PTS vp En 311 PTS cs 11 ‘Venerable Nāgasena, those five qualities of fire which you say he ought to take, which are they?’
‘just, O king, as fire burns grass, and sticks, and branches, and leaves; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, burn out in the fire of wisdom all evil dispositions which feed on objects of thought, whether subjective or objective, whether desirable or the reverse. This, O king, is the first quality of fire he ought to have.
PTS cs 12 ‘And again, O king, as fire has no pity, neither mercy; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, show no pity, neither mercy, to any evil dispositions. This, O king, is the second quality of fire he ought to have.
PTS cs 13 ‘And again, O king, as fire destroys cold; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, lighting up in his heart the burning fire of zeal, destroy all evil dispositions therein. This, O king, is the third quality of fire he ought to have.
PTS cs 14 ‘And again, O king, as fire, seeking no favour of any man, bearing no ill-will to any man, makes heat for all; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, dwell in spirit like the fire, fawning on none, bearing ill-will to none. This, O king, is the fourth quality of fire he ought to have.
PTS cs 15 ‘And again, O king, as fire dispels darkness, and makes the light appear; just so, O king, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, dispel the PTS vp En 312 darkness of ignorance, and make the light of knowledge to appear. This is the fifth quality of fire he ought to have. For it was said, O king, by the Blessed One, the god over all gods, in his exhortation to Rāhula, his son:
PTS vp Pali 385 “Practise thyself, Rāhula, in that meditation which acts like fire. Thereby shall no wrong dispositions, which have not yet arisen, arise within thee, nor shall they that have arisen bear sway over thy heart.”’