..续本文上一页rom the four directions, crushing all life in their path. Given that the human birth is so rare and hard to achieve, what should be done

　　 The king”s reply: What else should be done but living in line with the Dhamma

　　 The Buddha then draws the lesson: Aging and death are rolling in inexorably. Given that the human birth is so rare and hard to achieve, what should be done

　　 The king draws the obvious conclusion that, again, the only thing to be done is to live in line with the Dhamma. He then goes on to make the observation that when aging and death are rolling in inexorably, there is no role for armies, wars, clever advisors, or great wealth to prevent their rolling in. The only thing to do is to live in line with the Dhamma.

　　In another discourse, Pasenadi comes to the Buddha and reports his own independent observation:

　　“Those who engage in bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, & mental misconduct leave themselves unprotected. Even though a squadron of elephant troops might protect them, a squadron of cavalry troops, a squadron of chariot troops, a squadron of infantry troops might protect them, still they leave themselves unprotected. Why is that

　　 Because that”s an external protection, not an internal one. Therefore they leave themselves unprotected. But those who engage in good bodily conduct, good verbal conduct, & good mental conduct have themselves protected. Even though neither a squadron of elephant troops, a squadron of cavalry troops, a squadron of chariot troops, nor a squadron of infantry troops might protect them, still they have themselves protected. Why is that

　　 Because that”s an internal protection, not an external one. Therefore they have themselves protected.”—SN III.5

　　It”s highly unlikely that Pasenadi would have come to this conclusion if he hadn”t spent time in conversation with the Buddha. From that conversation, he would have learned the meaning of good bodily, verbal, and mental conduct: the ten forms of skillful action. As a tactful teacher, the Buddha simply concurred with the king”s insight. The discourses suggest that this strategy encouraged the king to spend time in reflection of this sort, for in other discourses the king reports many similar insights for the Buddha to confirm.

　　We learn that the king did not always follow through with his insights, but that”s not because the Buddha encouraged him to view killing as his duty. In fact, there is one striking example where these insights had at least a partial effect. Ajatasattu once attacked Pasenadi”s kingdom, and Pasenadi responded by raising an army to fight him off. After an initial setback, Pasenadi was able to capture Ajatasattu. He could have killed him in revenge, for that was allowable under the rules of engagement during his time. But he chose not to, and it”s hard not to see the Buddha”s impact on this decision. When told of the battle, the Buddha said:

　　“A man may plunder

　　as long as it serves his ends,

　　but when others are plundered,

　　he who has plundered

　　gets plundered in turn.

　　A fool thinks,

　　”Nowʹs my chance,”

　　as long as his evil

　　has yet to ripen.

　　But when it ripens,

　　the fool

　　falls

　　into pain.

　　Killing, you gain

　　your killer.

　　Conquering, you gain one

　　who will conquer you;

　　insulting, insult;

　　harassing, harassment.

　　And so, through the cycle of action,

　　he who has plundered

　　gets plundered in turn.”—SN III.15

　　Benighted as he was, Pasenadi still got the message. The question is, why can”t we

《Getting the Message》全文阅读结束。