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in truth, and in unshakeability. If I were to know— ‘This quality exists in me,’ I would say of it, ‘It exists’— ‘This quality is found in me.’ If I were to know— ‘This quality does not exist in me,’ I would say of it, ‘It does not exist’— ‘This quality is not found in me.’ “Even when spoken to in this way, Sāriputta, some foolish men here do not take it in the right way.” “Those individuals, Venerable Sir, who are faithless, who have gone forth from home to homelessness for a livelihood, not out of faith, who are deceitful, fraudulent, cunning, arrogant, conceited, fickle, talkative, with scattered speech, with unguarded sense-doors, immoderate in eating, not devoted to wakefulness, not concerned with recluseship, not greatly respectful of the training, fond of company, lazy, foremost in backsliding, having laid aside the burden of seclusion, indolent, of weak energy, with confused mindfulness, without full comprehension, unconcentrated, with wandering minds, of poor wisdom, dumb and mute—they, when spoken to by me in this way, do not take it in the right way. “But those noble sons, Venerable Sir, who are faithful, who have gone forth from home to homelessness out of faith, who are not deceitful, not fraudulent, not cunning, not arrogant, not conceited, not fickle, not talkative, with unscattered speech, with guarded sense-doors, moderate in eating, devoted to wakefulness, concerned with recluseship, greatly respectful of the training, not fond of company, not lazy, having laid aside the burden of backsliding, foremost in seclusion, with aroused energy, with resolute minds, with established mindfulness, with full comprehension, concentrated, with one-pointed minds, wise, not dumb and mute—they, when spoken to by me in this way, take it in the right way.” “Those individuals, Sāriputta, who are faithless, who have gone forth from home to homelessness for a livelihood, not out of faith, who are deceitful, fraudulent, cunning, arrogant, conceited, fickle, talkative, Of scattered speech, unguarded in their senses, immoderate in food, not devoted to wakefulness, not caring for recluseship, not greatly respectful of training, fond of company, slack, foremost in falling away, having cast off the burden of seclusion, lazy, of low energy, forgetful, not comprehending, unconcentrated, with wandering minds, unwise, dull and stupid— let them stand aside. But those, Sāriputta, young men of good family, who out of faith have gone forth from home to homelessness, not deceitful, not fraudulent, not cunning, not arrogant, not conceited, not fickle, not talkative, not of scattered speech, guarded in their senses, moderate in food, devoted to wakefulness, caring for recluseship, greatly respectful of training, not fond of company, not slack, having cast off the burden of falling away, foremost in seclusion, aroused in energy, resolute, with mindfulness established, comprehending, concentrated, with one-pointed minds, wise, not dull and stupid— you, Sāriputta, should speak to them. Advise, Sāriputta, your fellow practitioners; instruct, Sāriputta, your fellow practitioners— ‘I will raise my fellow practitioners from unwholesome states and establish them in wholesome states.’ For thus, Sāriputta, should you train. The Seventh. 8. Discourse on Virtue 168. Thereupon, Venerable Sāriputta addressed the bhikkhus: "For one who is immoral, friends, whose virtue is corrupted, right concentration has no proximate cause; when right concentration is absent, for one whose right concentration is corrupted, knowledge and vision of things as they are has no proximate cause; when knowledge and vision of things as they are is absent, for one whose knowledge and vision of things as they are is corrupted, disenchantment and dispassion has no proximate cause; when disenchantment and dispassion is absent, for one whose disenchantment and dispassion is corrupted, knowledge and vision of liberation has no proximate cause. Just as, friends, a tree lacking branches and foliage. Its bark does not come to full development, nor its inner bark... nor its sapwood... nor its heartwood. Even so, friends, for one who is immoral, whose virtue is corrupted, right concentration has no proximate cause; when right concentration is absent, for one whose right concentration is corrupted, knowledge and vision of things as they are has no proximate cause." seeing things as they are; when there is no seeing things as they are, for one deprived of seeing things as they are, the condition for disenchantment and dispassion is destroyed; when there is no disenchantment and dispassion, for one deprived of disenchantment and dispassion, the condition for knowledge and vision of liberation is destroyed. “For one endowed with virtue, friend, for one complete in virtue, right concentration is complete in its condition; when there is right