1“Mendicants, there are three practices. What three? The addicted practice, the scorching practice, and the middle practice.

And what’s the addicted practice? It’s when someone has this doctrine and view: ‘There’s nothing wrong with sensual pleasures’; so they throw themselves into sensual pleasures. This is called the addicted practice.

And what’s the scorching practice? It’s when someone goes naked, ignoring conventions. They lick their hands, and don’t come or wait when asked. They don’t consent to food brought to them, or food prepared on purpose for them, or an invitation for a meal. They don’t receive anything from a pot or bowl; or from someone who keeps sheep, or who has a weapon or a shovel in their home; or where a couple is eating; or where there is a woman who is pregnant, breastfeeding, or who has a man in her home; or where there’s a dog waiting or flies buzzing. They accept no fish or meat or liquor or wine, and drink no beer. They go to just one house for alms, taking just one mouthful, or two houses and two mouthfuls, up to seven houses and seven mouthfuls. They feed on one saucer a day, two saucers a day, up to seven saucers a day. They eat once a day, once every second day, up to once a week, and so on, even up to once a fortnight. They live pursuing the practice of eating food at set intervals.

They eat herbs, millet, wild rice, poor rice, water lettuce, rice bran, scum from boiling rice, sesame flour, grass, or cow dung. They survive on forest roots and fruits, or eating fallen fruit.

They wear robes of sunn hemp, mixed hemp, corpse-wrapping cloth, rags, lodh tree bark, antelope hide (whole or in strips), kusa grass, bark, wood-chips, human hair, horse-tail hair, or owls’ wings. They tear out their hair and beard, committed to this practice. They constantly stand, refusing seats. They squat, committed to persisting in the squatting position. They lie on a mat of thorns, making a mat of thorns their bed. They pursue the practice of immersion in water three times a day, including the evening. And so they live pursuing these various ways of mortifying and tormenting the body. This is called the scorching practice.

And what’s the middle practice? It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body — keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings … They meditate observing an aspect of the mind … They meditate observing an aspect of principles — keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world. This is called the middle practice.

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These are the three practices.

Mendicants, there are three practices. What three? The addicted practice, the scorching practice, the middle practice.

And what’s the addicted practice? … This is called the addicted practice.

And what is the scorching practice? … This is called the scorching practice.

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And what’s the middle practice? It’s when a mendicant generates enthusiasm, tries, makes an effort, exerts the mind, and strives so that bad, unskillful qualities don’t arise. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen are given up. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that skillful qualities arise. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that skillful qualities that have arisen remain, are not lost, but increase, mature, and are completed by development. …

They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to enthusiasm, and active effort. They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to energy, and active effort. They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to mental development, and active effort. They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to inquiry, and active effort. …

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They develop the faculty of faith … energy … mindfulness … immersion … wisdom …

They develop the power of faith … energy … mindfulness … immersion … wisdom …

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They develop the awakening factor of mindfulness … investigation of principles … energy … rapture … tranquility … immersion … equanimity …

They develop right view … right thought … right speech … right action … right livelihood … right effort … right mindfulness … right immersion … This is called the middle practice.

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These are the three practices.”

“Tisso imā, bhikkhave, paṭipadā. Katamā tisso? Āgāḷhā paṭipadā, nijjhāmā paṭipadā, majjhimā paṭipadā.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, āgāḷhā paṭipadā? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco evaṁvādī hoti evaṁdiṭṭhi: ‘Natthi kāmesu doso’ti. So kāmesu pātabyataṁ āpajjati. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, āgāḷhā paṭipadā.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, nijjhāmā paṭipadā? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco acelako hoti muttācāro, hatthāpalekhano, naehibhadantiko, natiṭṭhabhadantiko, nābhihaṭaṁ na uddissakataṁ na nimantanaṁ sādiyati. Variant: hatthāpalekhano → hatthāvalekhano (sya-all, km, pts1ed)So na kumbhimukhā paṭiggaṇhāti, na kaḷopimukhā paṭiggaṇhāti na eḷakamantaraṁ na daṇḍamantaraṁ na musalamantaraṁ na dvinnaṁ bhuñjamānānaṁ na gabbhiniyā na pāyamānāya na purisantaragatāya na saṅkittīsu na yattha sā upaṭṭhito hoti na yattha makkhikā saṇḍasaṇḍacārinī na macchaṁ na maṁsaṁ na suraṁ na merayaṁ, na thusodakaṁ pivati. Variant: kaḷopimukhā → khaḷopimukhā (bj)So ekāgāriko vā hoti ekālopiko, dvāgāriko vā hoti dvālopiko … sattāgāriko vā hoti sattālopiko; ekissāpi dattiyā yāpeti, dvīhipi dattīhi yāpeti … sattahipi dattīhi yāpeti; ekāhikampi āhāraṁ āhāreti, dvāhikampi āhāraṁ āhāreti … sattāhikampi āhāraṁ āhāreti — iti evarūpaṁ addhamāsikampi pariyāyabhattabhojanānuyogamanuyutto viharati.

