catur-dharmaka-sūtra
Sutra of the Four Teachings
I praise all the Enlightened ones and bodhisattvas!
So I heard once.
The Blessed One, together with a great blessed assembly of monks numbering one thousand two hundred and fifty, was in the garden of Anathapindada in the Jethavana Grove of Shravasti.
Then the Blessed One spoke to the bhikshu monks, revealing a resounding and expansive melody of voice, of the profound and fundamental:
Bhikshu monks! The wise son of the [noble] family does not rely with his mind on the four states while he exists. What are the four?
Bhikshu monks! The wise son of the [noble] family - himself does not rely with his mind, as long as he lives, on contemplating the joy of women.
Bhikshu monks! The wise son of the [noble] family does not himself rely with his mind, as long as he lives, on contemplating the joys of the king's palaces and the entourage of the retinue.
Bhikshu monks! The wise son of the [noble] family - himself does not rely with his mind, as long as he lives, on contemplation of the beautiful form, the beautiful, the pleasant to look at, the precious.
Bhikshu monks!The wise son of the [noble] family - himself does not rely with his mind, while he is alive, on reflections on flocks, numerous riches, perfect things.
The blessed one said so. The blessed one said so. Then the Master said other things as well:
Are women acceptable for reliance? Is it acceptable to rejoice in royal palaces? Is there a core to bubbles? Is wealth permanent? Wealth is like flowing water.
What is like a house or a boat? What is like a flower or is it also like a form? Just like pleasant smells, it is like bubbles on water.
The blessed one said this. All of creation, including bhiksha monks, gods, humans, asuras and gandharvas, rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.
This is how the sutra of the four Teachings concludes.