Asaṁkiyajātaka
“The village breeds no fear in me.”—This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana, about a lay-brother who lived at Savatthi. Tradition says that this man, who had entered the Paths and was an earnest believer, was once journeying along on some business or other in the company of a leader of a caravan; in the jungle the carts were unyoked and a laager was constructed; and the good man began to pace up and down at the foot of a certain tree hard by the leader.
Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral
1.1PTS 1.334“Asaṅkiyomhi gāmamhi,I am unsuspecting in the village;11.2araññe natthi me bhayaṁ;in the wilderness there’s no peril for me:1.3Ujuṁ maggaṁ samārūḷho,I ride upon the straight path21.4mettāya karuṇāya cā”ti.with love and compassion.
2.1Asaṅkiyajātakaṁ chaṭṭhaṁ.
An ascetic is unafraid even in the presence of bandits, for he has nothing to lose.
For this idiom, see MN 12:39.7. Samārūḷha is literally “mounted”; the expression refers to travelling along on a horse, etc.
