1.
The Discourse on Kesi
111.
Then Kesi, the horse trainer, approached the Blessed One;
having approached, he paid respect to the Blessed One and sat down to one side.
To Kesi, the horse trainer, seated to one side, the Blessed One said this:
"You, Kesi, are known as a horse trainer.
But how do you, Kesi, train a horse to be trained?"
"I, venerable sir, train a horse to be trained with smoothness, with harshness, and with both smoothness and harshness."
"If, Kesi, your horse to be trained does not submit to training with smoothness, does not submit to training with harshness, does not submit to training with both smoothness and harshness, what do you do to it?"
"If, venerable sir, my horse to be trained does not submit to training with smoothness, does not submit to training with harshness, does not submit to training with both smoothness and harshness;
I kill it, venerable sir.
What is the reason for this?
May there not be disrepute for my teacher's lineage."
"But the Blessed One, venerable sir, is the unsurpassed trainer of persons to be tamed. But how, venerable sir, does the Blessed One train a person to be tamed?" "I, Kesi, train a person to be tamed with smoothness, with harshness, and with both smoothness and harshness. Herein this, Kesi, is the smoothness - 'Thus is bodily good conduct, thus is the result of bodily good conduct; thus is good verbal conduct, thus is the result of good verbal conduct; thus is good mental conduct, thus is the result of good mental conduct; thus are gods, thus are human beings.' Herein this, Kesi, is the harshness - 'Thus is bodily misconduct, thus is the result of bodily misconduct; thus is verbal misconduct, thus is the result of verbal misconduct; thus is mental misconduct, thus is the result of mental misconduct; thus is hell, thus is the animal realm, thus is the sphere of ghosts.'
"Herein this, Kesi, is both smoothness and harshness - 'Thus is bodily good conduct, thus is the result of bodily good conduct; thus is bodily misconduct, thus is the result of bodily misconduct; thus is good verbal conduct, thus is the result of good verbal conduct; thus is verbal misconduct, thus is the result of verbal misconduct; thus is good mental conduct, thus is the result of good mental conduct; thus is mental misconduct, thus is the result of mental misconduct; thus are gods, thus are human beings, thus is hell, thus is the animal realm, thus is the sphere of ghosts.'"
"If, venerable sir, your person to be tamed does not submit to training with smoothness, does not submit to training with harshness, does not submit to training with both smoothness and harshness, what does the Blessed One do to him?" "If, Kesi, my person to be tamed does not submit to training with smoothness, does not submit to training with harshness, does not submit to training with both smoothness and harshness, I kill him, Kesi." "But, venerable sir, killing living beings is not allowable for the Blessed One. And yet the Blessed One says thus - 'I kill him, Kesi'!" "True, Kesi! Killing living beings is not allowable for the Truth-finder. But whatever person to be tamed does not submit to training with smoothness, does not submit to training with harshness, does not submit to training with both smoothness and harshness, the Truth-finder does not think he should be spoken to or instructed, nor do wise fellow monks in the holy life think he should be spoken to or instructed. This is murder, Kesi, in the Noble One's discipline - when the Truth-finder does not think one should be spoken to or instructed, nor do wise fellow monks in the holy life think one should be spoken to or instructed."
"That one, venerable sir, must surely be well destroyed - one whom the Truth-finder does not think should be spoken to or instructed, nor do wise fellow monks think should be spoken to or instructed." Excellent, venerable sir, excellent, venerable sir! Etc. May the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from this day forth for life." The first.