English
One who approaches superiors rises quickly. Therefore, associate with those superior to yourself. "These three persons, monks, are existing, found in the world. Which three? The 'dung-speaker', the 'flower-speaker', and the 'honey-speaker'. And what kind of person, monks, is the 'dung-speaker'? Here, monks, some individual, having gone to an assembly, or to a gathering, or among relatives, or among a guild, or among royalty, is brought forward and questioned as a witness: 'Come, good man, speak what you know.' He, not knowing... he says, 'I know,' (when he doesn't know), or knowing, he says, 'I don't know,' or not seeing, he says, 'I see,' or seeing, he says, 'I don't see.' Thus, for his own sake, or for another's sake, or for the sake of some trifling gain, he speaks a deliberate lie. This, bhikkhus, is called the person who speaks filth. "And what, bhikkhus, is the person who speaks flowers? Here, bhikkhus, a certain person, gone to an assembly, or gone to a gathering, or gone among relatives, or gone among a guild, or gone among a royal court, is brought forward and questioned as a witness: 'Come, good sir, speak what you know!' He, not knowing, says, 'I don't know,' or knowing, he says, 'I know,' or not seeing, he says, 'I don't see,' or seeing, he says, 'I see.' Thus, for his own sake, or for another's sake, or for the sake of some trifling gain, he does not speak a deliberate lie. This, bhikkhus, is called the person who speaks flowers. "And what, bhikkhus, is the person who speaks honey? Here, bhikkhus, a certain person, having abandoned harsh speech, abstains from harsh speech. That speech which is gentle, pleasing to the ear, affectionate, going to the heart, urbane, dear to many, agreeable to many— such speech he speaks. This, bhikkhus, is called the person who speaks honey. These three persons, bhikkhus, exist and are found in the world." The Eighth. 9. The Discourse on the Blind 29. "These three persons, bhikkhus, exist and are found in the world. Which three? The blind, the one-eyed, the two-eyed. And what, bhikkhus, is the blind person? Here, bhikkhus, a certain person does not have the kind of eye by which he might acquire unacquired wealth, or make acquired wealth grow. Nor does he have the kind of eye by which he might know wholesome and unwholesome states, know blameworthy and blameless states, know inferior and superior states, know dark and bright states with their counterparts... he would know. This, monks, is called a blind person. And what, monks, is a one-eyed person? Here, monks, a certain person has such an eye by which eye he might acquire wealth not yet acquired, or make wealth already acquired grow. But he does not have such an eye by which eye he would know wholesome and unwholesome states, he would know blameworthy and blameless states, he would know inferior and superior states, he would know dark and bright states with their counterparts. This, monks, is called a one-eyed person. And what, monks, is a two-eyed person? Here, monks, a certain person has such an eye by which eye he might acquire wealth not yet acquired, or make wealth already acquired grow. And he also has such an eye by which eye he would know wholesome and unwholesome states, he would know blameworthy and blameless states, he would know inferior and superior states, he would know dark and bright states with their counterparts. This, monks, is called a two-eyed person. These, monks, are the three persons existing, found in the world. Neither are there such possessions, nor does he do merits. In both, there is a losing throw, for the blind, whose eye is lost. Then another is declared, the one-eyed person. Mixed with right and wrong, he seeks possessions. By theft, by deceitful action, and by both, by false speech; Skilled is he in accumulating, a human enjoying sense-pleasures. From here, he goes to hell, the one-eyed one is afflicted. But the two-eyed one is declared, the best of persons. With wealth gained by Dhamma, riches acquired by effort. He gives with noble intention, a person with an unagitated mind. He goes to a good destination, where having gone, he does not grieve. The blind and the one- And the single eye, one should avoid from afar. But one should associate with the two-eyed, the excellent person.” The ninth. 