AN 5:99 · The Lion (Sīha Sutta)

“Monks, the lion, the king of beasts, leaves his lair in the evening. Having left his lair, he stretches himself. Having stretched himself, he looks all around the four directions. Having looked all around the four directions, he roars his lion’s roar three times. Having roared his lion’s roar three times, he heads out for game. When he gives a blow to an elephant, he gives the blow attentively, not inattentively. When he gives a blow to a buffalo… to a cow… to a leopard, he gives the blow attentively, not inattentively. When he gives a blow to small animals, even to hares & cats, he gives the blow attentively, not inattentively. Why is that? [He thinks,] ‘May the skill I’ve acquired not be lost.’

“‘Lion,’ monks, is a synonym for the Tathāgata, worthy & rightly self-awakened. When the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma to his assembly, that is his lion’s roar. When the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma to monks, he teaches the Dhamma attentively, not inattentively. When the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma to nuns… to male lay followers… to female lay followers, he teaches the Dhamma attentively, not inattentively. When the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma to run-of-the-mill people—even to beggars & hunters of fowl—he teaches the Dhamma attentively, not inattentively. Why is that? The Tathāgata is one who respects the Dhamma, reveres the Dhamma.”

See also: MN 122; SN 6:2; AN 4:33; AN 7:56

Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 licence, for free distribution only. Source: dhammatalks.org (Metta Forest Monastery).