Bhikkhu Sujato – Page 22 – Daily Sutta Reading

Thag 5.9 Vijitasenattheragāthā: Vijitasena

I’ll cage you, mind,
like an elephant in a stockade.
Born of the flesh, that net of the senses,
I won’t urge you to do bad.

Caged, you won’t go anywhere,
like an elephant who can’t find an open gate.
Demon-mind, you won’t wander again and again,
bullying, in love with wickedness.

Just as a strong trainer with a hook
takes a wild, newly captured elephant
and wins it over against its will,
so I’ll win you over.

Just as a fine charioteer, skilled in the taming
of fine horses, tames a thoroughbred,
so I’ll tame you,
firmly established in the five powers.

I’ll bind you with mindfulness;
devout, I shall tame you;
kept in check by harnessed energy,
mind, you won’t go far from here.

To learn about the five powers, see AN 5.14: Vitthatasutta.

Read this translation of Theragāthā 5.9 Vijitasenattheragāthā: Vijitasena by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net.

Thag 14.1 Khadiravaniyarevatattheragāthā: Khadiravaniyarevata

Since I’ve gone forth
from the lay life to homelessness,
I’m not aware of any intention
that is ignoble and hateful.

“May these beings be killed!
May they be slaughtered! May they suffer!”—
I’m not aware of having any such intentions
in all this long while.

I have been aware of loving-kindness,
limitless and well-developed;
gradually consolidated
as it was taught by the Buddha.

I’m friend and comrade to all,
compassionate for all beings!
I develop a mind of love,
always delighting in harmlessness.

Unfaltering, unshakable,
I gladden the mind.
I develop the divine meditation,
which sinners do not cultivate.

Having entered a meditation state without thought,
a disciple of the Buddha
is at that moment blessed
with noble silence.

As a rocky mountain
is unwavering and well grounded,
so when delusion ends,
a monk, like a mountain, doesn’t tremble.

To the man who has not a blemish
who is always seeking purity,
even a hair-tip of evil
seems as big as a cloud.

As a frontier city
is guarded inside and out,
so you should ward yourselves—
don’t let the moment pass you by.

I don’t long for death;
I don’t long for life;
I await my time,
like a worker waiting for their wages.

I don’t long for death;
I don’t long for life;
I await my time,
aware and mindful.

I’ve served the teacher
and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
The heavy burden is laid down,
the conduit to rebirth is eradicated.

I’ve attained the goal
for the sake of which I went forth
from the lay life to homelessness—
the ending of all fetters.

Persist with diligence:
this is my instruction.
Come, I’ll be fully extinguished—
I’m liberated in every way.

divine meditation: Brahmavihāra (loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity)

Read this translation of Theragāthā 14.1 Khadiravaniyarevatattheragāthā: Khadiravaniyarevata by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net.

Thag 6.12 Brahmadattattheragāthā: Brahmadatta

From where would anger come for one free of anger,
tamed, living justly,
freed by right knowledge,
peaceful and poised?

When you get angry at an angry person
you just make things worse for yourself.
When you don’t get angry at an angry person
you win a battle hard to win.

When you know that the other is angry,
you act for the good of both
yourself and the other
if you’re mindful and stay calm.

People unfamiliar with the teaching
consider one who heals both
oneself and the other
to be a fool.

If anger arises in you,
reflect on the simile of the saw;
if craving for flavors arises in you,
remember the simile of the child’s flesh.

If your mind runs off
to sensual pleasures and future lives,
quickly curb it with mindfulness,
as one would curb a greedy cow eating corn.

For the simile of the saw, read MN 21. For the simile of the child’s flesh, read SN 12:63.

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Thig 3.2 Uttamātherīgāthā: Uttamā

Four or five times
I left my dwelling.
I had failed to find peace of heart,
or any control over my mind.

I approached a nun
in whom I had faith.
She taught me the Dhamma:
the aggregates, sense fields, and elements.

When I had heard her teaching,
in accordance with her instructions,
I sat cross-legged for seven days without moving,
given over to rapture and bliss.
On the eighth day I stretched out my feet,
having shattered the mass of darkness.

