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Mahayana Tripitaka - Northern Transmission - The Sutra on the Person Who Does Not Get Angry
The Alagaddupama Sutta (Pali Canon) or A-lê-sa (Northern Transmission) recounts the case of the mendicant Ariṭṭha, who formerly trained hawks, and developed the wrong view that “enjoying sensual pleasures is not an obstacle to the practice.” After three unsuccessful attempts by his brothers to advise him, the World-Honored One summoned Ariṭṭha, questioned him word by word, then invited the assembly to confirm, and used eight parables to affirm that sensual desire is indeed an obstacle:
- burning dry bones
- a piece of raw meat
- a bundle of straw torches
- a heap of glowing coals
- a venomous snake
- a dream
- borrowed goods
- a fruitless tree
The World-Honored One also likened the Dharma to a raft: even though it saves people across the river, after reaching the other shore, one must let it go—how much more so should we let go of misunderstandings about the Dharma. The sutra emphasizes six bases of views (diṭṭhi-ṭṭhāna) that need to be contemplated to avoid wrong views:
- The body
- Feelings
- Perceptions
- Mental formations
- Consciousness
- The notion that “the world is self, the self is permanent”
Through this, the teaching makes clear that if one does not thoroughly penetrate the words and meaning of the sutra, the student easily “grasps the snake incorrectly,” misunderstands the Buddha’s words, and brings suffering upon themselves.