SUTRA: 'Ten Pleasure Seekers' (AN 10.91)

How do we get to Burning Man? We need driving directions and stops on the way to the playa

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Numerical Discourses (AN 10.91) 10. "With Upāli, Ten Pleasure Seekers"

Once the Buddha was staying near the City of Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, in the Millionaire (Anāthapiṇḍika)’s monastery (Jetavana).

Then the rich householder Anāthapiṇḍika [the philanthropist Sudatta, the "Giver of Alms," "Supporter of the Needy"] went to the Buddha, bowed, and sat respectfully to one side. Seated there, the Buddha said to him: “Ten pleasure seekers are found in the world. What are the ten?

We're here to have a good time, right Bri-Bri?

“One, a pleasure seeker seeks wealth using illegitimate, coercive means. One neither makes oneself happy nor pleased, neither shares it nor makes merit.

“Two, a pleasure seeker seeks wealth using illegitimate, coercive means. One makes oneself happy and pleased but neither shares it nor makes merit.

“Three, a pleasure seeker seeks wealth using illegitimate, coercive means. One makes oneself happy and pleased and shares it and makes merit.

“Four, a pleasure seeker seeks wealth using means both legitimate and illegitimate, coercive and uncoercive. One neither makes oneself happy nor pleased, neither shares it nor makes merit.

“Five, a pleasure seeker seeks wealth using means both legitimate and illegitimate, coercive and uncoercive. One makes oneself happy and pleased, but neither shares it nor makes merit.

“Six, a pleasure seeker seeks wealth using means both legitimate and illegitimate, coercive and uncoercive. One makes oneself happy and pleased and shares it and makes merit.

“Seven, a pleasure seeker seeks wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means. One neither makes oneself happy nor pleased, neither shares it nor makes merit.

“Eight, a pleasure seeker seeks wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means. One makes oneself happy and pleased, but neither shares it nor makes merit.

“Nine, a pleasure seeker seeks wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means. One makes oneself happy and pleased and shares it and makes merit. But one enjoys that wealth in bondage, infatuated, clinging, blind to the drawbacks, not understanding the escape.

See, Stewie? We're rich, we share, we get it...

“Ten, a pleasure seeker seeks wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means. One makes oneself happy and pleased and shares it and makes merit. And one enjoys that wealth without bondage, without infatuation, without clinging, seeing the drawbacks, and understanding the escape.

The first

Why, you ask? Here's why.

“Now, consider the pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using illegitimate, coercive means, who neither makes oneself happy nor pleased, neither shares it nor makes merit. That person may be criticized on three grounds: One seeks for wealth using illegitimate, coercive means. This is the first ground for criticism. One does not make oneself happy nor pleased. This is the second ground for criticism. One neither shares it nor makes merit. This is the third ground for criticism. This pleasure seeker may be criticized on these three grounds.

The second

“Now, consider the pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using illegitimate, coercive means, who makes oneself happy and pleased, but who neither shares it nor makes merit. That person may be criticized on two grounds and praised on one. One seeks for wealth using illegitimate, coercive means. This is the first ground for criticism. One makes oneself happy and pleased. This is the one ground for praise. One neither shares it nor makes merit. This is the second ground for criticism. This pleasure seeker may be criticized on these two grounds and praised on this one.

The third

“Now, consider the pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using illegitimate, coercive means, who makes oneself happy and pleased, who shares it and makes merit. This person may be criticized on one ground and praised on two. One seeks for wealth using illegitimate, coercive means. This is the one ground for criticism. One makes oneself happy and pleased. This is the first ground for praise. One shares it and makes merit. This is the second ground for praise. This pleasure seeker may be criticized on this one ground and praised on these two.

The fourth

“Now, consider the pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using means both legitimate and illegitimate, coercive and uncoercive, who neither makes oneself happy and pleased, neither shares it nor makes merit. This person may be praised on one ground and criticized on three. One seeks for wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means. This is the one ground for praise. One seeks for wealth using illegitimate, coercive means. This is the first ground for criticism. One neither makes oneself happy nor pleased. This is the second ground for criticism. One neither shares it nor makes merit. This is the third ground for criticism. This pleasure seeker may be praised on this one ground and criticized on these three.

