished position, roars the lion's roar in assemblies, and sets in motion the divine wheel.
"Furthermore, monks, the Truth-finder, with the elimination of the mental corruptions, in this very life, having realised by direct knowledge himself, having attained, dwells in the liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom that are without mental corruptions. That, monks, the Truth-finder, with the elimination of the mental corruptions, in this very life, having realised by direct knowledge himself, having attained, dwells in the liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom that are without mental corruptions - this too, monks, is a power of the Truth-finder, based on which power the Truth-finder acknowledges a distinguished position, roars the lion's roar in assemblies, and sets in motion the divine wheel.
"These, monks, are the ten powers of the Truth-finder, endowed with which powers the Truth-finder acknowledges a distinguished position, roars the lion's roar in assemblies, and sets in motion the divine wheel." The first.