10. The Sutta on the Upside-Down Pot 30. “These three persons, monks, are found existing in the world. Which three? The person with upside-down wisdom, the person with lap-wisdom, the person with extensive wisdom. And which, monks, is the person with upside-down wisdom? Here, monks, some person frequently goes to the monastery to listen to the Dhamma in the presence of monks. To him the monks teach the Dhamma, beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end, with meaning and with expression, they proclaim the entirely complete, perfectly pure holy life. Sitting in that seat, he does not pay attention to the beginning of that talk, nor pay attention to the middle, nor pay attention to the end. Even having risen from that seat, he does not pay attention to the beginning of that talk, nor pay attention to the middle, nor pay attention to the end. Just as, monks, an overturned pot— water poured into it flows out, does not stay; even so, monks, some person here frequently goes to the monastery to listen to the Dhamma in the presence of monks. To him the monks teach the Dhamma, beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end, with meaning and with expression, they proclaim the entirely complete, perfectly pure holy life. Sitting in that seat, he does not pay attention to the beginning of that talk, nor pay attention to the middle, nor pay attention to the end. Even having risen from that seat, he does not pay attention to the beginning of that talk, nor pay attention to the middle, nor pay attention to the end. This, monks, is called the person with upside-down wisdom. “And which, monks, is the person with lap-wisdom? Here, monks, some person frequently goes to the monastery to listen to the Dhamma in the presence of monks. to him the monks teach the Dhamma, beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end, with meaning and with phrasing, they proclaim the entirely complete, pure spiritual life. He, seated in that seat, attends to the beginning of that talk, attends to the middle, attends to the end; but having risen from that seat, he does not attend to the beginning of that talk, nor to the middle, nor to the end. Just as, monks, a man has various snacks scattered in his lap— sesame seeds, rice grains, sweetmeats, jujubes. He, rising from that seat, would scatter them due to forgetfulness. Even so, monks, some individual here goes to the monastery frequently to listen to the Dhamma in the presence of the monks. To him the monks teach the Dhamma, beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end, with meaning and with phrasing, they proclaim the entirely complete, pure spiritual life. He, seated in that seat, attends to the beginning of that talk, attends to the middle, attends to the end; but having risen from that seat, he does not attend to the beginning of that talk, nor to the middle, nor to the end. This, monks, is called an individual with a lap-full of wisdom. And what, monks, is an individual with extensive wisdom? Here, monks, some individual goes to the monastery frequently to listen to the Dhamma in the presence of the monks. To him the monks teach the Dhamma, beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end, with meaning and with phrasing, they proclaim the entirely complete, pure spiritual life. He, seated in that seat, attends to the beginning of that talk, attends to the middle, attends to the end; and having risen from that seat, he also attends to the beginning of that talk, attends to the middle, attends to the end. Just as, monks, an upright pot, water poured into it, stays and does not spill out; Even so, monks, a certain person here goes to a monastery often to hear the Dhamma from the bhikkhus. To him, the bhikkhus teach the Dhamma, beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end, with meaning and with letter, proclaiming the entirely complete and purified holy life. He, sitting in that seat, pays attention to the beginning of that talk, pays attention to the middle, pays attention to the end; Even having risen from that seat, he pays attention to the beginning of that talk, pays attention to the middle, pays attention to the end. This, monks, is called a person of broad wisdom. "These, monks, are the three persons existing, found in the world." A person of upside-down pot wisdom, dull-witted, undiscerning; Even if he often goes, to the bhikkhus' presence. The beginning of the talk, the middle, and the end, such a one; Is unable to grasp, for wisdom is not found in him. A person of lap-bag wisdom, is called better than this one; Even if he often goes, to the bhikkhus' presence. The beginning of the talk, the middle, and the end, such a one; Sitting in that seat, having grasped the letter; Having risen, he does not understand, what was grasped slips away from him. And a person of broad wisdom, is called better than these; Even if he often goes, to the bhikkhus' presence. The beginning of the talk, the middle, and the end, such a one; Sitting in that seat, having grasped the letter. He holds it, with noble resolve, a person with an unagitated mind; Practicing according to the Dhamma, he would be an ender of suffering. The filth-speaker, and the blind man tumbles down.