Read this translation of Therīgāthā 3.2 Uttamātherīgāthā: Uttamā by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net.

Thag 6.3 Mahānāgattheragāthā: Mahānāga

Whoever has no respect
for their spiritual companions
falls away from the true teaching,
like a fish in a little puddle.

Whoever has no respect
for their spiritual companions
doesn’t thrive in the true teaching,
like a rotten seed in a field.

Whoever has no respect
for their spiritual companions
is far from quenching,
in the teaching of the Dhamma king.

Whoever does have respect
for their spiritual companions
doesn’t fall away from the true teaching,
like a fish in plenty of water.

Whoever does have respect
for their spiritual companions
thrives in the true teaching,
like a fine seed in a field.

Whoever does have respect
for their spiritual companions
is close to quenching
in the teaching of the Dhamma king.

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AN 4.114 Nāgasutta: A Royal Elephant

“Mendicants, a royal bull elephant with four factors is worthy of a king, fit to serve a king, and is considered a factor of kingship. What four? A royal bull elephant listens, destroys, endures, and goes fast.

And how does a royal bull elephant listen? It’s when a royal bull elephant pays heed, pays attention, engages wholeheartedly, and lends an ear to whatever task the elephant trainer has it do, whether or not it has done it before. That’s how a royal bull elephant listens.

And how does a royal bull elephant destroy? It’s when a royal bull elephant in battle destroys elephants with their riders, horses with their riders, chariots and charioteers, and foot soldiers. That’s how a royal bull elephant destroys.

And how does a royal bull elephant endure? It’s when a royal bull elephant in battle endures being struck by spears, swords, arrows, and axes; it endures the thunder of the drums, kettledrums, horns, and cymbals. That’s how a royal bull elephant endures.

And how does a royal bull elephant go fast? It’s when a royal bull elephant swiftly goes in whatever direction the elephant trainer sends it, whether or not it has been there before. That’s how a royal bull elephant goes fast. A royal bull elephant with four factors is worthy of a king, fit to serve a king, and is considered a factor of kingship.

In the same way, a mendicant with four qualities is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of veneration with joined palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world. What four? A mendicant listens, destroys, endures, and goes fast.

And how does a mendicant listen? It’s when a mendicant pays heed, pays attention, engages wholeheartedly, and lends an ear when the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realized One is being taught. That’s how a mendicant listens.

And how does a mendicant destroy? It’s when a mendicant doesn’t tolerate a sensual, malicious, or cruel thought. They don’t tolerate any bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen, but give them up, get rid of them, eliminate them, and obliterate them. That’s how a mendicant destroys.

And how does a mendicant endure? It’s when a mendicant endures cold, heat, hunger, and thirst; the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and reptiles; rude and unwelcome criticism; and they put up with physical pain—sharp, severe, acute, unpleasant, disagreeable, and life-threatening. That’s how a mendicant endures.

And how does a mendicant go fast? It’s when a mendicant swiftly goes in the direction they’ve never gone before in all this long time; that is, the stilling of all activities, the letting go of all attachments, the ending of craving, fading away, cessation, extinguishment. That’s how a mendicant goes fast. A mendicant with these four qualities … is the supreme field of merit for the world.”

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AN 6.87 Voropitasutta: A Murderer

“Mendicants, someone with six qualities is unable to enter the sure path with regards to skillful qualities even when listening to the true teaching. What six?

They murder their mother
or father
or a perfected one.
They maliciously shed the blood of a Realized One.
They cause a schism in the Saṅgha.
They’re witless, dull, and stupid.

Someone with these six qualities is unable to enter the sure path with regards to skillful qualities, even when listening to the true teaching.

Someone with six qualities is able to enter the sure path with regards to skillful qualities when listening to the true teaching. What six?

They don’t murder their mother
or father
or a perfected one.
They don’t maliciously shed the blood of a Realized One.
They don’t cause a schism in the Saṅgha.
They’re wise, bright, and clever.

