[111] Then Kesi the horse trainer approached the Blessed One; having approached and paid homage to the Blessed One, he sat down to one side. As Kesi the horse trainer sat there to one side, the Blessed One said this to him: "You, Kesi, are known (saññāto) as a trainer of horses to be tamed. And how, Kesi, do you train a horse to be tamed?"
"Venerable sir, I train a horse to be tamed by gentleness, I train it by harshness, and I train it by both gentleness and harshness."
"But, Kesi, if a horse to be tamed does not submit to training by gentleness, does not submit to training by harshness, does not submit to training by both gentleness and harshness, what do you do with it?"
"Venerable sir, if a horse to be tamed does not submit to training by gentleness, does not submit to training by harshness, does not submit to training by both gentleness and harshness, I kill it, venerable sir. For what reason? Thinking: 'Let there be no discredit to my teacher's lineage.' But, venerable sir, the Blessed One is the unsurpassed trainer of persons to be tamed (purisadammasārathi). How, venerable sir, does the Blessed One train a person to be tamed?"
"I too, Kesi, train a person to be tamed by gentleness, I train him by harshness, and I train him by both gentleness and harshness. Herein, Kesi, this is the way by gentleness: 'Such is good bodily conduct (kāyasucarita), such is the result (vipāka) of good bodily conduct; such is good verbal conduct, such is the result of good verbal conduct; such is good mental conduct, such is the result of good mental conduct; such are the devas, such are human beings.' Herein, Kesi, this is the way by harshness: 'Such is bodily misconduct (kāyaduccarita), such is the result of bodily misconduct; such is verbal misconduct, such is the result of verbal misconduct; such is mental misconduct, such is the result of mental misconduct; such is hell (niraya), such is the animal realm (tiracchānayoni), such is the realm of hungry ghosts (pittivisaya).' Herein, Kesi, this is the way by both gentleness and harshness: 'Such is good bodily conduct, such is the result of good bodily conduct; such is bodily misconduct, such is the result of bodily misconduct; such is good verbal conduct, such is the result of good verbal conduct; such is verbal misconduct, such is the result of verbal misconduct; such is good mental conduct, such is the result of good mental conduct; such is mental misconduct, such is the result of mental misconduct; such are the devas, such are human beings, such is hell, such is the animal realm, such is the realm of hungry ghosts.'"
"But, venerable sir, if a person to be tamed does not submit to training by gentleness, does not submit to training by harshness, does not submit to training by both gentleness and harshness, what does the Blessed One do with him?"
"Kesi, if a person to be tamed does not submit to training by gentleness, does not submit to training by harshness, does not submit to training by both gentleness and harshness, I kill him, Kesi."
"Venerable sir, the destruction of life (pāṇātipāta) is not proper for the Blessed One. And yet the Blessed One says thus: 'I kill him, Kesi.'"
"It is true, Kesi: the destruction of life is not proper for the Tathāgata. But when a person to be tamed does not submit to training by gentleness, does not submit to training by harshness, does not submit to training by both gentleness and harshness, the Tathāgata does not consider him worth speaking to or worth instructing, nor do his wise fellows in the holy life (sabrahmacārī) consider him worth speaking to or worth instructing. For this, Kesi, is a thorough slaying in the discipline of the Noble One: that the Tathāgata does not consider one worth speaking to or worth instructing, nor do one's wise fellows in the holy life consider one worth speaking to or worth instructing."
"Indeed, venerable sir, that one is thoroughly slain whom the Tathāgata does not consider worth speaking to or worth instructing, nor do his wise fellows in the holy life consider worth speaking to or worth instructing. Excellent, venerable sir! Excellent, venerable sir! Just as, venerable sir, one might set upright what had been overturned, or uncover what had been concealed, or point out the way to one who was lost, or hold up an oil lamp in the darkness so that those with eyes might see forms—even so has the Dhamma been made clear by the Blessed One in many ways. I, venerable sir, go to the Blessed One for refuge, and to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha of bhikkhus. May the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life from this day forward."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.