A Hook Baḷisasutta

At Sāvatthī. Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.

“Possessions, honor, and popularity are grim, bitter, and harsh. They’re an obstacle to reaching the supreme sanctuary from the yoke. “Dāruṇo, bhikkhave, lābhasakkārasiloko kaṭuko pharuso antarāyiko anuttarassa yogakkhemassa adhigamāya.

Suppose an angler was to cast a baited hook into a deep lake. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, bāḷisiko āmisagataṁ baḷisaṁ gambhīre udakarahade pakkhipeyya. Seeing the bait, a fish would swallow it. Tamenaṁ aññataro āmisacakkhu maccho gileyya. And so the fish that swallowed the hook would meet with tragedy and disaster, and the angler can do what he wants with it. Evañhi so, bhikkhave, maccho gilabaḷiso bāḷisikassa anayaṁ āpanno byasanaṁ āpanno yathākāmakaraṇīyo bāḷisikassa.

‘Angler’ is a term for Māra the Wicked. Bāḷisikoti kho, bhikkhave, mārassetaṁ pāpimato adhivacanaṁ. ‘Hook’ is a term for possessions, honor, and popularity. Baḷisanti kho, bhikkhave, lābhasakkārasilokassetaṁ adhivacanaṁ. Whoever enjoys and likes arisen possessions, honor, and popularity is called a mendicant who has swallowed Māra’s hook. They’ve met with tragedy and disaster, and the Wicked One can do with them what he wants. Yo hi koci, bhikkhave, bhikkhu uppannaṁ lābhasakkārasilokaṁ assādeti nikāmeti, ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu gilabaḷiso mārassa anayaṁ āpanno byasanaṁ āpanno yathākāmakaraṇīyo pāpimato.

So grim are possessions, honor, and popularity—bitter and harsh, an obstacle to reaching the supreme sanctuary from the yoke. Evaṁ dāruṇo kho, bhikkhave, lābhasakkārasiloko kaṭuko pharuso antarāyiko anuttarassa yogakkhemassa adhigamāya.

So you should train like this: Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ: ‘We will give up arisen possessions, honor, and popularity, and we won’t let them occupy our minds.’ ‘uppannaṁ lābhasakkārasilokaṁ pajahissāma, na ca no uppanno lābhasakkārasiloko cittaṁ pariyādāya ṭhassatī’ti. That’s how you should train.” Evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.