concentration, for one complete in right concentration, seeing things as they are is complete in its condition; when there is seeing things as they are, for one complete in seeing things as they are, disenchantment and dispassion is complete in its condition; when there is disenchantment and dispassion, for one complete in disenchantment and dispassion, knowledge and vision of liberation is complete in its condition. Just as, friend, a tree, is complete with branches and leaves. Its bark also reaches completion, its inner bark also… its sapwood also… its heartwood also reaches completion. Even so, friend, for one endowed with virtue, for one complete in virtue, right concentration is complete in its condition; when there is right concentration, for one complete in right concentration, seeing things as they are is complete in its condition; when there is seeing things as they are, for one complete in seeing things as they are, disenchantment and dispassion is complete in its condition; when there is disenchantment and dispassion, for one complete in disenchantment and dispassion, knowledge and vision of liberation is complete in its condition.” The Eighth. 9. The Discourse on Quick Understanding Then Venerable Ānanda approached Venerable Sāriputta; having approached, he exchanged greetings with Venerable Sāriputta. Having concluded the courteous and memorable talk, he sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, Venerable Ānanda said to Venerable Sāriputta: “To what extent, friend Sāriputta, is a monk quick to understand, well-grasped in wholesome qualities, learns much, and what he has learned is not forgotten?” “Venerable Ānanda is learned. May Venerable Ānanda himself explain it.” “Then, friend Sāriputta, Listen, attend carefully; I will speak.” “Yes, friend,” the venerable Sāriputta replied to the venerable Ānanda. The venerable Ānanda said this: “Here, friend Sāriputta, a monk is skilled in meaning, skilled in the Dhamma, skilled in expression, skilled in language, and skilled in sequence. To this extent, friend Sāriputta, a monk is quick to understand wholesome states, quick to grasp what is well-grasped, grasps much, and what he has grasped is not forgotten.” “Wonderful, friend! Amazing, friend! How well spoken this is by the venerable Ānanda. And we hold the venerable Ānanda to be endowed with these five qualities – ‘the venerable Ānanda is skilled in meaning, skilled in the Dhamma, skilled in expression, skilled in language, skilled in sequence.’” The Ninth. 10. Bhaddaji Sutta 170. At one time the venerable Ānanda was staying in Kosambī, in Ghositārāma. Then the venerable Bhaddaji approached the venerable Ānanda; having approached, he exchanged greetings with the venerable Ānanda. Having concluded the courteous and memorable talk, he sat down to one side. To the venerable Bhaddaji, sitting to one side, the venerable Ānanda said this: “What, friend Bhaddaji, is the foremost of sights, what is the foremost of sounds, what is the foremost of pleasures, what is the foremost of perceptions, what is the foremost of existences?” “There is, friend, Brahmā, the Overlord, the Unovercome, the All-seeing, the Wielder of Power; whoever sees that Brahmā, this is the foremost of sights. There are, friend, the Ābhassara devas, completely filled and pervaded with pleasure. They, from time to time, utter an exclamation – ‘Oh, what pleasure! Oh, what pleasure!’ Whoever hears that sound, this is the foremost of sounds. There are, friend, the Subhakiṇha devas. They, being tranquil and content, experience pleasure; this is the foremost of pleasures. There are, friend, the devas who have attained the dimension of nothingness; this is the foremost of perceptions. There are, friend, the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception— The devas have come, "This is the best of existences." "Does this agree with Venerable Bhaddaji, what is said by many people?" "Venerable Ananda is indeed learned. Let Venerable Ananda himself explain." "Then, friend Bhaddaji, listen, pay close attention; I will speak." "Yes, friend," Venerable Bhaddaji replied to Venerable Ananda. Venerable Ananda said this: "Indeed, friend, when one sees, and immediately there is the destruction of the taints, this is the best of sights. When one hears, and immediately there is the destruction of the taints, this is the best of hearings. When one is happy, and immediately there is the destruction of the taints, this is the best of happinesses. When one perceives, and immediately there is the destruction of the taints, this is the best of perceptions. When one exists, and immediately there is the destruction of the taints, this is the best of existences." The Tenth. The Chapter on Resentment, the Second. Its summary: Two on removing resentment, discussion, from livelihood, a question; Inquiry, cessation, admonition, virtue, discernment, Bhaddaji.