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B0102051607tissametteyyasuttaniddeso (tissa metta sutra commentary)

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nor made by a sister, nor made by friends and associates, nor made by relatives and kinsmen, nor made by ascetics and brahmins, nor made by deities. This is a liberation-ending, a true designation of the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, at the foot of the Bodhi tree, upon the attainment of omniscience, namely, “Blessed One” – thus said the Blessed One to Metteyya. Or the teaching might perish. For two reasons the teaching perishes: the teaching of study perishes, and the teaching of practice perishes. What is the teaching of study? That which is learned by heart – discourses, mixed prose and verse, expositions, verses, inspired utterances, ‘thus-saids’, birth stories, wonderful phenomena, question and answer – this is the teaching of study. That too perishes, is forgotten, is lost, is completely lost, becomes external – thus too the teaching might perish. What is the teaching of practice? Right practice, conforming practice, non-contrary practice, meaningful practice, practice in accordance with the Dhamma, completeness in observing precepts, guardedness of the sense doors, moderation in eating, devotion to wakefulness, mindfulness and clear comprehension, the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right strivings, The four bases of psychic power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of awakening, the noble eightfold path – this is the teaching of practice. And this too is forgotten, is utterly forgotten, is completely forgotten, is entirely forgotten, becomes external. Thus is the teaching forgotten. And he practices wrongly. He kills living beings, he takes what is not given, he cuts through houses, he plunders property, he commits single-house robbery, he lies in wait on the highway, he goes to another's wife, he speaks falsehood – and he practices wrongly. This in him is ignoble. This in that person is an ignoble quality, a foolish quality, a deluded quality, a quality of ignorance, a quality of wavering and distraction, namely, wrong practice – this in him is ignoble. Therefore the Blessed One said: "For one engaged in sexual intercourse, [Metteyya, said the Blessed One] The teaching is forgotten; And he practices wrongly, This in him is ignoble." 51. One who, having formerly lived alone, now indulges in sexual intercourse; He is called a broken vehicle in the world, a base ordinary person. "One who, having formerly lived alone": For two reasons, one has formerly lived alone – either by way of ordination, or by way of renouncing the group. How is it "by way of ordination, one has formerly lived alone"? Having cut off all household ties, having cut off ties to children and wife, having cut off ties to relatives, having cut off ties to friends and associates, having cut off ties to possessions, having shaved off hair and beard, having donned saffron robes, having gone forth from home to homelessness, having attained a state of having nothing, he lives alone, dwells alone, moves alone, behaves alone, sustains himself alone, maintains himself alone, supports himself alone. Thus, "by way of ordination, one has formerly lived alone." How is it "by way of renouncing the group, one has formerly lived alone"? Such a monk, having thus gone forth, frequents solitary forest and wilderness abodes, places of little noise, of little clamor, where the winds are solitary, where humans are rarely seen, suitable for seclusion. He walks alone, he stands alone, he sits alone, he lies down alone. one enters a village for alms, one returns, one sits in solitude, one undertakes walking meditation, one moves, dwells, acts, behaves, maintains, carries on, lives. Thus, by the meaning of a group's first, one went forth previously. "One who engages in sexual intercourse." Sexual intercourse, that is, that ignoble practice… …for that reason it is called sexual intercourse. "One who engages in sexual intercourse." One who, at a later time, rejecting the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, and training, reverts to a lower state, and engages in, partakes of, associates with, practices sexual intercourse— that is, one who engages in sexual intercourse. "Like a runaway vehicle, he looks upon it." Vehicle means an elephant-vehicle, a horse-vehicle, an ox-vehicle, a goat-vehicle, a sheep-vehicle, a camel-vehicle, a donkey-vehicle. A runaway, untamed, untrained, undisciplined one takes the wrong path, climbs over uneven ground, even stumps and rocks, breaks the vehicle and its mount, falls into precipices. Just as that runaway vehicle, untamed, untrained, undisciplined, takes the wrong path; even so, that deluded one, like a runaway vehicle, takes the wrong path, takes up wrong view… …takes up wrong concentration. Just as that runaway vehicle, untamed, untrained, undisciplined, climbs over uneven ground, even stumps and rocks; even so, that deluded one, like a runaway vehicle, climbs over wrong bodily action, climbs over wrong