English
That person who, having heard, does not retain the Dhamma, in that respect, he is blameworthy. That person who, having heard, retains the Dhamma, in that respect, he is praiseworthy. “There are two persons who, having heard, retain the Dhamma—one examines the meaning of the retained teachings; one does not examine the meaning of the retained teachings. That person who does not examine the meaning of the retained teachings, in that respect, he is blameworthy. That person who examines the meaning of the retained teachings, in that respect, he is praiseworthy. “There are two persons who examine the meaning of the retained teachings—one, having understood the meaning and understood the Dhamma, practices in accordance with the Dhamma; one, having understood the meaning and understood the Dhamma, does not who practices in accordance with the Dhamma. That person, who, understanding the meaning, understanding the Dhamma, does not practice in accordance with the Dhamma, is thus blameworthy in that respect. That person, who, understanding the meaning, understanding the Dhamma, practices in accordance with the Dhamma, is thus praiseworthy in that respect. Two persons, understanding the meaning, understanding the Dhamma, practice in accordance with the Dhamma: one practices for their own benefit, not for others' benefit; one practices for their own benefit and for others' benefit. That person, who practices for their own benefit, not for others' benefit, is thus blameworthy in that respect. That person, who practices for their own benefit and for others' benefit, is thus praiseworthy in that respect. Thus, bhikkhus, are persons known by a bhikkhu in two ways. Thus, bhikkhus, is a bhikkhu one who knows persons, both superior and inferior. "A bhikkhu, bhikkhus, endowed with these seven qualities, is worthy of offerings, worthy of hospitality... the unsurpassed field of merit for the world." The Fourth. 5. The Pāricchattaka Sutta 69. "At that time, bhikkhus, when the Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree of the Tāvatiṃsa devas has yellow leaves, the Tāvatiṃsa devas, bhikkhus, are delighted at that time: 'Now the Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree has yellow leaves; soon it will be without leaves!'" "At that time, bhikkhus, when the Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree of the Tāvatiṃsa devas is without leaves, the Tāvatiṃsa devas, bhikkhus, are delighted at that time: 'Now the Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree is without leaves; soon it will be covered with buds!'" "At that time, bhikkhus, when the Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree of the Tāvatiṃsa devas is covered with buds, the Tāvatiṃsa devas, bhikkhus, are delighted at that time: 'Now the Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree is covered with buds; soon it will be covered with blossoms!'" "At that time, bhikkhus, when the Pāricchattaka The koviḷāra tree is in bud. Delighted, bhikkhus, are the Tāvatiṃsa gods at that time: 'Now the Pāricchattaka koviḷāra is in bud, it will soon be in sprout!' Bhikkhus, at the time when the Tāvatiṃsa gods' Pāricchattaka koviḷāra is in sprout, delighted, bhikkhus, are the Tāvatiṃsa gods at that time: 'Now the Pāricchattaka koviḷāra is in sprout, it will soon be in bud-sheath!' Bhikkhus, at the time when the Tāvatiṃsa gods' Pāricchattaka koviḷāra is in bud-sheath, delighted, bhikkhus, are the Tāvatiṃsa gods at that time: 'Now the Pāricchattaka koviḷāra is in bud-sheath, it will soon be in full bloom!' Bhikkhus, at the time when the Tāvatiṃsa gods' Pāricchattaka koviḷāra is in full bloom, delighted, bhikkhus, are the Tāvatiṃsa gods. At the root of the Pāricchattaka koviḷāra, for four divine months, endowed and furnished with the five strands of sensual pleasure, they attend. And indeed, bhikkhus, the fully bloomed Pāricchattaka koviḷāra is pervaded by its radiance for fifty leagues all around. Its fragrance travels a hundred leagues downwind. Such is the power of the Pāricchattaka koviḷāra. In the same way, bhikkhus, at the time when a noble disciple intends to go forth from home into homelessness, a noble disciple, bhikkhus, at that time is like a yellow leaf, just like the Tāvatiṃsa gods' Pāricchattaka koviḷāra. Bhikkhus, at the time when a noble disciple, having shaved off hair and beard, and put on saffron robes, has gone forth from home into homelessness, a noble disciple, bhikkhus, at that time is like a fallen leaf, just like the Tāvatiṃsa gods' Pā... The Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree. At that time, monks, when a noble disciple, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, with applied thought and sustained thought, born of seclusion, filled with rapture and happiness, enters and abides in the first jhana, that noble disciple, monks, at that time becomes like the Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree of the Tāvatiṃsa gods, having put forth buds. At that time, monks, when a noble disciple, with the fading away of applied thought and sustained thought, with internal assurance