English
...teacher of gods and humans, the Awakened One, the Blessed One.' This, Byagghapajja, is called accomplishment in faith. And what, Byagghapajja, is accomplishment in virtue? Here, Byagghapajja, a gentleman abstains from taking life... ...abstains from fermented and distilled intoxicants which are the basis for heedlessness. This, Byagghapajja, is called accomplishment in virtue. And what, Byagghapajja, is accomplishment in generosity? Here, Byagghapajja, a gentleman dwells at home with a mind free from the stain of stinginess, open-handed, clean-handed, delighting in giving up, responsive to requests, delighting in sharing gifts. This, Byagghapajja, is called accomplishment in generosity. And what, Byagghapajja, is accomplishment in wisdom? Here, Byagghapajja, a gentleman is wise, endowed with wisdom that sees rise and fall, noble, penetrating, leading to the right destruction of suffering. This, Byagghapajja, is called accomplishment in wisdom. These, Byagghapajja... "Today, four qualities conduce to the welfare and happiness in the next world for a good householder's son." "Energetic in his work, Heedful, methodical; He maintains a balanced livelihood, And guards what he has acquired. "Faithful, endowed with virtue, Generous, free from avarice; He constantly purifies the path, To welfare in the next world. "Thus these eight qualities, For the faithful householder, Are truly declared, Bringing happiness in both worlds. "For welfare in this present life, And for happiness in the next world; Thus for householders, Generosity increases merit." The fourth. 5. The Discourse to Ujjaya Then indeed, Ujjaya the brahmin approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he exchanged greetings with the Blessed One. Having exchanged courteous and memorable talk, he sat down to one side. Seated to one side, Ujjaya the brahmin said this to the Blessed One: "We, good Gotama, wish to go on a journey. May the good Gotama teach us a Dhamma which would be for our welfare in this present life, for happiness in this present life, for welfare in the next life, and for happiness in the next life." "These four qualities, brahmin, conduce to the welfare in this present life and happiness in this present life for a good householder's son. Which four? Accomplishment in diligence, accomplishment in protection, good friendship, and balanced livelihood. And what, brahmin, is accomplishment in diligence? Here, brahmin, a good householder's son, by whatever occupation he earns his living—whether by farming, or by trade, or by cattle-breeding, or by archery, or by royal service, or by any other craft—there he is skillful, not lazy, endowed with the means and the ability to investigate, able to do, able to arrange. This, brahmin, is called accomplishment in diligence. "And what, brahmin, is accomplishment in protection? Here, brahmin, for a good householder's son, there are possessions acquired by energetic striving, accumulated by the strength of his arms, earned by the sweat of his brow, righteous, obtained by righteous means. He accomplishes protection and guarding, thinking: 'How can these possessions of mine not be carried away by kings, not carried away by thieves, not burned by fire, not swept away by water, not carried away by unloved heirs?' This is called, brahmin, the accomplishment of protection. And what, brahmin, is good friendship? Here, brahmin, a householder's son lives in whatever village or town, and there are those who are – householders or householders' sons, young but of mature character, or old and of mature character, endowed with faith, endowed with virtue, endowed with generosity, endowed with wisdom – with them he associates, converses, and engages in discussion; he emulates the accomplishment of faith of those endowed with faith, he emulates the accomplishment of virtue of those endowed with virtue, he emulates the accomplishment of generosity of those endowed with generosity, he emulates the accomplishment of wisdom of those endowed with wisdom. This is called, brahmin, good friendship. And what, brahmin, is balanced livelihood? Here, brahmin, a householder's son, knowing his income and his expenses, maintains a balanced livelihood, neither too extravagant nor too meager – 'Thus my income will exceed my expenses, and my expenses will not exceed my income.' Just as, brahmin, a scale-bearer or his apprentice, having lifted the scale, knows – 'By so much it is low, by so much it is high'; even so, brahmin, a householder's son, knowing his income and his expenses, maintains a balanced livelihood, neither too extravagant nor too meager – 'Thus my income will exceed my expenses, and my expenses will not exceed my income.' If, brahmin, this householder's son, having little income, maintains an extravagant livelihood, there are those who say of him – 'This householder's son consumes his wealth like one eating figs.' But if, brahmin, this householder's son, having great income, maintains a meager livelihood, there are those who say of him – 'a or this young man will die of old age.’ But when, brahmin, this young man, knowing the income of his wealth and knowing the outgo of his wealth, maintains a balanced livelihood, not too extravagant, not too meager— ‘Thus my income will stand, not being overcome by outgo, and my outgo will not overcome my income’— this, brahmin, is called balanced livelihood. “For wealth thus acquired, brahmin, there are four ways to ruin: being addicted to women, being addicted to liquor, being addicted to gambling, having evil friends, evil companions, evil associates. Just as, brahmin, for a great pond there are four inlets and four outlets. If a man were to close the inlets and open the outlets; and the sky were not to send down rain properly. Then, brahmin, for that great pond, decline is to be expected, not growth. Even so, brahmin, for wealth thus acquired, there are four ways to ruin: being addicted to women, being addicted to liquor, being addicted to gambling, having evil friends, evil companions, evil associates. “For wealth thus acquired, brahmin, there are four ways to growth: not being addicted to women, not being addicted to liquor, not being addicted to gambling, having good friends, good companions, good associates. Just as, brahmin, for a great pond there are four inlets and four outlets. If a man were to open the inlets and close the outlets; and the sky were to send down rain properly. Then, brahmin, for that great pond, growth is to be expected, not decline. Even so, brahmin, for wealth thus acquired, there are four ways to growth: not being addicted to women… …having good associates. These four things, brahmin, lead to the welfare and happiness of a young man in this present life. “These four things, brahmin, for a young man lead to the welfare of the future, to the happiness of the future. Which are these four? Accomplishment in faith, accomplishment in virtue, accomplishment in generosity, accomplishment in wisdom. And what, brahmin, is accomplishment in faith? Here, brahmin, a son of good family is faithful, he has faith in the Tathāgata's enlightenment – 'Indeed, that Blessed One is... ...teacher of gods and humans, the Awakened One, the Blessed One.' This is called, brahmin, accomplishment in faith. And what, brahmin, is accomplishment in virtue? Here, brahmin, a son of good family abstains from taking life... ...abstains from fermented and distilled intoxicants which are a basis for heedlessness. This is called, brahmin, accomplishment in virtue. And what, brahmin, is accomplishment in generosity? Here, brahmin, a son of good family dwells at home with a mind free from the stain of stinginess, open-handed, clean-handed, delighting in giving, responsive to requests, delighting in the distribution of gifts. This is called, brahmin, accomplishment in generosity. And what, brahmin, is accomplishment in wisdom? Here, brahmin, a son of good family is wise... ...leading to the right destruction of suffering. This is called, brahmin, accomplishment in wisdom. These four qualities, brahmin, lead to the welfare of a son of good family in the future, to his happiness in the future. Diligent in his work, heedful and well-ordered; he maintains his livelihood evenly, and guards what he has gathered. Faithful, accomplished in virtue, generous, free from stinginess; he constantly purifies the path, which leads to future well-being. Thus these eight qualities, of a faithful householder; are declared by the truth, bringing happiness in both worlds. For the welfare in this life, and for happiness in the future; for householders, generosity increases merit. 6. The Discourse on Fear 56. "Fear," monks, is a designation for sensual pleasures. "Suffering," monks, is a designation for sensual pleasures. "Disease," monks, is a designation for sensual pleasures. "Boil," monks, is a designation for sensual pleasures. It is a designation. 'A dart', monks, is a designation for sensual pleasures. 'A bond', monks, is a designation for sensual pleasures. 'A mire', monks, is a designation for sensual pleasures. 'A womb', monks, is a designation for sensual pleasures. And why, monks, is 'fear' a designation for sensual pleasures? Because, monks, one who is infatuated with sensual passion, bound by desire and lust, is not freed from present fear, nor is he freed from future fear. Therefore, 'fear' is a designation for sensual pleasures. And why, monks, is 'suffering'... 'a disease'... 'a boil'... 'a dart'... 'a bond'... 'a mire'... 'a womb' a designation for sensual pleasures? Because, monks, one who is infatuated with sensual passion, bound by desire and lust, is not freed from present womb, nor is he freed from future womb. Therefore, 'a womb' is a designation for sensual pleasures. Fear, suffering, and disease, A boil, a dart, and a bond; A mire, a womb, both of these, Are called sensual pleasures; Where the ordinary person is attached.