1 Seclusion
Thus have I heard. On one occasion a certain bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion, while that bhikkhu had gone for his day’s abiding, he kept on thinking evil unwholesome thoughts connected with the household life.
Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses:
758 “Desiring seclusion you entered the woods,
Yet your mind gushes outwardly.
Remove, man, the desire for people;
Then you’ll be happy, devoid of lust.532759 “You must abandon discontent, be mindful—
Let us remind [you] of that [way] of the good. <425>
Hard to cross, indeed, is the dusty abyss;
Don’t let sensual dust drag you down.533760 “Just as a bird littered with soil
With a shake flicks off the sticky dust,
So a bhikkhu, strenuous and mindful,
With a shake flicks off the sticky dust.”
Then that bhikkhu, stirred up by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency.
2 Rousing
On one occasion a certain bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. [198] Now on that occasion when that bhikkhu had gone for his day’s abiding he fell asleep.534Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses:
761 “Get up, bhikkhu, why lie down? <426>
What need do you have for sleep?
What slumber [can there be] for one afflicted,
Stricken, pierced by the dart?762 “Nurture in yourself that faith
With which you left behind the home life
And went forth into homelessness:
Don’t come under sloth’s control.”
[The bhikkhu:]
763 “Sensual pleasures are impermanent, unstable,
Though the dullard is enthralled with them.
When he’s free, detached among those bound,
Why trouble one gone forth?764 “When, by the removal of desire and lust
And the transcendence of ignorance,
That knowledge has been cleansed,
Why trouble one gone forth?536 <427>765 “When, by breaking ignorance with knowledge
And by destruction of the taints,
He is sorrowless, beyond despair,
Why trouble one gone forth?766 “When he is energetic and resolute,
Always firm in his exertion,
Aspiring to attain Nibbāna,
Why trouble one gone forth?”537
3 Kassapagotta
On one occasion the Venerable Kassapagotta was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion, when he had gone for his day’s abiding, the Venerable Kassapagotta exhorted a certain hunter.538Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for the Venerable Kassapagotta, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses:
767 “The bhikkhu strikes me as a dolt <428>
Who out of season exhorts a hunter
Roaming in the rugged mountains
With little wisdom, devoid of sense.768 “He listens but does not understand,
He looks but does not see;
Though the Dhamma is being spoken,
The fool does not grasp the meaning. [199]769 “Even if you would bring ten lamps
[Into his presence], Kassapa,
Still he would not see forms,
For he does not have eyes to see.”
Then the Venerable Kassapagotta, stirred up by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency.
4 A Number
On one occasion a number of bhikkhus were dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Then, when they had spent the rains there, after the three months had passed those bhikkhus set out on tour. <429> Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, not seeing those bhikkhus, lamenting, on that occasion recited this verse:
770 “Today discontent appears to me
When I see here so many vacant seats.
Where have they gone, Gotama’s disciples,
Those splendid speakers rich in learning?”539
When this was said, another devatā replied in verse:
771 “They’ve gone to Magadha, gone to Kosala,
And some are in the Vajjian land.
Like deer that roam free from ties,
The bhikkhus dwell without abode.”540
5 Ānanda
On one occasion the Venerable Ānanda was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion the Venerable Ānanda was excessively involved instructing lay people.541<430> Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for the Venerable Ānanda, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verse:
772 “Having entered the thicket at the foot of a tree,
Having placed Nibbāna in your heart, [200]
Meditate, Gotama, and don’t be negligent!
What will this hullabaloo do for you?”542
Then the Venerable Ānanda, stirred up by that deity, acquired a sense of urgency.
6 Anuruddha
On one occasion the Venerable Anuruddha was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Then a certain devatā of the Tāvatiṃsa host named Jālinī, a former consort of the Venerable Anuruddha, approached him and addressed him in verse:
773 “Direct your mind there [to that realm]
Where you dwelt in the past
Among the Tāvatiṃsa devas <431>
For whom all desires are fulfilled.
You will shine forth highly honoured,
Surrounded by celestial maidens.”
[Anuruddha:]
774 “Miserable are celestial maidens
Established in identity,
And miserable too are those beings
Attached to celestial maidens.”544
[Jālinī:]
775 “They do not know bliss
Who have not seen Nandana,
The abode of the glorious male devas
Belonging to the host of Thirty.”
[Anuruddha:]
776 “Don’t you know, you fool,
That maxim of the arahants?
Impermanent are all formations;
Their nature is to arise and vanish.
Having arisen, they cease:
Their appeasement is blissful.777 “Now I will never again dwell <432>
Among the deva host, Jālinī!