So sākabhakkhopi hoti, sāmākabhakkhopi hoti, nīvārabhakkhopi hoti, daddulabhakkhopi hoti, haṭabhakkhopi hoti, kaṇabhakkhopi hoti, ācāmabhakkhopi hoti, piññākabhakkhopi hoti, tiṇabhakkhopi hoti, gomayabhakkhopi hoti, vanamūlaphalāhāro yāpeti pavattaphalabhojī.

So sāṇānipi dhāreti, masāṇānipi dhāreti, chavadussānipi dhāreti, paṁsukūlānipi dhāreti, tirīṭānipi dhāreti, ajinampi dhāreti, ajinakkhipampi dhāreti, kusacīrampi dhāreti, vākacīrampi dhāreti, phalakacīrampi dhāreti, kesakambalampi dhāreti, vāḷakambalampi dhāreti, ulūkapakkhikampi dhāreti, kesamassulocakopi hoti kesamassulocanānuyogamanuyutto, ubbhaṭṭhakopi hoti āsanapaṭikkhitto, ukkuṭikopi hoti ukkuṭikappadhānamanuyutto, kaṇṭakāpassayikopi hoti kaṇṭakāpassaye seyyaṁ kappeti, sāyatatiyakampi udakorohanānuyogamanuyutto viharati — iti evarūpaṁ anekavihitaṁ kāyassa ātāpanaparitāpanānuyogamanuyutto viharati. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, nijjhāmā paṭipadā.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, majjhimā paṭipadā? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu kāye kāyānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ; vedanāsu … pe … citte … pe … dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, majjhimā paṭipadā.

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Imā kho, bhikkhave, tisso paṭipadāti.

Tisso imā, bhikkhave, paṭipadā. Katamā tisso? Āgāḷhā paṭipadā, nijjhāmā paṭipadā, majjhimā paṭipadā.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, āgāḷhā paṭipadā … pe … ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, āgāḷhā paṭipadā.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, nijjhāmā paṭipadā … pe … ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, nijjhāmā paṭipadā.

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Katamā ca, bhikkhave, majjhimā paṭipadā? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu anuppannānaṁ pāpakānaṁ akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ anuppādāya chandaṁ janeti vāyamati vīriyaṁ ārabhati cittaṁ paggaṇhāti padahati; uppannānaṁ pāpakānaṁ akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya chandaṁ janeti vāyamati vīriyaṁ ārabhati cittaṁ paggaṇhāti padahati; anuppannānaṁ kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ uppādāya chandaṁ janeti vāyamati vīriyaṁ ārabhati cittaṁ paggaṇhāti padahati; uppannānaṁ kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ ṭhitiyā asammosāya bhiyyobhāvāya vepullāya bhāvanāya pāripūriyā chandaṁ janeti vāyamati vīriyaṁ ārabhati cittaṁ paggaṇhāti padahati ….

Chandasamādhipadhānasaṅkhārasamannāgataṁ iddhipādaṁ bhāveti vīriyasamādhi … pe … cittasamādhi … pe … vīmaṁsāsamādhipadhānasaṅkhārasamannāgataṁ iddhipādaṁ bhāveti … pe ….

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Saddhindriyaṁ bhāveti … vīriyindriyaṁ bhāveti … satindriyaṁ bhāveti … samādhindriyaṁ bhāveti … paññindriyaṁ bhāveti … pe ….

Saddhābalaṁ bhāveti … vīriyabalaṁ bhāveti … satibalaṁ bhāveti … samādhibalaṁ bhāveti … paññābalaṁ bhāveti … pe ….

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Satisambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti … dhammavicayasambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti … vīriyasambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti … pītisambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti … passaddhisambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti … samādhisambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti … upekkhāsambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti … pe ….

Sammādiṭṭhiṁ bhāveti … sammāsaṅkappaṁ bhāveti … sammāvācaṁ bhāveti … sammākammantaṁ bhāveti … sammāājīvaṁ bhāveti … sammāvāyāmaṁ bhāveti … sammāsatiṁ bhāveti … sammāsamādhiṁ bhāveti …. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, majjhimā paṭipadā.

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Imā kho, bhikkhave, tisso paṭipadā”ti.

Acelakavaggo chaṭṭho.

Tassuddānaṁ

Satipaṭṭhānaṁ sammappadhānaṁ,
Iddhipādindriyena ca;
Balaṁ bojjhaṅgo maggo ca,
Paṭipadāya yojayeti.