“In three situations, mendicants, you should be keen. What three? You should be keen to prevent bad, unskillful qualities from arising. You should be keen to give rise to skillful qualities. And you should be keen to endure physical pain—sharp, severe, acute, unpleasant, disagreeable, life-threatening. In these three situations, you should be keen.
It’s a mendicant who is keen to prevent bad, unskillful qualities from arising. They’re keen to give rise to skillful qualities. And they’re keen to endure physical pain—sharp, severe, acute, unpleasant, disagreeable, life-threatening. This is called a mendicant who is keen, alert, and mindful so as to rightly make an end of suffering.”
Numbered Discourses 3.50 5. The Lesser Chapter A Master Thief
“
Mendicants, a master thief with three factors breaks into houses, plunders wealth, steals from isolated buildings, and commits highway robbery. What three? A master thief relies on uneven ground, on thick cover, and on the powerful. And how does a master thief rely on uneven ground? It’s when a master thief relies on inaccessible riverlands or rugged mountains. That’s how a master thief relies on uneven ground.
And how does a master thief rely on thick cover? It’s when a master thief relies on thick grass, thick trees, a blind spot, or a large forest grove. That’s how a master thief relies on thick cover.