Bhikkhu Bodhi, Saṁyutta Nikāya, "Connected Discourses" on Causation, "Son’s Flesh Sutra" (SN 12.63); edited by Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly
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| Here, Adi, you strangle it. And I'll go prepare a fire and some nice seasoning spices. |
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| Momma, do parents really eat babies? |
What are the four? The nutriments of:
- food (gross or subtle)
- contact
- mental volition
- consciousness.
- TRIGGER WARNING: May not be suitable for sensitive readers and/or cannibals!
How to kill and eat your baby
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| Nobody was happy about our decision, least of all me, the most attached (Adobe Stock). |
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| What have we done? - Be quiet. (123rf.com) |
“And how, meditators, should the nutriment of edible food be viewed? Suppose a couple, husband and wife, had taken limited provisions and were travelling through a desert with their only son, dear and beloved.
“Then, in the middle of the desert, suppose their very limited provisions should become used up and exhausted, with a great deal of desert yet to be crossed.
“That husband and wife might think, ‘Oh no, our limited provisions have been used up, our supplies exhausted, while the rest of this desert remains to be crossed!
“‘Let us kill our only child, dear and beloved, and prepare dried and spiced meat. By eating our child’s flesh, we can cross the rest of this desert. Let not all three of us perish!’
“Then, meditators, that man and woman would [gently] kill their only child, dear and beloved, prepare its flesh into dried and spiced meat, and by consuming their kid’s flesh they would cross the rest of the desert.
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| Is it bad not to cry? (irishtimes.com) |
“What do you think, meditators? Would they eat that [bloody flesh] food for amusement or for enjoyment or for the sake of physical beauty and attractiveness?”
“No, venerable sir!”
“Wouldn’t they eat that food only for the sake of crossing the desert?”
“Yes, venerable sir!”
“It is in such a way, meditators, that I say the nutriment of edible food should be viewed. When the nutriment of edible food is fully understood, lust for the five strands of sensual pleasure is fully understood.
“When lust for the five strands of sensual pleasure is fully understood, there is no fetter bound by which a noble [awakened] disciple might come back again to this world [through rebirth].
Contact and the cow
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| Why did they flay me? (World Animal News) |
“Suppose there is a flayed cow [its hide removed, stripped of skin]. If she stands exposed to a wall, the creatures dwelling in the wall will nibble at her.
“If she stands exposed to a tree, the creatures dwelling in the tree will nibble at her. If she stands exposed to water, the creatures dwelling in the water will nibble at her.
“If she stands exposed to the open air, the creatures dwelling in the air will nibble at her. Whatever that flayed cow stands exposed to, the creatures dwelling there will nibble at her.
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| I would rather die than suffer like this! |
“When the three kinds of feeling are fully understood, I say, there is nothing further that a noble [awakened] disciple needs to do.
“And how, meditators, should the nutriment of mental volition be viewed?
“Suppose there were a pit deeper than a human’s height, filled with glowing coals without flame or smoke. And suppose a man should come along wanting to live, not wanting to die, desiring happiness and wishing to avoid suffering.
“Then suppose two strong men were to grab him by the arms and drag him towards that pit.
“The man’s volition [will, intention, motivation, impulse, cetana] would be to get far away. His longing would be to get far, far away. His wish would be to get very far away from that pit. Why, for what reason?
“It is because he knows, ‘I will fall into that pit and on that account of it, I will meet with death or deadly suffering.’
“It is in such a way, meditators, that I say the nutriment of mental volition should be viewed. When the nutriment of mental volition is fully understood, the three kinds of craving are fully understood.
“When the three kinds of craving are fully understood, I say, there is nothing further that a noble [awakened] disciple needs to do.
Consciousness and the bandit
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| What, gals can't be bandits? (Dreamstime) |
“‘Sire, this woman is a bandit, a criminal. Impose on her whatever punishment you wish!’
“And suppose the king were to say to them, ‘Men, go in the morning and pierce this woman with a hundred spears.’
“In the morning they pierce her with a hundred spears. Then suppose at noon the king asks, ‘Men, how’s that woman?’
“‘Still alive, sire.’
“‘Then go and at noon pierce her with a hundred spears.’ At noon they pierce her with a hundred spears.
“Then suppose in the evening the king asks, ‘Men, how’s that woman?’
“‘Still alive, sire.’
“‘Then go and in the evening pierce her with a hundred spears.’ In the evening they pierce her with a hundred spears.
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| Euro-Americans torture Native Americans (aeon) |
“Venerable sir, even if one were struck with one spear one would experience pain and distress on account of that, to say nothing of 300 spears!”
“It is in such a way, meditators, that I say the nutriment of consciousness should be viewed. When the nutriment of consciousness is fully understood, name-and-form is fully understood.
“When name-and-form is fully understood, I say, there is nothing further that a noble [enlightened] disciple needs to do.”
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