verbal action, climbs over wrong mental action, climbs over wrong taking of life, climbs over wrong taking of what is not given, climbs over wrong sexual misconduct, climbs over wrong false speech, climbs over wrong slanderous speech, climbs over wrong harsh speech, climbs over wrong idle chatter, climbs over wrong covetousness, climbs over wrong ill-will, climbs over wrong wrong view, climbs over wrong formations, climbs over wrong five sense pleasures, climbs over wrong hindrances. Just as that runaway vehicle, untamed, untrained, undisciplined and a vehicle, even its ascent, breaks. Just so, that confused one, like a broken vehicle, destroys himself in hell, destroys himself in the animal realm, destroys himself in the realm of hungry ghosts, destroys himself in the human world, destroys himself in the divine world. Just as that broken vehicle, untamed, unmade, undisciplined, falls into a precipice; just so, that confused one, like a broken vehicle, falls into the precipice of birth, falls into the precipice of old age, falls into the precipice of sickness, falls into the precipice of death, falls into the precipice of sorrow, lamentation, pain, dejection, and despair. "In the world" means in the realms of woe, in the human world – that is like a broken vehicle in the world. They call the ordinary person lowly. "Ordinary person" – in what sense are they ordinary persons? They are ordinary persons because they generate various defilements, they are ordinary persons because their personality view is not destroyed, they are ordinary persons because they look to the faces of various teachers, they are ordinary persons because they have not risen from all destinations, they are ordinary persons because they perform various volitional formations, they are ordinary persons because they are carried away by various floods, they are ordinary persons because they are tormented by various torments, they are ordinary persons because they are consumed by various fevers, they are ordinary persons because they are attached, greedy, infatuated, deluded, immersed, stuck, clinging, entangled in the five sense pleasures, they are ordinary persons because they are covered, veiled, obscured, hidden, concealed, obstructed by the five hindrances. They call the ordinary person lowly. They said, they declare, they speak, they explain, they use the term "lowly, inferior, base, contemptible, wretched, insignificant" for the ordinary person – thus they call the ordinary person lowly. Therefore the Blessed One said: "One who, having previously lived alone, then engages in sexual intercourse; that is like a broken vehicle in the world, they call him a lowly ordinary person." 52. And whatever fame and glory he had before, that too declines for him. Seeing this too, one should train to abandon sexual intercourse. e. Fame and glory that were before, these too decline for him. What is fame? Here, someone, formerly a monk, is respected, revered, honored, worshipped, esteemed, and receives robes, almsfood, lodgings, medicinal requisites for the sick – this is fame. What is glory? Here, someone, formerly a monk, is renowned for his qualities, wise, skilled, intelligent, learned, eloquent, quick-witted – as a master of discourses, or a master of discipline, or a Dhamma speaker, or a forest dweller, or an almsfood eater, or a rag-robe wearer, or a three-robe wearer, or one who walks for alms in sequence, or one who eats only once, or a sitter, or one who uses whatever bedding is available, or one who has attained the first jhāna, or one who has attained the second jhāna, or one who has attained the third jhāna, or one who has attained the fourth jhāna, or one who has attained the dimension of infinite space, or one who has attained the dimension of infinite consciousness, or one who has attained the dimension of nothingness, or one who has attained the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception – this is glory – fame and glory that were before. These too decline for him. For him, at a later time, having renounced the Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, and training, having reverted to a lower state, that fame and that glory decline, diminish, decay, fall away, disappear, are destroyed – fame and glory that were before, these too decline for him. Seeing this too, one should train to abandon sexual intercourse. This means: fame and glory in the former state as a monk, and in the later state, having renounced the Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, and training, having reverted to a lower state, disrepute and lack of glory; this is prosperity and adversity. Seeing means: having seen, having weighed, having judged, having understood, having made clear – seeing this too. Should train means: the three trainings – the training in higher virtue, the training in higher mind, the training in higher wisdom. What is the training in higher virtue? Here, a monk is virtuous, he dwells restrained by the Pātimokkha restraint, endowed with good conduct and resort, seeing danger in the slightest faults. One who trains, having undertaken,