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Aṅguttara Nikāya - The Numerical Discourses

4: The Book of the Fours

XVII. Practice — AN 4.165: Patience (2nd)

1“Mendicants, there are four ways of practice. What four? Impatient practice, patient practice, taming practice, and calming practice.

2And what’s the impatient practice? It’s when a mendicant cannot endure cold, heat, hunger, and thirst. They cannot endure the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and reptiles. They cannot endure rude and unwelcome criticism. And they cannot put up with physical pain — sharp, severe, acute, unpleasant, disagreeable, and life-threatening. This is called the impatient practice.

3And what’s the patient practice? It’s when a mendicant endures cold, heat, hunger, and thirst. They endure the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and reptiles. They endure rude and unwelcome criticism. And they put up with physical pain — sharp, severe, acute, unpleasant, disagreeable, and life-threatening. This is called the patient practice.


4And what’s the taming practice? When a mendicant sees a sight with their eyes, they don’t get caught up in the features and details. … When they hear a sound with their ears … When they smell an odor with their nose … When they taste a flavor with their tongue … When they feel a touch with their body … When they know a thought with their mind, they don’t get caught up in the features and details. If the faculty of mind were left unrestrained, bad unskillful qualities of desire and aversion would become overwhelming. For this reason, they practice restraint, protecting the faculty of mind, and achieving restraint over it. This is called the taming practice.

5And what’s the calming practice? It’s when a mendicant doesn’t tolerate a sensual, malicious, or cruel thought. They don’t tolerate any bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen, but give them up, get rid of them, calm them, eliminate them, and obliterate them. This is called the calming practice.

These are the four ways of practice.”

1"Catasso imā, bhikkhave, paṭipadā. Katamā catasso? Akkhamā paṭipadā, khamā paṭipadā, damā paṭipadā, samā paṭipadā.

2Katamā ca, bhikkhave, akkhamā paṭipadā? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco akkhamo hoti sītassa uṇhassa jighacchāya pipāsāya, ḍaṁsamakasavātātapasarīsapasamphassānaṁ duruttānaṁ durāgatānaṁ vacanapathānaṁ uppannānaṁ sārīrikānaṁ vedanānaṁ dukkhānaṁ tibbānaṁ kharānaṁ kaṭukānaṁ asātānaṁ amanāpānaṁ pāṇaharānaṁ anadhivāsakajātiko hoti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, akkhamā paṭipadā.

3Katamā ca, bhikkhave, khamā paṭipadā? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco khamo hoti sītassa uṇhassa jighacchāya pipāsāya, ḍaṁsamakasavātātapasarīsapasamphassānaṁ duruttānaṁ durāgatānaṁ vacanapathānaṁ uppannānaṁ sārīrikānaṁ vedanānaṁ dukkhānaṁ tibbānaṁ kharānaṁ kaṭukānaṁ asātānaṁ amanāpānaṁ pāṇaharānaṁ adhivāsakajātiko hoti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, khamā paṭipadā.


4Katamā ca, bhikkhave, damā paṭipadā? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu cakkhunā rūpaṁ disvā na nimittaggāhī hoti … pe … sotena saddaṁ sutvā … ghānena gandhaṁ ghāyitvā … jivhāya rasaṁ sāyitvā … kāyena phoṭṭhabbaṁ phusitvā … manasā dhammaṁ viññāya na nimittaggāhī hoti nānubyañjanaggāhī; yatvādhikaraṇamenaṁ manindriyaṁ asaṁvutaṁ viharantaṁ abhijjhādomanassā pāpakā akusalā dhammā anvāssaveyyuṁ, tassa saṁvarāya paṭipajjati; rakkhati manindriyaṁ; manindriye saṁvaraṁ āpajjati. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, damā paṭipadā.

5Katamā ca, bhikkhave, samā paṭipadā? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu uppannaṁ kāmavitakkaṁ nādhivāseti pajahati vinodeti sameti byantīkaroti anabhāvaṁ gameti, uppannaṁ byāpādavitakkaṁ … pe … uppannaṁ vihiṁsāvitakkaṁ … uppannuppanne pāpake akusale dhamme nādhivāseti pajahati vinodeti sameti byantīkaroti anabhāvaṁ gameti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, samā paṭipadā.

Imā kho, bhikkhave, catasso paṭipadā"ti.

Pañcamaṁ.