The wandering on in birth is ended:
Now there is no more renewed existence.”
7 Nāgadatta
On one occasion the Venerable Nāgadatta was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket.545Now on that occasion the Venerable Nāgadatta had been entering the village too early and returning too late in the day. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for the Venerable Nāgadatta, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, [201] approached him and addressed him in verses:
778 “Entering the village early,
Returning late in the day,
Nāgadatta associates too closely with lay folk,
Sharing their happiness and suffering.546779 “I am afraid for Nāgadatta,
So impudent, bound to families.
Do not come under the End-maker’s control, <433>
[In the grip] of the powerful King of Death.”
Then the Venerable Nāgadatta, stirred up by that deity, acquired a sense of urgency.
8 Family Mistress
On one occasion a certain bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion that bhikkhu had become excessively intimate with a certain family. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, manifested herself in the form of the mistress of that family. Having approached that bhikkhu, she addressed him in verse:
780 “By the riverbanks and in the rest house,
In the meeting halls and along the roads,
People meet and gossip about this:
What’s going on between you and me?”
[The bhikkhu:]
781 “There are many disagreeable sounds <434>
That an ascetic must patiently endure.
One should not be dismayed because of that,
For it is not by this one is defiled.782 “If one is frightened by random sounds
Like an antelope dwelling in the woods,
They call him ‘one with a fickle mind’:
His practice does not succeed.”548
9 Vajjian Prince (or Vesālī)
On one occasion a certain bhikkhu, a Vajjian prince, was dwelling at Vesālī in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion an all-night festival was being held in Vesālī. [202] Then that bhikkhu, lamenting as he heard the clamour of instruments, gongs, and music coming from Vesālī,549on that occasion recited this verse:
783 “We dwell in the forest all alone
Like a log rejected in the woods.
On such a splendid night as this <435>
Who is there worse off than us?”
Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verse:
784 “As you dwell in the forest all alone
Like a log rejected in the woods,
Many are those who envy you,
As hell-beings envy those going to heaven.”550
Then that bhikkhu, stirred up by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency.
10 Reciting
On one occasion a certain bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion that bhikkhu had been excessively engrossed in recitation, but on a later occasion he passed the time living at ease and keeping silent.551Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, no longer hearing that bhikkhu recite the Dhamma, <436> approached him and addressed him in verse:
785 “Bhikkhu, why don’t you recite Dhamma-stanzas,
Living in communion with other bhikkhus?
Hearing the Dhamma, one gains confidence;
In this very life [the reciter] gains praise.”
[The bhikkhu:]
786 “In the past I was fond of Dhamma-stanzas
So long as I had not achieved dispassion. [203]
But from the time I achieved dispassion
[I dwell in what] the good men call
‘The laying down by final knowledge
Of whatever is seen, heard, or sensed.”’552
11 Unwholesome Thoughts
On one occasion a certain bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion, when that bhikkhu had gone for the day’s abiding, he kept on thinking evil unwholesome thoughts, that is, thoughts of sensuality, ill will, and harming. <437> Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses:
787 “Because of attending carelessly,
You, sir, are eaten by your thoughts.
Having relinquished the careless way,
You should reflect carefully.553788 “By basing your thoughts on the Teacher,
On Dhamma, Saṅgha, and your own virtues,
You will surely attain to gladness,
And rapture and happiness as well.
Then when you are suffused with gladness,
You’ll make an end to suffering.”
Then that bhikkhu, stirred up by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency.
12 Noon
On one occasion a certain bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket <438> approached that bhikkhu and recited this verse in his presence:
789 “When the noon hour sets in
And the birds have settled down,
The mighty forest itself murmurs:
How fearful that appears to me!”
[The bhikkhu:]
790 “When the noon hour sets in
And the birds have settled down,
The mighty forest itself murmurs:
How delightful that appears to me!”
13 Loose in Sense Faculties
On one occasion a number of bhikkhus were dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. They were restless, puffed up, personally vain, rough-tongued, [204] rambling in their talk, muddle-minded, without clear comprehension, unconcentrated, scatter-brained, loose in their sense faculties. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for those bhikkhus, desiring their good, <439> desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in them, approached them and addressed them with verses:
791 “In the past the bhikkhus lived happily,
The disciples of Gotama.
Without wishes they sought their alms,
Without wishes they used their lodgings.
Having known the world’s impermanence,
They made an end to suffering.792 “But now like headmen in a village
They make themselves hard to maintain.
They eat and eat and then lie down,
Infatuated in others’ homes.793 “Having reverently saluted the Saṅgha,
I here speak only about some:
They are rejected, without protector,
Become just like the dead.794 “My statement is made with reference
To those who dwell in negligence.
