English
Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One. The Anguttara Nikaya The Book of the Eights 1. The First Fifty 1. The Chapter on Loving-kindness 1. The Discourse on Loving-kindness Thus have I heard – On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: “Bhikkhus!” “Venerable sir!” those bhikkhus replied to the Blessed One. The Blessed One spoke thus: “Bhikkhus, when the liberation of mind by loving-kindness is cultivated, developed, practiced repeatedly, made a vehicle, made a basis, steadily undertaken, accumulated, and properly commenced, eight benefits may be expected. Which eight? One sleeps happily, one wakes happily, one does not see evil dreams, one is dear to human beings, one is dear to non-human beings, deities protect one, fire, poison, or weapons do not affect one, and if one does not penetrate further, one goes to the Brahma-world. Bhikkhus, when the liberation of mind by loving-kindness is cultivated, developed, practiced repeatedly, made a vehicle, made a basis, steadily undertaken, accumulated, and properly commenced, these eight benefits may be expected.” And whoever cultivates loving-kindness, boundless and mindful, their fetters become thin, as they see the destruction of clinging. If one, with an undefiled mind, shows loving-kindness to even one being, one is skilled by that. And one who feels compassion for all beings in mind, performs abundant merit, noble one. Those who, having conquered the seven continents of the earth, royal sages, performing sacrifices, went around; the horse sacrifice, the human sacrifice, the 'sammāpāsa' (stake sacrifice), the 'vājapeyya' (drink of strength), the 'niraggaḷa' (unbarred). They do not experience a sixteenth part of a mind well-cultivated with loving-kindness; just as all the star clusters, do not equal a sixteenth part of the moon's radiance. One who does not strike, nor cause to strike, nor conquer, nor cause to conquer; having loving-kindness for all beings, has no enmity with anyone. The First. 2. The Discourse on Wisdom 2. “Bhikkhus, these eight... These eight conditions lead to the acquisition of the wisdom of the holy life when not yet acquired, and to its increase, growth, development, and fulfillment when acquired. Which eight? Here, monks, a monk lives relying on the Teacher, or on some venerable fellow practitioner, where intense shame and dread are present in him, and love and respect. This, monks, is the first cause, the first condition for the wisdom of the holy life, for its acquisition when not yet acquired, and for its increase, growth, development, and fulfillment when acquired. Living relying on that Teacher, or on some venerable fellow practitioner, where intense shame and dread, love and respect are present in him, he approaches them from time to time and asks questions, inquires: ‘Venerable sir, how is this? What is the meaning of this?’ Those venerable ones reveal what was unrevealed to him, they make plain what was not plain, and they dispel his doubt concerning various doubtful points of the Dhamma. This, monks, is the second cause, the second condition for the wisdom of the holy life, for its acquisition when not yet acquired, and for its increase, growth, development, and fulfillment when acquired. Having heard that Dhamma, he accomplishes seclusion in two ways: by physical seclusion and by mental seclusion. This, monks, is the third cause, the third condition for the wisdom of the holy life, for its acquisition when not yet acquired, and for its increase, growth, development, and fulfillment when acquired. He is virtuous, he lives restrained by the Pātimokkha restraint, perfect in conduct and resort, seeing danger in the slightest faults, he undertakes and trains in the training rules. This, monks, is the fourth cause, the fourth condition for the wisdom of the holy life, for its acquisition when not yet acquired, and for its increase, growth, development, and cultivation. leads to its fulfillment. He is learned, a preserver of what he has heard, a collector of what he has heard. Those teachings that are good in the beginning, good in the middle, good in the end, with meaning and with phrasing, proclaiming the utterly complete and purified holy life— such teachings are much heard by him, held in mind, familiar through speech, examined with the mind, and well-penetrated by view. This, bhikkhus, is the fifth reason, the fifth condition, for the acquisition of the wisdom of the holy life when it has not been acquired, and for its increase, its growth, its development, and its fulfillment when it has been acquired. He dwells with aroused energy for the abandoning of unwholesome states, for the acquiring of wholesome states; he is strong, firm in exertion, not laying down the burden in wholesome states. This, bhikkhus, is the sixth reason, the sixth condition, for the acquisition of the wisdom of the holy life when it has