and unification of mind, without applied thought and sustained thought, born of concentration, filled with rapture and happiness, enters and abides in the second jhana, that noble disciple, monks, at that time becomes like the Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree of the Tāvatiṃsa gods, having put forth sprouts. At that time, monks, when a noble disciple, with the fading away of rapture, abides in equanimity, mindful and clearly comprehending, and experiences happiness with the body, of which the noble ones declare: 'He abides in happiness with equanimity and mindfulness.' He enters and abides in the third jhana, that noble disciple, monks, at that time becomes like the Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree of the Tāvatiṃsa gods, having put forth tender leaves. At that time, monks, when a noble disciple, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and sorrow, enters and abides in the fourth jhana, which is neither painful nor pleasant, and includes purity of mindfulness due to equanimity, that noble disciple, monks, at that time becomes like the Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree of the Tāvatiṃsa gods, having put forth blossoms. At that time, monks, when a noble disciple, with the destruction of the taints, having realized for himself with direct knowledge in this very life the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, enters and abides in it, that noble disciple, monks, at that time becomes like the Pāricchattaka Koviḷāra tree of the Tāvatiṃsa gods, fully blossomed with all fruits. At that time, monks, the earth deities proclaim a sound: ‘This Venerable One, named so-and-so, a fellow-dweller of Venerable so-and-so, having gone forth from such-and-such a village or town, from home to homelessness, with the destruction of the taints, having realized for himself with direct knowledge in this very life the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, he enters and abides in it.’ Having heard the sound of the earth deities, the Deities of the Four Great Kings, the Tāvatiṃsa Deities, the Yāma Deities, the Tusita Deities, the Nimmānaratī Deities, the Paranimmitavasavattī Deities, the Brahmakāyika Deities proclaim a sound: ‘This Venerable One, named so-and-so, a fellow-dweller of Venerable so-and-so, having gone forth from such-and-such a village or town, from home to homelessness, with the destruction of the taints, having realized for himself with direct knowledge in this very life the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, he enters and abides in it.’ from a village or a town, having gone forth from home to homelessness, by the destruction of the taints, having realized for himself with direct knowledge in this very life the taintless liberation of mind, liberation through wisdom, he abides. Thus, at that moment, at that instant, the sound [of approval] reaches up to the Brahma-world. Such is the power of a monk whose taints are destroyed. Fifth. 6. The Sakkacca Sutta 70. Then, when Venerable Sāriputta was in seclusion, reflecting, this thought arose in his mind: "By revering, respecting, and relying on what, would a monk abandon unwholesome states and cultivate wholesome states?" Then this thought occurred to Venerable Sāriputta: "By revering, respecting, and relying on the Teacher, a monk would abandon unwholesome states and cultivate wholesome states. By revering, respecting, and relying on the Dhamma... By revering, respecting, and relying on the Saṅgha... By revering, respecting, and relying on the training... By revering, respecting, and relying on concentration... By revering, respecting, and relying on diligence... By revering, respecting, and relying on hospitality, a monk would abandon unwholesome states and cultivate wholesome states." Then this thought occurred to Venerable Sāriputta: "These states of mine are purified and cleansed. What if I were to take these states and report them to the Blessed One? Then these states of mine would be purified and considered even more purified. Just as if a man were to find a gold nugget, pure and cleansed. He would think: 'This gold nugget of mine is pure and cleansed. What if I were to take this gold nugget and show it to the goldsmiths? Then this gold nugget of mine, having gone to the goldsmiths, would be pure and considered even more purified.' Even so, these states of mine are purified and cleansed. What if I were to take these states and report them to the Blessed One?" I would report to the Blessed One. Thus these states of mine will be purified and more thoroughly purified. Then indeed, Venerable Sāriputta, having risen from seclusion in the evening, approached the Blessed One; having approached and paid homage to the Blessed One, he sat down to one side. Seated to one side, Venerable Sāriputta, spoke thus to the Blessed One: "Here, Bhante, while I was in seclusion, a thought arose in my mind thus: ‘What, indeed, should a monk respect, revere, and rely upon, dwelling thus, to abandon unwholesome states and develop wholesome states?’ Then, Bhante, it occurred to me: