1On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sumbhas, where there was a town of the Sumbhas named Sedaka. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus:

1Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sumbhesu vihārati sedakaṁ nāma sumbhānaṁ nigamo. Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi:

"Bhikkhus, once in the past an acrobat set up his bamboo pole and addressed his apprentice Medakathalika thus:[n.167] The name is a feminine meaning "frying pan", but Spk says the name is given in the feminine gender itthiliṅgavasena laddhanāmaṁ, presumably to a boy. The passage contains no pronouns that might establish the gender. ‘Come, dear Medakathalika, climb the bamboo pole and stand on my shoulders.’ Having replied: ‘Yes, teacher,’ the apprentice Medakathalika climbed up the bamboo pole and stood on the teacher's shoulders. The acrobat then said to the apprentice Medakathalika: ‘You protect me, dear Medakathalika, and I’ll protect you. Thus sn.v.169 guarded by one another, protected by one another, we’ll display our skills, collect our fee, and get down safely from the bamboo pole.’ When this was said, the apprentice Medakathalika replied: ‘That's not the way to do it, teacher. You protect yourself, teacher, and I’ll protect myself. Thus, each self-guarded and self-protected, we’ll display our skills, collect our fee, and get down safely from the bamboo pole.’[n.168] From Spk's description, it seems that the master places the lower end of the bamboo pole over the base of his throat or forehead galavāṭake vā nalāṭe, and the pupil then climbs via his shoulders to the top of the pole. Though in the sutta the master speaks as if they both descend from the pole, this may be only a figure of speech. Spk: The master protects himself when he holds the pole firmly, moves with his apprentice, and looks constantly at the top of the pole. The apprentice protects himself when he keeps his body straight, balances himself against the wind, sets up steady mindfulness, and sits down motionless.

"Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, caṇḍālavaṁsiko caṇḍālavaṁsaṁ ussāpetvā medakathālikaṁ antevāsiṁ āmantesi: ‘ehi tvaṁ, samma medakathālike, caṇḍālavaṁsaṁ abhiruhitvā mama uparikhandhe tiṭṭhāhī’ti. ‘Evaṁ, ācariyā’ti kho, bhikkhave, medakathālikā antevāsī caṇḍālavaṁsikassa paṭissutvā caṇḍālavaṁsaṁ abhiruhitvā acariyassa uparikhandhe aṭṭhāsi. Atha kho, bhikkhave, caṇḍālavaṁsiko medakathālikaṁ antevāsiṁ etadavoca: ‘tvaṁ, samma medakathālike, mamaṁ rakkha, ahaṁ taṁ rakkhissāmi. Evaṁ mayaṁ aññamaññaṁ guttā aññamaññaṁ rakkhitā sippāni ceva dassessāma, lābhañca lacchāma, sotthinā ca caṇḍālavaṁsā orohissāmā’ti. Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, medakathālikā antevāsī caṇḍālavaṁsikaṁ etadavoca: ‘Na kho panetaṁ, acariya, evaṁ bhavissati. Tvaṁ, acariya, attānaṁ rakkha, ahaṁ attānaṁ rakkhissāmi. Evaṁ mayaṁ attaguttā attarakkhitā sippāni ceva dassessāma, lābhañca lacchāma, sotthinā ca caṇḍālavaṁsā orohissāmā’"ti.

2"That's the method there," the Blessed One said. "It's just as the apprentice Medakathalika said to the teacher. ‘I will protect myself,’ bhikkhus: thus should the establishments of mindfulness be practised. ‘I will protect others,’ bhikkhus: thus should the establishments of mindfulness be practised. Protecting oneself, bhikkhus, one protects others; protecting others, one protects oneself.

2"So tattha ñāyo"ti bhagavā etadavoca, "yathā medakathālikā antevāsī acariyaṁ avoca. Attānaṁ, bhikkhave, rakkhissāmīti satipaṭṭhānaṁ sevitabbaṁ; paraṁ rakkhissāmīti satipaṭṭhānaṁ sevitabbaṁ. Attānaṁ, bhikkhave, rakkhanto paraṁ rakkhati, paraṁ rakkhanto attānaṁ rakkhati.

3"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.[n.169] Spk: The bhikkhu who gives up frivolous activity and pursues, develops, and cultivates his basic meditation subject day and night attains arahantship. Then, when others see him and gain confidence in him, they become destined for heaven. This one protects others by protecting himself.

3Kathañca, bhikkhave, attānaṁ rakkhanto paraṁ rakkhati? Āsevanāya, bhāvanāya, bahulīkammena – evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, attānaṁ rakkhanto paraṁ rakkhati.

"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, lovingkindness, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.[n.170] The four terms are khantiyā avihiṃsāya mettatāya anudayatāya. Spk takes the last three as respectively compassion, lovingkindness, and altruistic joy, and explains this maxim from a narrowly monastic perspective thus: "The bhikkhu develops the jhānas based on the brahmavihāra, then uses the jhāna as a basis for insight and attains arahantship. This one protects himself by protecting others." For a broader and profounder treatment of this maxim, see Nyanaponika, Protection through Satipaṭṭhāna.

Kathañca, bhikkhave, paraṁ rakkhanto attānaṁ rakkhati? Khantiyā, avihiṁsāya, mettacittatāya, anudayatāya – evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, paraṁ rakkhanto attānaṁ rakkhati.

"‘I will protect myself,’ bhikkhus: thus should the establishments of mindfulness be practised. ‘I will protect others,’ bhikkhus: thus should the establishments of mindfulness be practised. Protecting oneself, bhikkhus, one protects others; protecting others, one protects oneself."

Attānaṁ, bhikkhave, rakkhissāmīti satipaṭṭhānaṁ sevitabbaṁ; paraṁ rakkhissāmīti satipaṭṭhānaṁ sevitabbaṁ. Attānaṁ, bhikkhave, rakkhanto paraṁ rakkhati, paraṁ rakkhanto attānaṁ rakkhatī"ti.

Navamaṁ.