not been acquired, and for its increase, its growth, its development, and its fulfillment when it has been acquired. Moreover, when he has gone to the Sangha, he does not engage in diverse talk, nor in worldly talk. He himself speaks on the Dhamma, or he invites another to speak, or he does not disdain the noble silence. This, bhikkhus, is the seventh reason, the seventh condition, for the acquisition of the wisdom of the holy life when it has not been acquired, and for its increase, its growth, its development, and its fulfillment when it has been acquired. Moreover, he dwells contemplating the rise and fall in the five aggregates of clinging: ‘Such is form, such is the origin of form, such is the passing away of form; such is feeling, such is the origin of feeling, such is the passing away of feeling; such is perception… such are volitional formations… such is consciousness, such is the origin of consciousness, such is the passing away of consciousness.’ This, bhikkhus, is the eighth reason, the eighth condition, for the acquisition of the wisdom of the holy life when it has not been acquired, and for its increase, its growth, its development, and its fulfillment. is fulfilled. “His fellow monastics speak of him thus: ‘This venerable one dwells relying on the Teacher, or on some respected fellow monastic, towards whom he has intense shame and dread, and love and reverence. Surely this venerable one knows, knowing, sees, seeing!’ This too is a quality that leads to endearment, to respect, to development, to harmony, to unity. “‘And this venerable one, dwelling relying on the Teacher, or on some respected fellow monastic, towards whom he has intense shame and dread, and love and reverence, approaches them from time to time and questions them, and asks them: “Venerable sir, how is this? What is the meaning of this?” And those venerable ones reveal what is unrevealed, make plain what is not plain, and dispel his doubts about various matters that give rise to doubt. Surely this venerable one knows, knowing, sees, seeing!’ This too is a quality that leads to endearment, to respect, to development, to harmony, to unity. “‘And this venerable one, having heard the Dhamma, accomplishes it by a twofold seclusion: seclusion of body and seclusion of mind. Surely this venerable one knows, knowing, sees, seeing!’ This too is a quality that leads to endearment, to respect, to development, to harmony, to unity. “‘And this venerable one is virtuous, he dwells restrained by the Pātimokkha restraint, perfect in conduct and resort, seeing danger in the slightest faults, he undertakes and trains in the training rules. Surely this venerable one knows, knowing, sees, seeing!’ This too is a quality that leads to endearment, to respect, to development, to harmony, to unity. “‘And this venerable one is learned, a preserver of what he has heard, a collector of what he has heard. Those teachings that are good in the beginning, good in the middle, good in the end, with meaning and with phrasing, proclaiming the utterly complete and purified holy life— And such teachings are much heard by him, remembered, familiar by word, contemplated in mind, and thoroughly understood by wisdom. Surely this venerable one, knowing, knows; seeing, sees! This teaching too conduces to endearment, to respect, to development, to harmony, to unity. And this venerable one dwells with aroused energy for the abandoning of unwholesome states, for the acquiring of wholesome states, strong, firm in effort, not laying down the burden in wholesome states. Surely this venerable one, knowing, knows; seeing, sees! This teaching too conduces to endearment, to respect, to development, to harmony, to unity. And this venerable one, when in the assembly, is not one of diverse talk, not one of worldly talk. He himself speaks the Dhamma, or invites another, or does not despise the noble silence. Surely this venerable one, knowing, knows; seeing, sees! This teaching too conduces to endearment, to respect, to development, to harmony, to unity. And this venerable one, in the five clinging-aggregates, dwells contemplating rise and fall: 'Thus is form, thus is the origin of form, thus is the passing away of form; thus is feeling, thus is the origin of feeling, thus is the passing away of feeling; thus is perception, thus is the origin of perception, thus is the passing away of perception; thus are formations, thus is the origin of formations, thus is the passing away of formations; thus is consciousness, thus is the origin of consciousness, thus is the passing away of consciousness.' Surely this venerable one, knowing, knows; seeing, sees! This teaching too conduces to endearment, to respect, to development, to harmony, to unity. These, bhikkhus, are the eight reasons, the eight conditions for the wisdom pertaining to the beginning of the holy life, for the acquiring of what is not yet acquired,