2.
The Discourse on the Peril of Waves
122.
"Monks, there are these four dangers to be expected for one entering the water.
What are the four?
The danger of waves, the danger of crocodiles, the danger of whirlpools, the danger of fierce fish -
these, monks, are the four dangers to be expected for one entering the water.
So too, monks, there are these four dangers to be expected for a certain son of good family here who has gone forth from home into homelessness in this Teaching and discipline.
What are the four?
The danger of waves, the danger of crocodiles, the danger of whirlpools, the danger of fierce fish.
"And what, monks, is the danger of waves? Here, monks, a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering; perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' Him, having thus gone forth, his fellows in the holy life exhort and instruct - 'Thus you should step forward, thus you should step back, thus you should look ahead, thus you should look around, thus you should bend, thus you should stretch, thus you should wear the double robe, bowl and robes.' He thinks thus: 'Formerly, when we were living the household life, we used to exhort others, we used to instruct others. But these, who are like our sons, methinks, who are like our grandsons, methinks, think they should exhort us, think they should instruct us.' He, angry and displeased, having rejected the training, returns to the lower life. This is called, monks, a monk who, frightened by the danger of waves, has rejected the training and returned to the lower life. 'Danger of waves', monks, is a designation for wrath and anguish. This is called, monks, the danger of waves.
"And what, monks, is the danger of crocodiles? Here, monks, a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering; perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' Him, having thus gone forth, his fellows in the holy life exhort and instruct - 'This should be eaten by you, this should not be eaten by you; this should be consumed by you, this should not be consumed by you; this should be tasted by you, this should not be tasted by you; this should be drunk by you, this should not be drunk by you; what is allowable should be eaten by you, what is not allowable should not be eaten by you; what is allowable should be consumed by you, what is not allowable should not be consumed by you; what is allowable should be tasted by you, what is not allowable should not be tasted by you; what is allowable should be drunk by you, what is not allowable should not be drunk by you; at the proper time it should be eaten by you, at the improper time it should not be eaten by you; at the proper time it should be consumed by you, at the improper time it should not be consumed by you; at the proper time it should be tasted by you, at the improper time it should not be tasted by you; at the proper time it should be drunk by you, at the improper time it should not be drunk by you.' He thinks thus: 'Formerly, when we were living the household life, whatever we wished, that we ate; whatever we did not wish, that we did not eat; whatever we wished, that we consumed; whatever we did not wish, that we did not consume; whatever we wished, that we tasted; whatever we did not wish, that we did not taste; whatever we wished, that we drank; whatever we did not wish, that we did not drink; we ate what was allowable and we ate what was not allowable; we consumed what was allowable and we consumed what was not allowable; we tasted what was allowable and we tasted what was not allowable; we drank what was allowable and we drank what was not allowable; we ate at the proper time and we ate at the improper time; we consumed at the proper time and we consumed at the improper time; we tasted at the proper time and we tasted at the improper time; we drank at the proper time and we drank at the improper time; whatever excellent solid food or soft food faithful householders give us during the day at the improper time, these ones, methinks, are putting an obstruction over our mouths.' He, angry and displeased, having rejected the training, returns to the lower life. This is called, monks, a monk who, frightened by the danger of crocodiles, has rejected the training and returned to the lower life. 'Danger of crocodiles', monks, is a designation for gluttony. This is called, monks, the danger of crocodiles.
"And what, monks, is the danger of whirlpools? Here, monks, a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering; perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, in the earlier period of the day, having dressed, taking his bowl and robe, enters a village or a market town for almsfood with body unguarded, with speech unguarded, with mind unguarded, with mindfulness not established, with faculties unrestrained. He there sees a householder or a householder's son endowed and furnished with the five kinds of sensual pleasure, indulging himself. He thinks thus: 'Formerly, when we were living the household life, we were endowed and furnished with the five kinds of sensual pleasure, we indulged ourselves; there are indeed wealth in my family. It is possible both to enjoy wealth and to make merit. What if I were to reject the training and, having returned to the lower life, both enjoy wealth and make merit!' He rejects the training and returns to the lower life. This is called, monks, a monk who, frightened by the danger of whirlpools, has rejected the training and returned to the lower life. 'Danger of whirlpools', monks, is a designation for these five kinds of sensual pleasure. This is called, monks, the danger of whirlpools.
"And what, monks, is the danger of fierce fish? Here, monks, a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering; perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, in the earlier period of the day, having dressed, taking his bowl and robe, enters a village or a market town for almsfood with body unguarded, with speech unguarded, with mind unguarded, with mindfulness not established, with faculties unrestrained. He there sees a woman improperly dressed or improperly clothed. Having seen a woman improperly dressed or improperly clothed, lust assails his mind. He, with mind assailed by lust, having rejected the training, returns to the lower life. This is called, monks, a monk who, frightened by the danger of fierce fish, has rejected the training and returned to the lower life. 'Danger of fierce fish', monks, is a designation for womankind. This is called, monks, the danger of fierce fish. These, monks, are the four dangers to be expected for a certain son of good family here who has gone forth from home into homelessness in this Teaching and discipline." The second.