“Mendicants, a resident mendicant with five qualities shows compassion to the lay people. What five?
- They encourage them in higher ethics.
- They equip them to see the truth of the teachings.
- When they are sick, they go to them and prompt their mindfulness, saying: ‘Establish your mindfulness, good sirs, in what is worthy.’
- When a large mendicant Saṅgha is arriving with mendicants from abroad, they go to the lay people and announce: ‘A large mendicant Saṅgha is arriving with mendicants from abroad. Make merit! Now is the time to make merit!’
- And they eat whatever food they give them, coarse or fine, not wasting a gift given in faith.
A resident mendicant with these five qualities shows compassion to the lay people.”
Read this translation of Aṅguttara Nikāya 5.235 Anukampasutta: A Compassionate Mendicant by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.
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