Record of a King's Random for Samadhi

To be recited when one is upset or in pain.

The following was translated by Ven. Ayya Tathaloka Mahatheri. I received it at Shasta Abbey during my stay there as a lay resident in 2022.

This doesn’t exist on the internet, as far as I’ve seen, so I wanted to share it with you. If anyone knows who wrote it, please let me know. ☺

To be recited when one is upset or in pain (it really does help):

I. Do not hope for a disease-free body.

In whose body there are no injuries, nor sickness, nor disease, the forces of greed and desire arise and take hold; thus the Sage’s counsel: “Treat all injury, illness and disease of body as good medicine.”

II. Do not hope for a life free from difficulties and trouble in this world.

If life in this world is free from troubles, one’s mentality becomes arrogant and conceited and one’s tendencies luxurious and extravagant; thus the Sage’s counsel: “To truly live in this world, you must make it through the anxiety and worry, through the difficulty and despair.”

III. If you would study the Way, do not hope for obstacles not to arise.

In one whose life has no obstacles nor hindrances, all that they study cannot be absorbed, but is sloughed off and runs away; thus the Sage’s counsel: “It is in the very penetration of the barrier that liberation is realized.”

IV. In your cultivation, do not hope that you will not encounter Mara.

In the path of cultivation, one’s resolution cannot become absolutely firm, strong, and steady without facing the devil; thus the Sage’s counsel: “In your cultivation, consider the devil and all evil influences your dearest of friends, most helpful of loyal companions.”

V. Do not hope for or contrive plans or schedules to complete your practice easily.

If you feel your practice is easily completed, it means you have been hasty, rash, precipitous; thus the Sage’s counsel: “It is through undergoing and experiencing every sort of fear, terror, and dread that our practice reaches fulfillment.”

VI. In making friends and acquaintances, do not hope to gain anything.

If you associate with people hoping to get something from them, it will only lead to your being hurt, disappointed, and ultimately cynical; thus the Sage’s counsel: “Associate with integrity and fidelity.”

VII. Do not hold out hope that others will submit to your ideas and wants obediently.

If others obediently acquiesce to your wants or ideas, you will naturally become arrogant, proud, and spoiled; thus the Sage’s counsel: “Nourished by the grace of those who do not agree with your ideas and wishes, cultivate your forest garden (arama).”

VIII. In virtuous and benevolent endeavors, do not hope for reward or for the fruits of your labors.

In hoping for reward, it is this scheming intention that verily takes it away and makes it other; thus the Sage’s counsel: “Throw away accumulated favors as definitely as the utterly decrepit, worn out painter of what as once a pair of shoes.”

IX. Do not hope your “cup will runneth over” with wealth and status.

If your cup does overflow with wealth and status and you become giddy, you will be lost in ignorance among the fools; thus the Sage’s counsel: “Be wealthy [happy and generous] with the smallest of fortunes.”

X. Do not, [under any circumstances] feel you have been unfairly victimized, and hold out hope that the proper authorities or those concerned will redeem you by shedding light on, or clearing up the situation.

If you seem to be an innocent victim of circumstance, will a mind full of ill will and resentment really help you [to be enlightened and clear]?; thus the Sage’s counsel: “You must, as the major party concerned in preventing undue suffering, adopt the proper authority, and clear yourself through the path of cultivation.”

This is a 10-point contemplation on the things dear as a king’s ransom to ordinary people; these are the 10 points that obstruct samadhi [true concentration, liberation, enlightenment]. The release of these 10 factors, conversely, is said to facilitate access to samadhi. In Sino-Korean its name is “Bo Wang Sammie Non.”

Thank you for reading.

Please share your thoughts and ah-ha’s in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.