Someone with these six qualities is able to enter the sure path with regards to skillful qualities when listening to the true teaching.”

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AN 4.147 Dutiyakālasutta: Times (2nd)

“Mendicants, when these four times are rightly developed and progressed, they gradually lead to the ending of defilements. What four?

A time for listening to the teaching,
a time for discussing the teaching,
a time for serenity,
and a time for discernment.

It’s like when it rains heavily on a mountain top, and the water flows downhill to fill the hollows, crevices, and creeks. As they become full, they fill up the pools. The pools fill up the lakes, the lakes fill up the streams, and the streams fill up the rivers. And as the rivers become full, they fill up the ocean.

In the same way, when these four times are rightly developed and progressed, they gradually lead to the ending of defilements.”

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AN 5.96 Sutadharasutta: Remembering What You’ve Learned

“Mendicants, a mendicant cultivating mindfulness of breathing who has five things will soon penetrate the unshakable. What five?

It’s when a mendicant has few requirements and duties, and is unburdensome and contented with life’s necessities.

They eat little, not devoted to filling their stomach.

They are rarely drowsy, and are dedicated to wakefulness.

They’re very learned, remembering and keeping what they’ve learned. These teachings are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, meaningful and well-phrased, describing a spiritual practice that’s entirely full and pure. They are very learned in such teachings, remembering them, reinforcing them by recitation, mentally scrutinizing them, and comprehending them theoretically.

They review the extent of their mind’s freedom.

A mendicant cultivating mindfulness of breathing who has these five things will soon penetrate the unshakable.”

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AN 5.26 Vimuttāyatanasutta: Opportunities for Freedom

“Mendicants, there are these five opportunities for freedom. If a mendicant stays diligent, keen, and resolute at these times, their mind is freed, their defilements are ended, and they arrive at the supreme sanctuary. What five?

Firstly, the Teacher or a respected spiritual companion teaches Dhamma to a mendicant. That mendicant feels inspired by the meaning and the teaching in that Dhamma, no matter how the Teacher or a respected spiritual companion teaches it. Feeling inspired, joy springs up. Being joyful, rapture springs up. When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil. When the body is tranquil, one feels bliss. And when blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi. This is the first opportunity for freedom. If a mendicant stays diligent, keen, and resolute at this time, their mind is freed, their defilements are ended, and they arrive at the supreme sanctuary.

Furthermore, it may be that neither the Teacher nor a respected spiritual companion teaches Dhamma to a mendicant. But the mendicant teaches Dhamma in detail to others as they learned and memorized it. That mendicant feels inspired by the meaning and the teaching in that Dhamma, no matter how they teach it in detail to others as they learned and memorized it. Feeling inspired, joy springs up. Being joyful, rapture springs up. When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil. When the body is tranquil, one feels bliss. And when blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi. This is the second opportunity for freedom. …

Furthermore, it may be that neither the Teacher nor … the mendicant teaches Dhamma. But the mendicant recites the teaching in detail as they learned and memorized it. That mendicant feels inspired by the meaning and the teaching in that Dhamma, no matter how they recite it in detail as they learned and memorized it. Feeling inspired, joy springs up. Being joyful, rapture springs up. When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil. When the body is tranquil, one feels bliss. And when blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi. This is the third opportunity for freedom. …

Furthermore, it may be that neither the Teacher nor … the mendicant teaches Dhamma … nor does the mendicant recite the teaching. But the mendicant thinks about and considers the teaching in their heart, examining it with the mind as they learned and memorized it. That mendicant feels inspired by the meaning and the teaching in that Dhamma, no matter how they think about and consider it in their heart, examining it with the mind as they learned and memorized it. Feeling inspired, joy springs up. Being joyful, rapture springs up. When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil. When the body is tranquil, one feels bliss. And when blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi. This is the fourth opportunity for freedom. …

Furthermore, it may be that neither the Teacher nor … the mendicant teaches Dhamma … nor does the mendicant recite the teaching … or think about it. But a meditation subject as a foundation of immersion is properly grasped, attended, borne in mind, and comprehended with wisdom. That mendicant feels inspired by the meaning and the teaching in that Dhamma, no matter how a meditation subject as a foundation of immersion is properly grasped, attended, borne in mind, and comprehended with wisdom. Feeling inspired, joy springs up. Being joyful, rapture springs up. When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil. When the body is tranquil, one feels bliss. And when blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi. This is the fifth opportunity for freedom. …

These are the five opportunities for freedom. If a mendicant stays diligent, keen, and resolute at these times, their mind is freed, their defilements are ended, and they arrive at the supreme sanctuary.”

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AN 10.83 Puṇṇiyasutta: With Puṇṇiya

Then Venerable Puṇṇiya went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:

“Sir, what is the cause, what is the reason why sometimes the Realized One feels inspired to teach, and other times not?”

“Puṇṇiya, when a mendicant has faith but doesn’t approach, the Realized One doesn’t feel inspired to teach. But when a mendicant has faith and approaches, the Realized One feels inspired to teach.

When a mendicant has faith and approaches, but doesn’t pay homage … they pay homage, but don’t ask questions … they ask questions, but don’t lend an ear … they lend an ear, but don’t remember the teaching they’ve heard … they remember the teaching they’ve heard, but don’t reflect on the meaning of the teachings they’ve remembered … they reflect on the meaning of the teachings they’ve remembered, but, having understood the meaning and the teaching, they don’t practice accordingly … they practice accordingly, but they’re not a good speaker. Their voice is not polished, clear, articulate, and doesn’t express the meaning … They’re a good speaker, but they don’t educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. The Realized One doesn’t feel inspired to teach.

But when a mendicant

has faith,
approaches,
pays homage,
asks questions,
lends an ear,
remembers the teachings,
reflects on the meaning,
practices accordingly,
has a good voice, and
encourages their spiritual companions,

the Realized One feels inspired to teach. When someone has these ten qualities, the Realized One feels totally inspired to teach.”

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AN 2.42–51 Parisavagga: 47—An assembly educated in fancy talk

“There are, mendicants, these two assemblies. What two? An assembly educated in fancy talk, not in questioning, and an assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk. And what is an assembly educated in fancy talk, not in questioning? It is an assembly where, when discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited the mendicants do not want to listen. They don’t pay attention or apply their minds to understand them, nor do they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing. But when discourses composed by poets—poetry, with fancy words and phrases, composed by outsiders or spoken by disciples—are being recited the mendicants do want to listen. They pay attention and apply their minds to understand them, and they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing. But when they’ve learned those teachings they don’t question or examine each other, saying: ‘Why does it say this? What does that mean?’ So they don’t clarify what is unclear, or reveal what is obscure, or dispel doubt regarding the many doubtful matters. This is called an assembly educated in fancy talk, not in questioning.

And what is an assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk? It is an assembly where, when discourses composed by poets—poetry, with fancy words and phrases, composed by outsiders or spoken by disciples—are being recited the mendicants do not want to listen. They don’t pay attention or apply their minds to understand them, nor do they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing. But when discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited the mendicants do want to listen. They pay attention and apply their minds to understand them, and they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing. And when they’ve learned those teachings they question and examine each other, saying: ‘Why does it say this? What does that mean?’ So they clarify what is unclear, reveal what is obscure, and dispel doubt regarding the many doubtful matters. This is called an assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk. These are the two assemblies. The better of these two assemblies is the assembly educated in questioning, not in fancy talk.”

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AN 5.181 Āraññikasutta: Wilderness Dwellers

“Mendicants, there are these five kinds of wilderness dwellers. What five? A person may be wilderness dweller because of stupidity and folly. Or because of wicked desires, being naturally full of desires. Or because of madness and mental disorder. Or because it is praised by the Buddhas and their disciples. Or for the sake of having few wishes, for the sake of contentment, self-effacement, seclusion, and simplicity. These are the five kinds of wilderness dwellers. But the person who dwells in the wilderness for the sake of having few wishes is the foremost, best, chief, highest, and finest of the five.

