English
I do not say it does not exist. But that sight, bhikkhus, is lowly, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, unbeneficial, it does not lead to disenchantment, nor to dispassion, nor to cessation, nor to peace, nor to direct knowledge, nor to full enlightenment, nor to Nibbāna. But whoever, bhikkhus, goes to see the Tathāgata, or a disciple of the Tathāgata, with established faith, with established love, having reached certainty, with profound confidence, this, bhikkhus, is the unsurpassed sight, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and distress, for the attainment of the method, for the realization of Nibbāna, that is, to go to see the Tathāgata, or a disciple of the Tathāgata, with established faith, with established love, having reached certainty, with profound confidence. This, bhikkhus, is called the unsurpassed sight. Thus, the unsurpassed sight. And how is the unsurpassed hearing? Here, bhikkhus, some go to hear the sound of a drum, they go to hear the sound of a lute, they go to hear the sound of singing, or they go to hear various sounds, they go to hear the Dhamma of a recluse or brahmin with wrong view, practicing wrongly. That hearing exists, bhikkhus; I do not say it does not exist. But that hearing, bhikkhus, is lowly, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, unbeneficial, it does not lead to disenchantment, nor to dispassion, nor to cessation, nor to peace, nor to direct knowledge... for knowledge, not for full enlightenment, not for Nibbana. But whoever, monks, goes to hear the Dhamma from a Tathagata or a disciple of a Tathagata, with firm faith, with firm love, fully devoted, deeply confident— this, monks, is the unsurpassed hearing for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and distress, for the attainment of knowledge, for the realization of Nibbana; namely, whoever goes to hear the Dhamma from a Tathagata or a disciple of a Tathagata, with firm faith, with firm love, fully devoted, deeply confident. This is called, monks, the unsurpassed hearing. Thus, the unsurpassed seeing, the unsurpassed hearing. And how, monks, is the unsurpassed gain? Here, monks, someone obtains a gain of sons, obtains a gain of wives, obtains a gain of wealth, or obtains various kinds of gains. He obtains faith in recluses or brahmins of wrong view, of wrong practice. That, monks, is a gain; I do not say it is not. But that gain, monks, is inferior, common, worldly, ignoble, not conducive to welfare, not for disenchantment, not for dispassion, not for cessation, not for peace, not for direct knowledge, not for full enlightenment, not for Nibbana. But whoever, monks, obtains faith in a Tathagata or a disciple of a Tathagata, with firm faith, with firm love, fully devoted, deeply confident— this, monks, is the unsurpassed gain for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and distress, for the attainment of knowledge, for the realization of Nibbana; namely, whoever obtains faith in a Tathagata or a disciple of a Tathagata, with firm faith, with firm love, fully devoted, deeply confident. This is called, monks, the unsurpassed gain. Thus, the unsurpassed seeing, the unsurpassed hearing, the unsurpassed gain. And how, monks, is the unsurpassed training? Here, monks, someone in elephant-riding... He trains, he trains in horses, he trains in chariots, he trains in archery, he trains in swordsmanship, or he trains in various things, he trains under a recluse or brahmin of wrong view, of wrong practice. Monks, there is this training; I do not say it does not exist. But this training, monks, is inferior, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, not conducive to welfare. It does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to tranquility, to direct knowledge, to full enlightenment, to Nibbāna. But whoever, monks, in the Dhamma and Vinaya proclaimed by the Tathāgata, trains in higher virtue, trains in higher mind, trains in higher wisdom, with settled faith, with settled love, having gone to the ultimate, with profound confidence— this, monks, is the unsurpassed training for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and grief, for the attainment of the method, for the realization of Nibbāna. Namely, whoever in the Dhamma and Vinaya proclaimed by the Tathāgata trains in higher virtue, trains in higher mind, trains in higher wisdom, with settled faith, with settled love, having gone to the ultimate, with profound confidence. This, monks, is called the unsurpassed training. Thus, the unsurpassed seeing, the unsurpassed hearing, the unsurpassed gain, the unsurpassed training. And how is the unsurpassed service? Here, monks, some person serves a noble, serves a brahmin, serves a householder, or serves various people, serves a recluse or brahmin of wrong view, of wrong practice. Monks, there is this service; I do not say it does not exist. But this service, monks, is inferior, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, not conducive to welfare. It does not lead to disenchantment... to Nibbāna. But whoever, monks, serves the Tathāgata or a disciple of the Tathāgata, with settled faith, with settled love, having gone to the ultimate. deeply serene. This, monks, is the unsurpassed service for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and displeasure, for the attainment of the method, for the realization of Nibbāna. Namely, one serves the Tathāgata or a Tathāgata's disciple, with established faith, with established love, having gone to the ultimate, deeply serene. This, monks, is called the unsurpassed service. Thus: the unsurpassed seeing, the unsurpassed hearing, the unsurpassed gain, the unsurpassed training, the unsurpassed service. And how, monks, is the unsurpassed recollection? Here, monks, some recollect the gain of sons, recollect the gain of wives, recollect the gain of wealth, or recollect various other gains, or recollect a recluse or brahmin of wrong view, practicing wrongly. There is, monks, such recollection; I do not say it does not exist. But that recollection, monks, is low, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, not connected with benefit. It does not lead to disenchantment, nor to dispassion, nor to cessation, nor to tranquility, nor to direct knowledge, nor to full enlightenment, nor to Nibbāna. But whoever, monks, recollects the Tathāgata or a Tathāgata's disciple, with established faith, with established love, having gone to the ultimate, deeply serene— this, monks, is the unsurpassed recollection for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and displeasure, for the attainment of the method, for the realization of Nibbāna. Namely, one recollects the Tathāgata or a Tathāgata's disciple, with established faith, with established love, having gone to the ultimate, deeply serene. This, monks, is called the unsurpassed recollection. These, monks, are the six unsurpassed things. Those who have attained the unsurpassed seeing, and the unsurpassed hearing; Having attained the unsurpassed gain, they delight in the unsurpassed training. They attend to their service, developing mindfulness, connected with seclusion, leading to safety, to the deathless. Delighting in heedfulness, wise, restrained by virtue, they ripen in due time, where suffering ceases. The Anuttariya Chapter, the Third. Its summary: Sāmaka, Aparihāniya, Bhaya, Himavā, Anussati, Kaccāna (two), Samayā, Udāyī, Anuttariya.