English
(12) 2. The Chapter on Those Bound for the Lower Realms 1. Discourse on Those Bound for the Lower Realms 114. "There are these three, monks, who are bound for the lower realms, bound for hell, without abandoning this. Which three? One who is unchaste, claiming to be chaste; one who slanders a pure chaste liver with a baseless unchaste act; and one who holds such a view, who speaks thus: 'There is no fault in sensual pleasures,' he falls into the pit of sensual pleasures. These three, monks, are bound for the lower realms, bound for hell, without abandoning this." The first. 2. Discourse on the Rare 115. "The appearance of three things, monks, is rare in the world. Which three? The appearance of a Tathāgata, monks, an Arahant, a Fully Self-Awakened One, is rare in the world. A person who teaches the Dhamma-Vinaya proclaimed by the Tathāgata is rare in the world. A grateful and thankful person is rare in the world. The appearance of these three, monks, is rare in the world." The second. 3. Discourse on the Immeasurable 116. "There are these three persons, monks, existing, found in the world. Which three? The easily measurable, the difficult to measure, the immeasurable. And which person, monks, is easily measurable? Here, monks, a certain person is arrogant, haughty, fickle, talkative, scatter-tongued, forgetful, undiscerning, uncomposed, with a wandering mind, with unrestrained faculties. This, monks, is called the easily measurable person. "And which person, monks, is difficult to measure? Here, monks, a certain person is not arrogant, not haughty, not fickle, not talkative, not scatter-tongued, with established mindfulness, discerning, composed, with a one-pointed mind, with restrained faculties. This, monks, is called the difficult to measure person. "And which person, monks, is immeasurable? Here, monks, a monk is an Arahant, with defilements destroyed. This, monks, is called the immeasurable person. These three persons, monks, exist, are found in the world." The third. 4. Discourse on the Imperturbable 117. "Three There are, monks, persons existing, found in the world. Which three? Here, monks, a certain person, by completely transcending perceptions of form, by the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, by not attending to perceptions of diversity, thinking ‘space is infinite,’ enters and dwells in the dimension of infinite space. He delights in that, he is pleased with that, and he finds satisfaction in that. Abiding there, devoted to that, dwelling much in that, not falling away, when he dies, he is reborn into the company of the devas who have attained the dimension of infinite space. The lifespan, monks, of the devas who have attained the dimension of infinite space, is twenty thousand eons. There, a common person, having remained for their full lifespan, having exhausted all of the lifespan of those devas, goes to hell, goes to the animal realm, goes to the realm of hungry ghosts. But a disciple of the Blessed One, having remained there for their full lifespan, having exhausted all of the lifespan of those devas, attains final Nibbāna in that very existence. This, monks, is the distinction, this is the difference, this is the disparity between the well-instructed noble disciple and the uninstructed common person, regarding their destination, their rebirth. Furthermore, monks, here a certain person, by completely transcending the dimension of infinite space, thinking ‘consciousness is infinite,’ enters and dwells in the dimension of infinite consciousness. He delights in that, he is pleased with that, and he finds satisfaction in that. Abiding there, devoted to that, dwelling much in that, not falling away, when he dies, he is reborn into the company of the devas who have attained the dimension of infinite consciousness. The lifespan, monks, of the devas who have attained the dimension of infinite consciousness, is forty thousand eons. There, a common person, having remained for their full lifespan, having exhausted all of the lifespan of those devas, goes to hell, goes to the animal realm, goes to the realm of hungry ghosts. But a disciple of the Blessed One, having remained there for their full lifespan, having exhausted all of the lifespan of those devas having exhausted it, in that very existence, he attains final Nibbāna. This, bhikkhus, is the distinction, this is the special feature, this is the difference of the well-taught noble disciple from the untaught ordinary person, namely, in destiny and rebirth. Furthermore, bhikkhus, here some individual, having entirely transcended the sphere of infinite consciousness, thinking ‘there is nothing,’ enters and dwells in the sphere of nothingness. He delights in that, he enjoys that, and he finds satisfaction in that. Dwelling there, devoted to that, frequently abiding in that, not falling away, when he passes away, he is reborn into the companionship of the devas who have attained the sphere of nothingness. The