Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Just as a horse may be fast alone, fast and beautiful, or fast, beautiful, and well proportioned, a mendicant's spiritual attainment — understanding the four noble truths, reaching non-return, or reaching arahantship — is likewise graded by whether it is joined by confident teaching and by material support from the community.
Three grades of attainment, one shared template
Wild people understand the four noble truths; excellent people, with the five lower fetters ended, are reborn spontaneously and never return; fine thoroughbred people have realized the undefiled freedom of heart and wisdom — roughly stream-entry, non-return, and arahantship — but every grade is run through the identical three-part template of speed, beauty, and proportion.
Speed alone is not the whole picture
Within each of the three attainment-grades, a further three-way split repeats: fast but not beautiful or well proportioned (attainment alone, without confident teaching or material support); fast and beautiful but not well proportioned (attainment plus confident teaching, but without support); and all three together. Inner attainment is necessary but, the simile insists, not by itself sufficient to complete the picture.
A grid, not a ladder
Reading this discourse as one flat nine-item list obscures its real shape: it is a three-by-three grid, three grades of spiritual attainment each crossed against the same three qualities of speed, beauty, and proportion, giving nine combinations in total — the number this chapter is named for, reached here by multiplication rather than a single flat enumeration.
Key terms
The text
Wild colts and wild people
§1“Mendicants, I will teach you about three wild colts and three wild people; three excellent horses and three excellent people; and three fine thoroughbred horses and three fine thoroughbred people. Listen and apply your mind well, I will speak. And what are the three wild colts? One wild colt is fast, but not beautiful or well proportioned. Another wild colt is fast and beautiful, but not well proportioned. While another wild colt is fast, beautiful, and well proportioned. These are the three wild colts.
§2And what are the three wild people? One wild person is fast, but not beautiful or well proportioned. Another wild person is fast and beautiful, but not well proportioned. While another wild person is fast, beautiful, and well proportioned. And how is a wild person fast, but not beautiful or well proportioned? It’s when a mendicant truly understands: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’. This is how they’re fast, I say. But when asked a question about the teaching or training, they falter without answering. This is how they’re not beautiful, I say. And they don’t receive robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. This is how they’re not well proportioned, I say. This is how a wild person is fast, but not beautiful or well proportioned.
§3And how is a wild person fast and beautiful, but not well proportioned? They truly understand: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’. This is how they’re fast, I say. When asked a question about the teaching or training, they answer without faltering. This is how they’re beautiful, I say. But they don’t receive robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. This is how they’re not well proportioned, I say. This is how a wild person is fast and beautiful, but not well proportioned. And how is a wild person fast, beautiful, and well proportioned? They truly understand: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’. This is how they’re fast, I say. When asked a question about the teaching or training, they answer without faltering. This is how they’re beautiful, I say. They receive robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. This is how they’re well proportioned, I say. This is how a wild person is fast, beautiful, and well proportioned. These are the three wild people.
Excellent horses and excellent people
§4And what are the three excellent horses? One excellent horse … is fast, beautiful, and well proportioned. These are the three excellent horses. What are the three excellent people? One excellent person … is fast, beautiful, and well proportioned. And how is an excellent person … fast, beautiful, and well proportioned? It’s when a mendicant, with the ending of the five lower fetters, is reborn spontaneously. They’re extinguished there, and are not liable to return from that world. This is how they’re fast, I say. When asked a question about the teaching or training, they answer without faltering. This is how they’re beautiful, I say. They receive robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. This is how they’re well proportioned, I say. This is how an excellent person is fast, beautiful, and well proportioned. These are the three excellent people.
Fine thoroughbred horses and fine thoroughbred people
§5And what are the three fine thoroughbred horses? One fine thoroughbred horse … is fast, beautiful, and well proportioned. These are the three fine thoroughbred horses. And what are the three fine thoroughbred people? One fine thoroughbred person … is fast, beautiful, and well proportioned. And how is a fine thoroughbred person … fast, beautiful, and well proportioned? It’s a mendicant who realizes the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom in this very life. And they live having realized it with their own insight due to the ending of defilements. This is how they’re fast, I say. When asked a question about the teaching or training, they answer without faltering. This is how they’re beautiful, I say. They receive robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. This is how they’re well proportioned, I say. This is how a fine thoroughbred person is fast, beautiful, and well proportioned. These are the three fine thoroughbred people.”
Self-check quiz
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