As for those who dwell in diligence,
To them I humbly pay homage.”
Then those bhikkhus, stirred up by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency. <440>
14 The Thief of Scent
On one occasion a certain bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion, when he had returned from his alms round, after his meal that bhikkhu used to descend into a pond and sniff a red lotus. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verse:
795 “When you sniff this lotus flower,
An item that has not been given,
This is one factor of theft:
You, dear sir, are a thief of scent.”
[The devatā:]
798 “When a person is rough and fierce,
Badly soiled like a nursing cloth,
I have nothing to say to him;
But it’s to you that I ought to speak.799 “For a person without blemish,
Always in quest of purity,
Even a mere hair’s tip of evil
Appears as big as a cloud.”
[The bhikkhu:]
800 “Surely, spirit, you understand me,
And you have compassion for me.
Please, O spirit, speak to me again,
Whenever you see such a deed.”
[The devatā:]
801 “We don’t live with your support,
Nor are we your hired servant.
You, bhikkhu, should know for yourself <442>
The way to a good destination.”557
Then that bhikkhu, stirred by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency.
[206] <443>
532 In pāda c, since vinayassu is a middle voice, second person imperative, jano, though nominative, may function as a vocative lengthened to fit the metre. Spk seems to support this with its gloss: tvaṃ jano aññasmiṃ jane chandarāgaṃ vinayassu; “you, a person, remove desire and lust for other people.” The sentiment of this verse is echoed by Th 149-50.
533 I read pādas ab with Ee1: Aratiṃ pajahāsi so sato/Bhavāsi sataṃ taṃ sārayāmase. Norman understands the metre as irregular Vaitālı̄ya (personal communication). Be has the same but without the so in pāda a. The so is probably a third person demonstrative used with a second person verb, a construction already encountered at v. 647c; see n. 454. VĀT prefers a reading found among SS, Aratiṃ pajahāsi sato bhavāsi/Bhavataṃ sataṃ taṃ sārayāmase, but since Spk and Spk-pṭ do not comment on bhavataṃ it seems this word was not in the texts available to the commentators; Ee2 reads as above but omits bhavataṃ . The verbs pajahāsi and bhavāsi, which Spk glosses with the imperatives pajaha and bhava, conform to the criteria of the subjunctive, rare and archaic in Pāli (see Geiger, Pāli Grammar, §123). Se reads the last verb as sādayāmase, but sārayāmase in the other eds. makes better sense as the subjunctive causative of sarati, to remember > to remind (see Geiger, Pāli Grammar, §126).
Pāda b is particularly obscure and the commentators seem to have been unsure how to handle it. Spk offers two alternative interpretations of sataṃ taṃ sārayāmase: “‘Let us also remind you, a mindful one, a wise one [Spk-pṭ: to dispel worldly thoughts whenever they arise]’; or, ‘Let us remind you of the Dhamma of the good ones [Spk-pṭ: of the Dhamma of the good persons for the removal of defilements]’ (satimantaṃ paṇḍitaṃ taṃ mayam pi [yathāuppannaṃ vitakkaṃ vinodanāya] sārayāma, sataṃ vā dhammaṃ [sappurisānaṃ ilesavigamanadhammaṃ] mayaṃ tam sārayāma).” I have bypassed both alternatives and adopted VĀT′s suggestion that “you” is implicit and taṃ is “that,” representing the way of the good. In pāda c we should read duttaro over Ee1 duruttamo.
534 Spk: It is said that this bhikkhu was an arahant. After returning from a distant alms round he was fatigued and lay down to rest, but he did not actually fall asleep (even though the text says he did!). Thinking that he was lethargic and was neglecting his meditation practice, the devatā came to reprove him.
535 Spk is unsure whether to ascribe the verses that follow to the devatā or to the bhikkhu and therefore proposes two alternative interpretations. All four printed eds. indicate a change of voice before this verse, and thus I translate on the assumption that the bhikkhu is the speaker. Further, Spk takes the implicit subject of tape to be divāsoppaṃ, and explains the sense, “Why should sleeping by day trouble an arahant bhikkhu?”; but as the optative tape can be either second or third person singular, it seems more fitting to take the implicit subject to be the devatā, addressed by the elder in the second person, “Why (should you) trouble…?”
536 Spk: “That knowledge” (taṃ ñāṇaṃ) is the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths. In pāda a of the next verse I read bhetvā with Se and Ee1 & 2, as against chetvā in Be.
537 It seems that while the preceding two verses describe the arahant, this verse describes the sekha, the trainee, who is still striving to attain Nibbāna.
