Death at the Door of Deathless (Enlightenment)

It is possible, Sunakkhatta, that some Monk here might think thus: Craving has been called an arrow by the Ascetic; the poisonous unwholesome mental quality of ignorance (unknowing of true reality) is spread about by desire, craving, and anger. That arrow of craving has been removed from me; the poisonous unwholesome mental quality of ignorance (unknowing of true reality) has been expelled. I am one who is completely intent on Nibbāna (Enlightenment).

Because he falsely thinks of himself thus, he might pursue those things that are unsuitable for one completely intent on Nibbāna (Enlightenment). He might pursue the sight of unsuitable forms with the eye, he might pursue unsuitable sounds with the ear, unsuitable odors with the nose, unsuitable flavors with the tongue, unsuitable physical objects with the body, or unsuitable mental objects with the mind.

When he pursues the sight of unsuitable forms with the eye, he might pursue unsuitable sounds with the ear, unsuitable odors with the nose, unsuitable flavors with the tongue, unsuitable physical objects with the body, or unsuitable mental objects with the mind, craving invades his mind. With his mind invaded by craving, he would incur death or deadly pain.

Suppose, Sunakkhatta, a man were wounded by an arrow thickly smeared with poison, and his friends and companions, his kinsmen and relatives, brought a surgeon. The surgeon would cut around the opening of the wound with a knife, then he would probe for the arrow with a probe, then he would pull out the arrow and would expel the poisonous substance, leaving a trace of it behind.

Knowing that a trace was left behind, he would say: ‘Good man, the arrow has been pulled out from you; the poisonous substance has been expelled with a trace left behind, but it is incapable of harming you. Eat only suitable food; do not eat unsuitable food or else the wound may accumulate pus and blood. From time to time wash the wound and from time to time anoint its opening, so that pus and blood do not cover the opening of the wound. Do not walk around in the wind and sun or else dust and dirt may infect the opening of the wound. Take care of your wound, good man, and see to it that the wound heals.

The man would think: The arrow has been pulled out from me; the poisonous substance has been expelled with no trace left behind, and it is incapable of harming me. He would eat unsuitable food, and the wound would accumulate pus and blood. He would not wash the wound from time to time nor would he anoint its opening from time to time, and pus and blood would cover the opening of the wound. He would walk around in the wind and sun, and dust and dirt would infect the opening of the wound. He would not take care of his wound, nor would he see to it that the wound heals.

Then, both because he does what is unsuitable and because the foul poisonous substance had been expelled with a trace left behind, the wound would swell, and with its swelling he would incur death or deadly pain.

So too, Sunakkhatta, it is possible that some Monk here might think thus: Craving has been called an arrow by the Ascetic; the poisonous unwholesome mental quality of ignorance (unknowing of true reality) is spread about by desire, craving, and anger. That arrow of craving has been removed from me; the poisonous unwholesome mental quality of ignorance (unknowing of true reality) has been expelled. I am completely intent upon Nibbāna (Enlightenment). Because he falsely thinks of himself thus, he might pursue those things that are unsuitable for one completely intent on Nibbāna (Enlightenment). He might pursue the sight of unsuitable forms with the eye, he might pursue unsuitable sounds with the ear, unsuitable odors with the nose, unsuitable flavors with the tongue, unsuitable physical objects with the body, or unsuitable mental objects with the mind.

When he pursues the sight of unsuitable forms with the eye, he might pursue unsuitable sounds with the ear, unsuitable odors with the nose, unsuitable flavors with the tongue, unsuitable physical objects with the body, or unsuitable mental objects with the mind, craving invades his mind. With his mind invaded by craving, he would incur death or deadly pain.

For it is death in the discipline of the Noble One, Sunakkhatta, when one abandons the training and reverts to the low life; and it is deadly pain when one carries out some defiled conduct. 

(Reference: MN 105)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how a Practitioner who does not attend to the mind training it to eliminate “unsuitable” forms, sounds, odors, flavors, physical objects, or mental objects “abandoning the training and reverts to the low life” will experience “deadly pain when one carries out some defiled conduct”.

The deadly pain is in the form of discontentedness of mind as the mind experiences anger, sadness, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fear, etc. (i.e. painful feelings). Through a Practitioner choosing not to deeply practice these Teachings and abandons the training on The Path to Enlightenment, The Buddha is helping Students understand this is the same as not caring for a wound properly that can become infected and cause death.

An unEnlightened mind that is tainted, polluted, or defiled with The Three Unwholesome Roots of craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality) is much like that of a wound that needs to be taken care of properly otherwise, the defiled conduct will result in accumulated discontentedness (i.e. deadly pain) much like the accumulation of pus and blood in a wound.

For one who assumes that the wound is healed, they can easily lack care and attention to the wound, thus, causing it to become worse and create significant health problems.

But, for one who does not assume the wound is healed and attends to it closely, then they can continue to experience the beneficial results of caring for the wound.

Likewise, if a Practitioner assumes that craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality) is eliminated from the mind, they might not attend to the training as closely and carefully as needed to attain Enlightenment. Assuming they are already Enlightened, they would lack the attention to training the mind that is needed to completely heal the mind through the complete elimination of craving, anger, and ignorance (unknowing of true reality).

It is extremely dangerous to the mind that a Practitioner might convince it that it is Enlightened.  Complacency, arrogance, pride, and other unwholesome mental qualities can arise in the mind. If these arise in the mind, one is not Enlightened. Therefore, convincing the mind it is Enlightened can be dangerous to one’s ability to attain Enlightenment. It is best to never convince the mind that it has attained anything at all and just continue on The Path to Enlightenment gaining more and more wisdom throughout your life. This will ensure that the mind continues to progress without the pitfalls of convincing it that it is actually Enlightened.

A Practitioner will need to remain determined, dedicated, and diligent throughout their life and never give up or assume the mind has attained Enlightenment.