English
With the destruction of lust, hatred, and delusion, he is unbound— These are the two liberations. This is the explanation of the Sutta. 116. What is the teaching therein? What is taught in this Sutta? Two happy destinations: devas and humans, divine five sense pleasures, and human ones. The explanation is by two phrases. To one who gives, merit grows; By restraint, enmity does not accumulate; And the skillful one abandons evil— This is called the path. With the destruction of lust, hatred, and delusion, he is unbound— Two Nibbāna elements are taught: with residue remaining, and without residue remaining. This is the teaching. Analysis: To one who gives, merit grows— By this first phrase, the basis for meritorious deeds of giving is stated. By this, for him, the immediately following wholesome states... By the second phrase... They go, the teaching is leading out— This is the meaning. By not listening, by not paying attention, and by not penetrating, the practice leading to the origination of self-view is stated. By listening, by paying attention, and by penetrating, the practice leading to the cessation of self-view is stated. This Repetition. Division, it is said, is to be explained unambiguously. There is no ground for division there. Transformation, it is said: those five benefits, by those five, etc., by the opposite side, one attains them in this very life. Being reborn, it is another way. Synonym, it is said: teachings followed by hearing. That discourse, seen, also the wisdom faculty, also understood, also thoroughly penetrated by view, also made clear. Designation, it is said: the teaching of doctrines followed by hearing is designated by the designation of ignorance. Attention is designated by the designation of joy. Even things seen in this life are designated by the designation of benefits. Descent, it is said: three wisdoms. Wisdom born of hearing, in what is familiar by word. Wisdom born of thought, in what is reflected upon by mind. Wisdom born of development, in what is thoroughly penetrated by view. These Noble Truths, faculties, arising of knowledge, cessation of ignorance, dependent origination. Among the faculties, three faculties. Among the sense-bases, included in the mind-base. Among the elements, included in the mind-element, it is said. Purification, it is said: which beginning, the entry into the discourse is appointed. Determination, it is said: five benefits, it is said. Benefits designated by difference. Followed by hearing, it is said: noble usage designated by difference. And hearing the Dhamma, it is said: designated by unity. Requisites, it is said: attending to the hearing of the Dhamma is the condition. Faith is the cause. Reflected upon by mind, it is said: experiencing the meaning is the condition. Experiencing the Dhamma is the cause. Thoroughly penetrated by view, it is said: hearing the true Dhamma and attention are the conditions. Wisdom born of hearing and wisdom born of thought are the causes. Application, it is said: the divided discourse is another way. There is no arising in power. There is no ground for application there. 117. Therein, which discourse is conducive to latent tendencies and conducive to penetration? The verse: "Giving, merit grows," it is said. "Giving," it is said, refers to the basis for meritorious action consisting of giving. "By restraint, enmity is not accumulated," it is said, refers to the basis for meritorious action consisting of morality. "And the skillful one abandons evil," it is said, speaks of the abandoning of greed, delusion, and ill-will. The destruction of lust, hatred, and delusion... He is extinguished, thus, He speaks of the subduing of greed, and delusion, and ill-will, and passionate desire. "Giving, merit increases," thus the verse: Non-greed is a root of skillfulness. "From restraint, enmity is not accumulated," thus: Non-hatred is a root of skillfulness. "From restraint, enmity is not accumulated," thus: Without enmity, without adversaries, always without ill-will. "And the skillful one abandons evil," thus: From the arising of knowledge, the cessation of ignorance. By the fourth line: With the destruction of lust, hatred, and delusion, with the fading of lust, liberation of mind; with the destruction of delusion, with the fading of ignorance, liberation by wisdom. This is the analysis. The justification, thus: One established in giving fulfills both. And abandons stinginess. And merit increases. There is this justification. The proximate cause, thus: "Giving, merit increases" is the proximate cause of the resolve for generosity. "From restraint, enmity is not accumulated" is the proximate cause of the resolve for wisdom. "And the skillful one abandons evil" is the proximate cause of the resolve for truth. "With the destruction of lust, hatred, and delusion, he is extinguished" is the proximate cause of the resolve for peace. This is the proximate cause. What is the characteristic there? Giving, merit