The fifth

“Now, consider the pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using means both legitimate and illegitimate, coercive and uncoercive, who makes oneself happy and pleased, but who neither shares it nor makes merit. That person may be praised on two grounds and criticized on two. One seeks for wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means. This is the first ground for praise. One seeks for wealth using illegitimate, coercive means. This is the first ground for criticism. One makes oneself happy and pleased. This is the second ground for praise. One neither shares it nor makes merit. This is the second ground for criticism. This pleasure seeker may be praised on these two grounds and criticized on these two.

The sixth

“Now, consider the pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using means both legitimate and illegitimate, coercive and uncoercive, who makes oneself happy and pleased, shares it and makes merit. One may be praised on three grounds and criticized on one. One seeks for wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means. This is the first ground for praise. One seeks for wealth using illegitimate, coercive means. This is the one ground for criticism. One makes oneself happy and pleased. This is the second ground for praise. One shares it and makes merit. This is the third ground for praise. This pleasure seeker may be praised on these three grounds and criticized on this one.

The seventh

“Now, consider the pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means, who neither makes oneself happy nor pleased, neither shares it nor makes merit. One may be praised on one ground and criticized on two. One seeks for wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means. This is the one ground for praise. One neither makes oneself happy nor pleased. This is the first ground for criticism. One neither shares it nor makes merit. This is the second ground for criticism. This pleasure seeker may be praised on this one ground and criticized on these two.

The eighth

“Now, consider the pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means, who makes oneself happy and pleased, but who neither shares it nor makes merit. One may be praised on two grounds and criticized on one. One seeks for wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means. This is the first ground for praise. One makes oneself happy and pleased. This is the second ground for praise. One neither shares it nor makes merit. This is the one ground for criticism. This pleasure seeker may be praised on these two grounds and criticized on this one.

The ninth

“Now, consider the pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means, who makes oneself happy and pleased, and who shares it and makes merit. But one enjoys that wealth in bondage, infatuated, clinging, blind to the drawbacks, and not understanding the escape. One may be praised on three grounds and criticized on one. One seeks for wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means. This is the first ground for praise. One makes oneself happy and pleased. This is the second ground for praise. One shares it and makes merit. This is the third ground for praise. One enjoys that wealth in bondage, infatuated, clinging, blind to the drawbacks, and not understanding the escape. This is the one ground for criticism. This pleasure seeker may be praised on these three grounds and criticized on this one.

The tenth

“Now, consider the pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means, who makes oneself happy and pleased, who shares it and makes merit. And one enjoys that wealth without bondage, without infatuation, without clinging, seeing the drawbacks, and understanding the escape. One may be praised on four grounds. One seeks for wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means. This is the first ground for praise. One makes oneself happy and pleased. This is the second ground for praise. One shares it and makes merit. This is the third ground for praise. One enjoys that wealth without bondage, without infatuation, without clinging, seeing the drawbacks, and understanding the escape. This is the fourth ground for praise. This pleasure seeker may be praised on these four grounds.

Best of the best

Maybe redheads have the most fun.

“These are the ten pleasure seekers found in the world. The pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means, who makes oneself happy and pleased, who shares it and makes merit, who uses that wealth without bondage, without infatuation, without clinging, seeing the drawbacks, and understanding the escape is the foremost, best, chief, highest, and finest of the ten.

Why does India add lard to ghee?

“From a cow comes milk, from milk come curds, from curds come butter, from butter comes ghee [clarified butter now almost always adulterated with lard], and from ghee comes cream of ghee [crème de la crème]. And the cream of ghee is said to be the best of these.

“In the same way, the pleasure seeker who seeks wealth using legitimate, uncoercive means, who makes oneself happy and pleased, who shares it and makes merit, who uses that wealth without bondage, without infatuation, without clinging, seeing the drawbacks, and understanding the escape is the foremost, best, chief, highest, and finest of the ten.”

When life no longer gives pleasure, what then?

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• Seth MacFarlane, Family Guy; Dhr. Seven (ed.), based on Bhikkhu Sujato (trans.) suttacentral.net, Kāmabhogī Sutta (AN 10.91), Wisdom Quarterly