From a cow comes milk, from milk comes curds, from curds come butter, from butter comes ghee, and from ghee comes cream of ghee. And the cream of ghee is said to be the best of these. In the same way, the person who dwells in the wilderness for the sake of having few wishes is the foremost, best, chief, highest, and finest of the five.”

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AN 4.95 Chavālātasutta: A Firebrand

“Mendicants, these four people are found in the world. What four?

One who practices to benefit neither themselves nor others;
one who practices to benefit others, but not themselves;
one who practices to benefit themselves, but not others; and
one who practices to benefit both themselves and others.

Suppose there was a firebrand for lighting a funeral pyre, burning at both ends, and smeared with dung in the middle. It couldn’t be used as timber either in the village or the wilderness. The person who practices to benefit neither themselves nor others is like this, I say.

The person who practices to benefit others, but not themselves, is better than that. The person who practices to benefit themselves, but not others, is better than both of those. But the person who practices to benefit both themselves and others is the foremost, best, chief, highest, and finest of the four.

From a cow comes milk, from milk comes curds, from curds come butter, from butter comes ghee, and from ghee comes cream of ghee. And the cream of ghee is said to be the best of these. In the same way, the person who practices to benefit both themselves and others is the foremost, best, chief, highest, and finest of the four.

These are the four people found in the world.”

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SN 3.2 Purisasutta: A Person

At Sāvatthī.

Then King Pasenadi of Kosala went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to the Buddha, “Sir, how many things arise inside a person for their harm, suffering, and discomfort?”

“Great king, three things arise inside a person for their harm, suffering, and discomfort. What three? Greed, hate, and delusion. These three things arise inside a person for their harm, suffering, and discomfort.”

That is what the Buddha said. …

“When greed, hate, and delusion,
have arisen inside oneself,
they harm a person of wicked heart,
as a reed is destroyed by its own fruit.”

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Thag 3.8 Vassikattheragāthā: Vassika

I was the only one in my family
who had faith and wisdom.
It’s good for my relatives that I’m
firm in principle, and ethical.

I corrected my family out of compassion,
telling them off out of love
for my family and relatives.
They performed a service for the monks

and then they passed away,
finding happiness in the heaven of the Thirty-three.
There, my brothers and mother
enjoy all the pleasures they desire.

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Iti 71 Sammādiṭṭhikasutta: Having Right View

This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.

“Mendicants, I’ve seen beings who engaged in good conduct of body, speech, and mind, who did not abuse the noble ones, who held right view and acted accordingly. At the breaking up of the body, after death, they were reborn in a good destination, a heaven world.

Now, I don’t say this because I’ve heard it from some other ascetic or brahmin. I only say it because I’ve known, seen, and realized it for myself.”

That is what the Buddha said. On this it is said:

“When the mind has been directed right,
and words rightly spoken,
and right bodily deeds have been done,
a person here
learned, doer of good deeds,
though their life may be short,
when their body breaks up,
that wise person is reborn in heaven.”

This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.

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Thig 6.1 Pañcasatamattātherīgāthā: Paṭācārā, Who Had a Following of Five Hundred

“One whose path you do not know,
not whence they came nor where they went;
though they came from who knows where,
you mourn that being, crying, ‘Oh my son!’

But one whose path you do know,
whence they came or where they went;
that one you do not lament—
such is the nature of living creatures.

Unasked he came,
he left without leave.
He must have come from somewhere,
and stayed who knows how many days.
He left from here by one road,
he will go from there by another.

Departing with the form of a human,
he will go on transmigrating.
As he came, so he went:
why cry over that?”

“Oh! For you have plucked the arrow from me,
so hard to see, stuck in the heart.
You’ve swept away the grief for my son,
in which I once was mired.

Today I’ve plucked the arrow,
I’m hungerless, extinguished.
I go for refuge to that sage, the Buddha,
to his teaching, and to the Sangha.”

That is how Paṭācārā, who had a following of five hundred, declared her enlightenment.