increases. From restraint, enmity is not accumulated. Even when giving, enmity is not made. And the skillful one abandons evil. With the destruction of lust, hatred, and delusion, he is extinguished. With the destruction of form, and with the destruction of feeling. By whatever form seen, by that the Tathāgata, explaining, might explain. With the destruction of form, fading and cessation, thus the five aggregates. What is the Buddha's intention here regarding the fourfold arrangement? Those who desire great possessions? They will give gifts for the abandonment of dangers. Those who desire freedom from enmity, they will abandon the five enmities. Those who desire skillfulness, they will develop the eightfold path for the abandonment of the eight wrongnesses. Those who wish to be extinguished, they will abandon lust, hatred, and delusion, thus. This is the Buddha's intention. The turning, thus: And that stinginess of not giving, and that enmity from lack of restraint, and that non-abandonment of unskillful evil, this is a description of suffering, not its origin. With non-greed, and with non-hatred, and with non-delusion, with skillfulness, these three roots of skillfulness... are. Their condition is the eight rightnesses, this is the path. From the destruction of lust, hatred, and delusion, this is cessation. "Giving, merit increases" - not absolutely. He who gives out of fear of royal punishment, and he who gives to the virtuous for the enjoyment of what is improper, his merit does not increase. If he gives this gift with unwholesome intent, a gift given under duress, a gift given with a weapon, unmeritorious (evil) increases, not merit. "From restraint, enmity does not accumulate" - not absolutely. What is the reason? If someone sees a worldly situation, thinking, "If the kings seize me and cut off my hand..." (etc.), he does not cease enmity by that restraint. But he who resolves thus: "The result of killing is evil," and in this very life and in the next, he abstains from all unwholesome roots. By this restraint, enmity does not accumulate. "From turning around, merit increases for the giver" - for the non-giver, merit does not increase. That which is made of giving, by restraint, enmity does not accumulate; by non-restraint, enmity is made. The skillful abandons evil, the unskillful does not abandon. "From the destruction of lust, hatred, and delusion, there is peace." "I will not send a messenger, nor will I send a noble one to invite him." But he himself, surrounded by a great assembly of monks, arrived at our dwelling place, and we had a meeting hall built. Thinking, "Here we will bring the Ten-Powered One and have a blessing recited," they approached. "They approached the meeting hall" - it is said that on that day, having finished the painting work in the meeting hall, the scaffolding had just been removed. "Buddhas, being inclined to the forest, delighting in the forest, would they dwell within a village or not?" Therefore, thinking, "We will attend to the Blessed One only after knowing his mind," they approached the Blessed One. Now, having obtained his consent and wishing to attend to him, they approached the meeting hall. "Having spread everything" - as if everything was spread out, thus "they approached the Blessed One." Here, those Mallian kings... Having prepared the dwelling, and swept the city streets, having raised banners, and placed golden pots and plantain trees, having made the whole city like a sky scattered with stars by lamp garlands. "Give milk to the suckling infants, feed the young boys quickly, quickly, and put them to sleep. Do not make loud noise. Tonight, for one night, the Teacher will stay within the village. For Buddhas, it is said, desire quietude." Having sounded the drum, taking torches themselves, they approached where the Blessed One was. "Having put the Blessed One first" means having placed the Blessed One in front. There, the Blessed One, seated amidst monks and lay followers, shone exceedingly brightly. All-pleasing, golden-hued, beautiful, lovely to behold. From his front body, a golden-hued ray arose, reaching eighty cubits into the sky. From his back body, right hand, left hand, golden-hued. From below, from the soles of his feet, a coral-hued ray arose, reaching eighty cubits into the solid earth. Thus, all around, a space of eighty cubits. The six-colored Buddha-rays shone, spread, and darted about. All directions, as if scattered with golden champaka flowers, as if sprinkled with streams of golden essence flowing from a golden pot, as if covered by a spread golden cloth, as if strewn with the pollen of kimśuka, kimśukāra, and kaṇikāra flowers stirred by a strong wind. His body, radiant with the eighty minor marks and the aura of a fathom, shining with the thirty-two excellent marks, was like the sky with rising stars, like a blooming lotus forest, like the hundred-yojana Pāricchattaka tree, fully blossomed with all its fruits. (More radiant than)