Guest guest Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Friends: Any Self-Control starts with Guarding the 6 Doors of the Senses!!! Bhikkhus by possessing three qualities, one lives full of pleasure & joy in this very life, and one has also laid a solid foundation for eliminating the mental fermentations... What are these three advantageous qualities? One guards the doors of the senses,One is moderate in eating, andOne is devoted to wakefulness... And how, Bhikkhus, does one guard the doors of the senses? Seeing a form with the eye, one does neither get caught by any of the general features, nor does one become obsessed with any particular detail of this form...Hearing a sound with the ear, one does neither get caught by any of the general features, nor does one become infatuated with any particular detail of this sound...Smelling a smell with the nose, one does neither get caught by any of the general features, nor does one become as if possessed by any particular detail of this smell...Tasting a taste with the tongue, one does neither get caught by any of the general features, nor does one become as if gripped by any particular detail of this taste...Touching a thing with the body, one does neither get caught by any of the general features, nor does one become as if fixated by any particular detail of this thing...Thinking a thought with the mind, one does neither get caught by any of the general features, nor does one become as if immersed in any particular detail of this mental state...Since, if one leaves the sense ability of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body & mind uncontrolled, evil detrimental states of lust and discontent might invade the mind, one practises control of the senses, one guards the senses, one holds back the senses, one keeps in check the senses...Imagine, Bhikkhus, a horse-wagon, which yoked to two full-blooded horses, was standing ready with whip and goad, on even ground at a crossroads. Any clever tamer of horses could mount it, and, taking the reins in his left hand and the goad in his right, he could drive away and return by whatever way he wanted, whenever he wanted, being in complete control of his direction... Similarly here, the Bhikkhu trains in guarding these six senses, trains in controlling them, trains in taming them, trains in pacifying them. It is in this way, Bhikkhus, that a Bhikkhu possess theadvantageous mental quality of the ability to guard the six doors of the senses... Source (edited extract):The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya. Book IV [176-7]Section 35: The 6 Senses. Salayatana. The Horse-Wagon. Rato 239. http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html PS: Please include the word Samahita in any comment, since then will my automatic mail filters pick it up and I will see it & respond!! Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka. Friendship is the Greatest ... Let there be Calm & Free Bliss !!! http://What-Buddha-Said.net Buddha-Direct What_Buddha_Said Dhamma-Questions sent to my email are quite Welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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