lifespan of the devas who have attained the sphere of nothingness, bhikkhus, is sixty thousand eons. There, an ordinary person, having remained for the full extent of life, having exhausted that entire lifespan of those devas, goes to hell, or goes to the animal realm, or goes to the realm of hungry ghosts. But the disciple of the Blessed One, having remained there for the full extent of life, having exhausted that entire lifespan of those devas, in that very existence, attains final Nibbāna. This, bhikkhus, is the distinction, this is the special feature, this is the difference of the well-taught noble disciple from the untaught ordinary person, namely, in destiny and rebirth. ‘These three individuals, bhikkhus, exist and are found in the world.’ Fourth. 5. The Discourse on Failures and Accomplishments 118. “These three, bhikkhus, are failures. Which three? Failure in virtue, failure in mind, failure in view. And what, bhikkhus, is failure in virtue? Here, bhikkhus, some individual is a killer of living beings, takes what is not given, engages in sexual misconduct, is a speaker of falsehood, is a speaker of divisive speech, is a speaker of harsh speech, is a speaker of idle chatter. This, bhikkhus, is called failure in virtue. And what, bhikkhus, is failure in mind? Here, bhikkhus, some individual is covetous and has ill will in mind. This, bhikkhus, is called failure in mind. And what, bhikkhus, is failure in view? Is there? Here, monks, some person holds wrong view, has perverted vision – ‘There is no giving, there is no sacrifice, there is no offering, there is no fruit or result of good and bad deeds, there is no this world, there is no other world, there is no mother, there is no father, there are no spontaneously arisen beings, there are no ascetics and brahmins in the world who are rightly gone, rightly practiced, who, having themselves realized and directly known this world and the other world, proclaim it.’ This, monks, is called perversion of view. Or, monks, due to perversion of virtue, beings, at the breaking up of the body, after death, reappear in a state of deprivation, a bad destination, a downfall, hell. Or, monks, due to perversion of mind, beings, at the breaking up of the body, after death, reappear in a state of deprivation, a bad destination, a downfall, hell. Or, monks, due to perversion of view, beings, at the breaking up of the body, after death, reappear in a state of deprivation, a bad destination, a downfall, hell. These, monks, are the three perversions. These, monks, are the three accomplishments. Which three? Accomplishment in virtue, accomplishment in mind, accomplishment in view. And what, monks, is accomplishment in virtue? Here, monks, some person abstains from taking life, abstains from taking what is not given, abstains from sexual misconduct, abstains from false speech, abstains from divisive speech, abstains from harsh speech, abstains from idle chatter. This, monks, is called accomplishment in virtue. And what, monks, is accomplishment in mind? Here, monks, some person is not covetous, has a mind free from ill will. This, monks, is called accomplishment in mind. And what, monks, is accomplishment in view? Here, monks, some person holds right view, has unperverted vision – ‘There is giving, there is sacrifice, there is offering, there is fruit and result of good and bad deeds, there is this world, there is the other world, there is mother, there is father, there are spontaneously arisen beings, there... in this world there are ascetics and brahmins who are rightly gone, rightly practiced, who, having themselves directly known and realized this world and the other world, declare them. This, monks, is called accomplishment in view. Because of accomplishment in virtue, monks, beings, at the breaking up of the body, after death, are reborn in a good destination, a heavenly world. Because of accomplishment in mind, monks, beings, at the breaking up of the body, after death, are reborn in a good destination, a heavenly world. Because of accomplishment in view, monks, beings, at the breaking up of the body, after death, are reborn in a good destination, a heavenly world. These, monks, are the three accomplishments. The Fifth. 6. The Unquestionable Discourse 119. These, monks, are three failures. Which three? Failure in virtue, failure in mind, failure in view. And what, monks, is failure in virtue? Here, monks, a certain one is a killer of living beings… …is a speaker of frivolous talk. This, monks, is called failure in virtue. And what, monks, is failure in mind? Here, monks, a certain one is covetous, with a mind of ill-will. This, monks, is called failure in mind. And what, monks, is failure in view? Here, monks, a certain one has wrong view, a perverted outlook— ‘There is no giving, there is no sacrifice… …who, having themselves directly known and realized this world and the other world, declare them.’ This, monks, is called failure in view.