The Book of the Fives

Chapter XIII: The Sick

[110]

Thus have I heard:

Once the Exalted One dwelt near Sāvatthī;
and there he addressed the monks, saying:

"Monks."

'Yes, lord,' they replied;
and the Exalted One said:

"Monks, possessing five qualities
a sick man is an ill help to himself.

What five?

He treats not himself with physic;²

knows no measure³ in his treatment;

applies not medicaments;

sets not out the extent of his illness
to one who tends him in goodness of heart,
saying:

"In going
it goes thus,
when it returns
it comes so,
while it is with me
it is just thus";

nor is he the kind of man
who endures the onset of bodily aches and pains,
racking,
shooting,
stabbing,
bitter,
galling,
life-taking.⁴

Monks, possessing these five qualities a sick man is an ill help to himself.'

"Monks, possessing five qualities
a sick man is a help to himself.

What five?

He treats himself with physic;

knows measure in his treatment;

applies medicaments;

sets out the extent of his illness
to one who tends him in goodness of heart,
saying:

"In going
it goes thus,
when it returns
it comes so,
while it is with me
it is just thus";

and he is the kind of man
who endures the onset of bodily aches and pains,
racking,
shooting,
stabbing,
bitter,
galling,
life-taking.

Monks, possessing these five qualities
a sick man is a help to himself.'

¹ Uddānaṃ has dve paṭṭhānā; these two suttas recur at Vin. i, 302-3, but the 'five' are called aṅgā, for our dhammā.

² Sappāya, what makes for good; Cf. Mil. 215, trsl. tonic; P.E.D. drug (? simple).

³ Sappāya mattaṃ; Cf. D. i, 205, where Ānanda cannot pay a visit owing to bhesajja-mattā pītā.

⁴ Cf. below V, § 140 and references there.