538 Spk glosses cheta with migaluddaka, a deer-hunter. He had gone out that morning to hunt and was pursuing a deer when he came upon the elder meditating in the woods. The elder set about teaching him the Dhamma, but though the hunter looked with his eyes and listened with his ears, his mind still ran in pursuit of the deer.
539 Geiger has caught the sense: “It seemed to the devatā that discontent with the monastic life had overcome the bhikkhus and they had given it up” (GermTr, p. 311, n. 2). On arati see n. 486.
540 Spk: Just as deer, wandering in the foothills or woodland thickets, wander wherever they find pleasant pastureland and dangers are absent, and have no attachment to their parents’ property or a family heirloom, so the homeless bhikkhus, without fixed abode, wander wherever they can easily find suitable climate, food, companionship, lodgings, and Dhamma-teachings, and have no attachment to the property of their teacher and preceptor or to a family heirloom.
541 Spk: This sutta takes place shortly after the Buddha’s parinibbāna. The Venerable Mahākassapa had enjoined Ānanda to attain arahantship before the first Buddhist council convened, scheduled to begin during the rains retreat. Ānanda had gone to the Kosala country and entered a forest abode to meditate, but when the people found out he was there they continually came to him lamenting over the demise of the Master. Thus Ānanda constantly had to instruct them in the law of impermanence. The devatā, aware that the council could succeed only if Ānanda attended as an arahant, came to incite him to resume his meditation.
542At Th 119 the verse is ascribed to one Vajjiputtaka Thera but is not found among Ānanda’s own verses in Th.
All four eds. read pāda b: Nibbānaṃ hadayasmiṃ opiya. At Th 119 the last word is read osiya, and we should adopt this reading here. I take it as absolutive of the verb oseti proposed by Norman at EV I, n. to 119; see too n. 223 above. Spk supports this with its gloss pakkhipitvā, “having placed.” Spk explains that one deposits Nibbāna in one’s heart by way of function (kiccato) and by way of object (ārammaṇato): by way of function when one arouses energy with the thought, “I will attain Nibbāna”; by way of object when one sits absorbed in a meditative attainment having Nibbāna as its object (i.e., in phalasamāpatti, the attainment of fruition).
In pāda d, biḷibiḷikā is explained by Spk-pṭ as purposeless activity (atthavirahitā pavattā kiriyā). The devatā refers thus to Ānanda’s talk with the lay people because it does not conduce to his attainment of the goal of the holy life.
543 Her name Jālinı̄, “Ensnarer,” is used as an epithet for taṇhā at v. 460a; see too n. 278 and AN II 211,31. According to Spk, she had been his chief consort in their immediately preceding existence in the Tāvatiṃsa heaven.
544 Spk: They are not duggata in the sense that they live in a miserable realm (duggati), for they dwell in a fortunate realm enjoying their success. They are miserable because of their conduct, for when they expire they might be reborn even in hell.
In pāda b, sakkāya, “identity,” is the compound of the five aggregates of clinging, which are all suffering (dukkha) because of their impermanence. Spk explains that the celestial maidens are “established in identity” (sakkāyasmiṃ patiṭṭhitā) for eight reasons: because of lust, hatred, delusion, views, the underlying tendencies, conceit, doubt, and restlessness. These are the same as the eight ways beings are “established in what can be expressed”; see n. 35. On sakkāya see 22:105, and on the devas being included in sakkāya, 22:78 (III 85,26-28).on the
In pāda d, Be, Se, and Ee2 read devakaññāhi patthitā, In pada d, Be, Se, and Ee2 read devakanndhi patthitā, “desired by celestial maidens,” and Ee1 devakaññābhipattikā. Since p/s confusion is not uncommon in the texts (see EV I, n. to 49), we can infer that the original reading is the one found in SS, devakaññābhisattikā, the reading also preferred by CPD. Abhisattika is an adjective formed from the past participle of abhisajjati, “to be attached to.” I am thankful to VĀT for pointing this out to me.
545 He is not identified in Spk, and DPPN records nothing about him except what is found in the present sutta.
546 I follow the reading of this verse and the next proposed by Alsdorf (in Die Āryā-Strophen des Pali-Kanons, pp. 319-20), but with modifications suggested by VĀT (namely, changing Alsdorf’s long vocative Nāgadattā to the nominative, and the four long vocatives in the second verse to accusatives, as in the printed eds.):
Kāle pavissa gāmaṃ/Nāgadatto divā ca āgantvā
ativelacārī saṃsaṭṭho/gahaṭṭhehi samānasukhadukkho.
Bhāyāmi Nāgadattaṃ/suppagabbhaṃ kulesu vinibaddhaṃ,
mā h’ eva maccurañño/ balavato antakassa vasam esi!
