> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Anderson [mailto:jimanderson_on@...]
> Sent: Thursday, 29 January, 2004 3:43 AM
> To: Pali@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [Pali] mindfulness as watchman or gatekeeper

Hi all

Hope you are well and happy.

Has anyone else noticed that this kind of practice [mindfulness as just
seeing things as they arise and pass, guarding the sense doors] seems to
be what the Buddha identified as the first of the four right efforts?:

Mendicants there are four Right Efforts, what four?
Disciples generate desire (referring to Right Thought) for the:
- non-arising of evil and unprofitable states which have not arisen in
themselves (goodwill),
- abandoning of evil and unprofitable states which have arisen in
themselves (compassion),
- arising of profitable states which have not yet arisen in themselves
(goodwill),
- persisting of profitable states which have arisen, that they may not
grow confused, may multiply, may increase, develop and come to
perfection (compassion),
to that end they make an effort, stir up energy, they grip and exert
their minds.
These are the four Right Efforts
A 4.2.13 : A ii 15 ; A 4.28.271 : A ii 256 ; M 77 : M ii 11 ; D 22 : D
ii 312 ; D 16 : D ii 120

So it would seem to me that it is not the be all of the practice, but
just the first step. Preventing and abandoning evil [the unwholesome],
the first two efforts, would make some space and free some energy to
create something wholesome, the next two.

> Hi Rett,
>
> The Pali word used in the Pali Canon for gatekeeper is
> 'dovaariko'. I found a passage at A IV 110-111 in the
> Nagaropamasutta (AN XII.63) that seems to match what you're
> looking for.
>
> Jim


> From: Michael Beisert [mailto:mbeisert@...]
> Sent: Thursday, 29 January, 2004 1:07 AM
> To: Pali@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RE: [Pali] mindfulness as watchman or gatekeeper
>
>
> Hello Rett,
>
> Maybe this is the one you are looking for:
>
> "I have given you this simile, monk, to convey a message. The
> message is
> this: The fortress stands for this body -- composed of four
> elements, born
> of mother & father, nourished with rice & barley gruel,
> subject to constant
> rubbing & abrasion, to breaking & falling apart. The six
> gates stand for the
> six internal sense media. The gatekeeper stands for
> mindfulness. The swift
> pair of messengers stands for tranquillity (samatha) and insight
> (vipassana). The commander of the fortress stands for
> consciousness. The
> central square stands for the four great elements: the
> earth-property, the
> liquid-property, the fire-property, & the wind-property. The
> accurate report
> stands for Unbinding (nibbana). The route by which they had
> come stands for
> the noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right
> speech, right
> action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right
> concentration."
>
> http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/samyutta/sn35-204.html
>
> Metta
> Michael


> > Hi Everyone,
> >
> > Some years ago someone explained to me a passage which I
> believe was
> > in the Pali Canon where mindfulness is compared to a gatekeeper
> whose
> > job is to refuse entry to suspicious characters, and only allow
> > trustworthy people to enter the town. In a similar way, mindfulness
> > enables us to be watchful over our senses and not allow
> impressions to
> > develop into harmful thoughts. I liked this simile very much.
> Does
> > anyone know where this passage is located? I've been trying
> to find it
> > without success. Thanks in advance for any assistance.
> >
> > best regards,
> >
> > /Rett

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