Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Tena kho pana samayena aññataro navo bhikkhu ativelaṁ kulāni upasaṅkamati.
Thus have I heard—At one time, the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthi, in Jeta’s grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s park. Now, at that time, a certain newly ordained bhikkhu was approaching families |excessively::too long and/or too much [ativela]|.
Tamenaṁ bhikkhū evamāhaṁsu: “māyasmā ativelaṁ kulāni upasaṅkamī”ti.
The bhikkhus said to him: “Venerable, do not approach families excessively.”
So bhikkhu bhikkhūhi vuccamāno evamāha: “ime hi nāma therā bhikkhū kulāni upasaṅkamitabbaṁ maññissanti, kimaṅgaṁ panāhan”ti?
But when the bhikkhu was advised by the other bhikkhus, he said this: “These elder bhikkhus think they can approach families, so why shouldn’t I?”
Atha kho sambahulā bhikkhū yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu. Ekamantaṁ nisinnā kho te bhikkhū bhagavantaṁ etadavocuṁ: “idha, bhante, aññataro navo bhikkhu ativelaṁ kulāni upasaṅkamati. Tamenaṁ bhikkhū evamāhaṁsu: ‘māyasmā ativelaṁ kulāni upasaṅkamī’ti. So bhikkhu bhikkhūhi vuccamāno evamāha: ‘ime hi nāma therā bhikkhū kulāni upasaṅkamitabbaṁ maññissanti, kimaṅgaṁ panāhan’”ti.
Then several bhikkhus went to the Blessed One. After approaching and paying homage to him, they sat down to one side. Once seated, those bhikkhus said to the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, here a certain newly ordained bhikkhu is approaching families excessively. The bhikkhus said to him, ‘Venerable, do not approach families excessively.’ But when advised by the bhikkhus, he said, ‘These elder bhikkhus think they can approach families, so why shouldn’t I?'”
“Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, araññāyatane mahāsarasī. Taṁ nāgā upanissāya viharanti. Te taṁ sarasiṁ ogāhetvā soṇḍāya bhisamuḷālaṁ abbuhetvā suvikkhālitaṁ vikkhāletvā akaddamaṁ saṅkhāditvā ajjhoharanti. Tesaṁ taṁ vaṇṇāya ceva hoti balāya ca, na ca tatonidānaṁ maraṇaṁ vā nigacchanti maraṇamattaṁ vā dukkhaṁ.
“Bhikkhus, once in the past, in a forest region, there was a great lake, with bull elephants dwelling in its vicinity. Those elephants would plunge into the lake, pluck out lotus stalks with their trunks, thoroughly wash them to remove all mud, and then chew and swallow them clean. This gave them with both beauty and strength, and on that account, they did not encounter death or deadly suffering.
Tesaṁyeva kho pana, bhikkhave, mahānāgānaṁ anusikkhamānā taruṇā bhiṅkacchāpā taṁ sarasiṁ ogāhetvā soṇḍāya bhisamuḷālaṁ abbuhetvā na suvikkhālitaṁ vikkhāletvā sakaddamaṁ asaṅkhāditvā ajjhoharanti. Tesaṁ taṁ neva vaṇṇāya hoti na balāya. Tatonidānaṁ maraṇaṁ vā nigacchanti maraṇamattaṁ vā dukkhaṁ.
Bhikkhus, following the example of those bull elephants, the young immature elephants would also plunge into the lake and pluck out lotus stalks with their trunks, but without thoroughly washing them to remove the mud. They would eat them dirty and without properly chewing. This brought them neither beauty nor strength, and on that account, they encountered death or deadly suffering.
Evameva kho, bhikkhave, idha therā bhikkhū pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya gāmaṁ vā nigamaṁ vā piṇḍāya pavisanti. Te tattha dhammaṁ bhāsanti. Tesaṁ gihī pasannākāraṁ karonti. Te taṁ lābhaṁ agadhitā amucchitā anajjhopannā ādīnavadassāvino nissaraṇapaññā paribhuñjanti. Tesaṁ taṁ vaṇṇāya ceva hoti balāya ca, na ca tatonidānaṁ maraṇaṁ vā nigacchanti maraṇamattaṁ vā dukkhaṁ.
In the same way, bhikkhus, here the elder bhikkhus, after dressing in the morning, and taking alms bowl and outer robe, enter a village or town for alms. There, they speak on the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]|. The laypeople show their confidence to them. They use their |acquisitions::gain, offerings, possessions [lābha]| without being tied to them, without being |fixated on::greedy for, infatuated with [mucchitā]| them, |not blindly absorbed::not obsessed [anajjhopanna]| in them, seeing the danger in them and understanding the escape. This provides them with both beauty and strength, and on that account, they do not encounter death or deadly suffering.
Tesaṁyeva kho pana, bhikkhave, therānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ anusikkhamānā navā bhikkhū pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya gāmaṁ vā nigamaṁ vā piṇḍāya pavisanti. Te tattha dhammaṁ bhāsanti. Tesaṁ gihī pasannākāraṁ karonti. Te taṁ lābhaṁ gadhitā mucchitā ajjhopannā anādīnavadassāvino anissaraṇapaññā paribhuñjanti. Tesaṁ taṁ neva vaṇṇāya hoti na balāya, te tatonidānaṁ maraṇaṁ vā nigacchanti maraṇamattaṁ vā dukkhaṁ.
Bhikkhus, the newly ordained bhikkhus, following the example of the elder bhikkhus, after dressing in the morning, and taking alms bowl and outer robe, enter a village or town for alms. There, they speak on the Dhamma. The laypeople show their confidence to them. But they use their acquisitions while being tied to them, fixated on them, blindly absorbed in them, |not seeing the danger in::not seeing the disadvantage of [anādīnavadassāvī]| them and |not understanding the escape::now knowing the remedy [anissaraṇapañña]|. This brings them neither beauty nor strength, and on that account, they encounter death or deadly suffering.
Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ: ‘agadhitā amucchitā anajjhopannā ādīnavadassāvino nissaraṇapaññā taṁ lābhaṁ paribhuñjissāmā’ti. Evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.
Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: ‘We will use our acquisitions without being tied to them, without being fixated on them, not blindly absorbed in them, seeing the danger in them and understanding the escape.’ Thus, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves.”