“Entering the village too early and returning too late in the day” and “associating closely with lay people and monks in a worldly way” are two of five factors said to lead to a bhikkhu’s falling away from the higher training (AN III 116, 27-117, 7). The meaning of the compound samānasukhadukkha is explained at 22:3 (III 11,5-6), though the compound itself does not occur there. The same compound is used at DN III 187,11-15 in a positive sense as a characteristic of a true friend.
547 Spk: He had received a meditation subject from the Buddha and entered a woodland thicket. The next day a family gave him alms and offered to provide him with regular support. Thereby he attained arahantship and continued to dwell in the same place enjoying the bliss of fruition attainment. The devatā (a female) was not aware of the elder’s attainment and thought he had formed an intimate relationship with the mistress of the family. Therefore she came in order to reproach him. Neither Spk nor Spk-pṭ comments on the rare expression kulagharaṇī.
548 The antelope (vātamiga, lit. “wind-deer”) is the subject of Ja No. 14. Spk: As an antelope in the woods becomes frightened by the sound of the wind rustling the leaves, so is it with one frightened by sounds (i.e., by rumours). The practice (vata) of one who is fickle-minded (lahucitta, lit. “light-minded”) does not succeed; but this elder, being an arahant, was one with a successful practice.
549An expanded version of this sutta is found at Dhp-a III 460-62; see BL 3:182-83.
Spk: The clamour (nigghosasadda) of instruments (turiya; Spk-pṭ: of drums, conch shells, cymbals, lutes, etc.); of gongs (tāḷita; Spk-pṭ: of things that are struck in rhythm); and of music (vādita; Spk-pṭ: of lutes, flutes, horns, etc.). See too n. 343.
550 Spk: “Many are those who yearn for your state—a forest-dwelling elder clad in rag-robes, subsisting on almsfood, going on uninterrupted alms round, with few wishes, content, etc.” Spk glosses saggagāminaṃ as “those going to heaven and those (already) gone there.”
551 Appossukko tuṇhībhūto saṅkasāyati. The expression occurs also at 21:4 (II 277,12) and 35:240 (IV 178,1-2); see above n. 54. Spk: He attained arahantship and reflected, “I have attained the goal for the sake of which I did the recitation, so why continue with it?” Then he passed the time in the bliss of fruition attainment.
552 The five-pāda verse is unusual. The sense requires that in pāda b we read na samāgamimha; though the printed eds. do not include na, the suggested reading is found in Burmese mss referred to in the notes of Ee1 & 2. Spk explains virāgena, dispassion, as the noble path. In pāda d, aññāyanikkhepanaṃ is a syntactical compound; see n. 68. Spk takes aññāya as absolutive (= jānitvā), but it could also be instrumental.
553 In pāda a, I read the verb as khajjasi with Be, Se, and Ee2, as against Ee1 majjasi, “intoxicated with.” Careless attention (ayoniso manasikāra) is traditionally explained as attending to things as permanent, pleasurable, self, and beautiful; careful attention (yoniso manasikāra), as attending to their true characteristics—impermanence, suffering, nonself, and foulness.
554An identical story, including the verses, is at Ja No. 392 (III 307-10), with the Bodhisatta in the role of the bhikkhu.
Spk: When she saw the bhikkhu sniff the lotus, the devatā thought: “Having received a meditation subject from the Buddha and entered the forest to meditate, this bhikkhu is instead meditating on the scent of flowers. If his craving for scent increases it will destroy his welfare. Let me draw near and reproach him.”
555 Spk: Vaṇṇena (in pāda c): kāraṇena. See PED, s.v. vaṇṇa (11), and v. 806a below.
556 All four eds. read, in pāda c, ākiṇṇakammanto, which Spk glosses aparisuddhakammanto, “of impure deed.” But SS read akhīṇa-, ākhīṇa-, and akkhīṇa-, which is acknowledged by Spk as a v.l. and glossed kakkhaḷakammanto, “of rough deed.” Spk (Be) reads akhīṇakammanto, Spk (Se) akkhīṇakammanto , which represents more correctly initial ā + kh. That this reading is to be preferred to ākiṇṇa- is confirmed by v. 798a, where ākhīṇaluddo would certainly make much better sense than the given reading ākiṇṇaluddho. See Norman, “Two Pāli Etymologies,” Collected Papers, 2:78-79.
557 In pāda b we should read bhatakāmhase, as in Be, Se, and Ee2. Spk: The devatā, it is said, thought: “This bhikkhu might become negligent, thinking he has a deity looking after his welfare. I won’t accept his proposal.”