“With knobbly knees, thin and veiny, eating and drinking but little—this person’s spirit is undaunted.”

“Pestered by flies and mosquitoes in the wilds, the formidable forest, one should mindfully endure, like an elephant at the head of the battle.

A monk alone is like the supreme Divinity; a pair of monks are like gods; three are like a village; and more than that is a rabble.”

Verses of the Senior Monks 3.10 The Book of the Threes Chapter One Sāṭimattiya

In the past you had faith, today you have none. What’s yours is yours alone—I’ve done nothing wrong.

Faith is impermanent, fickle: or so I have seen. Passions wax and wane: why would a sage waste away on that account?

The meal of a sage is cooked bit by bit in this family or that. I’ll walk for alms, for my legs are strong.

Verses of the Senior Monks 3.11 The Book of the Threes Chapter One Upāli

One newly gone forth, who has left their home out of faith, should mix with spiritual friends, who are tireless and pure of livelihood.

One newly gone forth, who has left their home out of faith, a mendicant staying in the Saṅgha, being wise, would train in monastic discipline.

One newly gone forth, who has left their home out of faith, skilled in what is appropriate and what is not, would wander undistracted.

Verses of the Senior Monks 3.12 The Book of the Threes Chapter One Uttarapāla