‘Venerable Nāgasena, those two qualities of the cat you say he ought to have, which are they?’
‘Just, O king, as the cat, in frequenting caves and holes and the interiors of storied dwellings, does so only in the search after rats; just so, O king, should The strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, whether he have gone to the village or to the woods or to the foot of trees or into an empty house, be continually and always zealous in the search after that which is his food, namely self-possession. This is the first quality of the cat he ought to have.
‘And again, O king, as the cat in pursuing its prey always crouches down ; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, continue conscious of the origin and end of those five groups of the characteristic marks of individuality which arise out of clinging to existence, thinking to himself: “Such is form, such is its origin, such its end. Such is sensation, such is its origin, such its end. Such are ideas, such is their origin, such their end. Such are the mental potentialities (the conditions, Saṁkhārā), such is their origin, such their end. Such is self-consciousness, such is its origin, such its end.” This, O king, is the second quality of the cat he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by the Blessed One, the god over all gods:
“Seek not rebirths afar in future states.
Pray, what could heaven itself advantage you!
Now, in this present world, and in the state
In which you find yourselves, be conquerors!”’