The Buddha teaches a repeated simile of a cowherd with eleven factors and a mendicant with eleven qualities, applying the comparison across sense bases and meditative perceptions in this grouped discourse.
PTS 5.360Ekādasahi, bhikkhave, aṅgehi samannāgato gopālako bhabbo gogaṇaṁ pariharituṁ phātikātuṁ. Katamehi ekādasahi? Idha, bhikkhave, gopālako rūpaññū hoti… pe…
Evameva kho, bhikkhave, ekādasahi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu bhabbo cakkhusmiṁ aniccānupassī viharituṁ… pe… paṭinissaggānupassī viharitunti.
Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).
Ekādasahi, bhikkhave, aṅgehi samannāgato gopālako bhabbo gogaṇaṁ pariharituṁ phātikātuṁ.
“Mendicants, a cowherd with eleven factors can maintain and expand a herd of cattle.
Katamehi ekādasahi?
What eleven?
Idha, bhikkhave, gopālako rūpaññū hoti… pe…
It’s when a cowherd knows form …
Evameva kho, bhikkhave, ekādasahi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu bhabbo cakkhusmiṁ aniccānupassī viharituṁ…
In the same way, a mendicant with eleven qualities can meditate observing impermanence in the eye …
pe…
paṭinissaggānupassī viharitunti.
meditate observing letting go. …”
Last updated on September 10, 2026