Read Thig 6.1 Pañcasatamattātherīgāthā: Paṭācārā, Who Had a Following of Five Hundred translated by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, or DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net.

Snp 1.1 Uragasutta: The Snake

When anger surges, they drive it out, as with medicine a snake’s spreading venom. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They’ve cut off greed entirely, like a lotus plucked flower and stalk. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They’ve cut off craving entirely, drying up that swift-flowing stream. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They’ve swept away conceit entirely, as a fragile bridge of reeds by a great flood. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

In future lives they find no substance, as an inspector of fig trees finds no flower. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They hide no anger within, gone beyond any kind of existence. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

Their mental vibrations are cleared away, internally clipped off entirely. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, but have gone beyond all this proliferation. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, for they know that nothing in the world is what it seems. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, knowing nothing is what it seems, free of greed. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, knowing nothing is what it seems, free of lust. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, knowing nothing is what it seems, free of hate. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, knowing nothing is what it seems, free of delusion. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have no underlying tendencies at all, and are rid of unskillful roots, Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have nothing born of distress at all, that might cause them to come back to this world. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have nothing born of entanglement at all, that would shackle them to a new life. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They’ve given up the five hindrances, untroubled, rid of doubt, free of thorns. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

Read this translation of Snp 1.1 Uragasutta: The Snake by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on DhammaTalks.org.

Or listen on SC-Voice.net.

Iti 29 Sukhavihārasutta: Living in Happiness

This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.

“Mendicants, when a mendicant has two qualities they live happily in the present life—without distress, anguish, and fever—and when the body breaks up, after death, they can expect a good rebirth. What two? Guarding the sense doors and moderation in eating. When a mendicant has these two qualities they live happily in the present life—without distress, anguish, and fever—and when the body breaks up, after death, they can expect a good rebirth.”

That is what the Buddha said. On this it is said:

“Eye, ear, nose, tongue,
body, and likewise mind:
a mendicant who makes these
sense doors well guarded—
eating in moderation,
restrained in the sense faculties—
reaps happiness
both physical and mental.
Not burning in body,
not burning in mind,
by day or by night
such a person lives in happiness.”

This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.

Read this translation of Itivuttaka 29 Sukhavihārasutta: Living in Happiness by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, or DhammaTalks.org.

AN 3.95 Parisāsutta: Assemblies

“Mendicants, these are the three assemblies. What three? An assembly of the best, a divided assembly, and a harmonious assembly.

And what is an assembly of the best? An assembly where the senior mendicants are not indulgent or slack, nor are they backsliders. Instead, they take the lead in seclusion, rousing energy for attaining the unattained, achieving the unachieved, and realizing the unrealized. And those who come afterwards follow their example. They too are not indulgent or slack, nor are they backsliders. Instead, they take the lead in seclusion, rousing energy for attaining the unattained, achieving the unachieved, and realizing the unrealized. This is called an assembly of the best.

And what is a divided assembly? An assembly where the mendicants argue, quarrel, and dispute, continually wounding each other with barbed words. This is called a divided assembly.

And what is a harmonious assembly? An assembly where the mendicants live in harmony, appreciating each other, without quarreling, blending like milk and water, and regarding each other with kindly eyes. This is called a harmonious assembly.

When the mendicants live in harmony like this, they make much merit. At that time the mendicants live in a holy dwelling, that is, the heart’s release by rejoicing. When they’re joyful, rapture springs up. When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil. When the body is tranquil, they feel bliss. And when they’re blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi.

In the same way, when the mendicants are in harmony, appreciating each other, without quarreling, blending like milk and water, and regarding each other with kindly eyes, they make much merit. At that time the mendicants live in a holy dwelling, that is, the heart’s release by rejoicing. When they’re joyful, rapture springs up. When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil. When the body is tranquil, they feel bliss. And when they’re blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi.

These are the three assemblies.”

Read this translation of Aṅguttara Nikāya 3.95 Parisāsutta: Assemblies by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on DhammaTalks.org.

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