Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to enthusiasm, and active effort. They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to energy, and active effort. They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to mental development, and active effort. They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to inquiry, and active effort. …

They develop the faculty of faith … energy … mindfulness … immersion … wisdom …

They develop the power of faith … energy … mindfulness … immersion … wisdom …

They develop the awakening factor of mindfulness … investigation of principles … energy … rapture … tranquility … immersion … equanimity …

They develop right view … right purpose … right speech … right action … right livelihood … right effort … right mindfulness … right immersion … This is called the middle practice. These are the three practices.”

“Someone with three qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there. What three? They themselves kill living creatures. They encourage others to kill living creatures. And they approve of killing living creatures. Someone with these three qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there.

Someone with three qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there. What three? They don’t themselves kill living creatures. They encourage others to not kill living creatures. And they approve of not killing living creatures. …

They themselves steal. They encourage others to steal. And they approve of stealing. …

They don’t themselves steal. They encourage others to not steal. And they approve of not stealing. …

They themselves commit sexual misconduct. They encourage others to commit sexual misconduct. And they approve of sexual misconduct. …

They don’t themselves commit sexual misconduct. They encourage others to not commit sexual misconduct. And they approve of refraining from sexual misconduct. …

They themselves lie. They encourage others to lie. And they approve of lying. …

They don’t themselves lie. They encourage others to not lie. And they approve of not lying. …

They themselves backbite. They encourage others to backbite. And they approve of backbiting. …

They don’t themselves backbite. They encourage others to not backbite. And they approve of not backbiting. …

They themselves speak harshly. They encourage others to speak harshly. And they approve of speaking harshly. …

They don’t themselves speak harshly. They encourage others to not speak harshly. And they approve of not speaking harshly. …

They themselves talk nonsense. They encourage others to talk nonsense. And they approve of talking nonsense. …

They don’t themselves talk nonsense. They encourage others to not talk nonsense. And they approve of not talking nonsense. …

They themselves are covetous. They encourage others to be covetous. And they approve of covetousness. …

They themselves are content. They encourage others to be contented. And they approve of being contented. …

They themselves have ill will. They encourage others to have ill will. And they approve of having ill will. …

They themselves are kind-hearted. They encourage others to have good will. And they approve of good will. …

They themselves have wrong view. They encourage others to have wrong view. And they approve of wrong view. …

They themselves have right view. They encourage others to have right view. And they approve of right view. Someone with these three qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there.”

“For insight into greed, three things should be developed. What three? Emptiness immersion; signless immersion; and undirected immersion. For insight into greed, these three things should be developed.

For the complete understanding of greed … complete ending … giving up … ending … vanishing … fading away … cessation … giving away … letting go …

hate … delusion … anger … acrimony … disdain … contempt … jealousy … stinginess … deceitfulness … deviousness … obstinacy … aggression … conceit … arrogance … vanity … negligence … insight … complete understanding … complete ending … giving up … ending … vanishing … fading away … cessation … giving away … For the letting go of negligence, these three things should be developed.”

That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said.

The Book of the Threes is finished.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Vajjis at Wares Village. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Mendicants, due to not understanding and not penetrating four things, both you and I have wandered and transmigrated for such a very long time. What four? Noble ethics, immersion, wisdom, and freedom. These noble ethics, immersion, wisdom, and freedom have been understood and comprehended. Craving for continued existence has been cut off; the leash to existence is ended; now there’ll be no more future lives.”

That is what the Buddha said. Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say:

“Ethics, immersion, and wisdom, and the supreme freedom: these things have been understood by Gotama the renowned.

And so the Buddha, having insight, explained this teaching to the mendicants. The teacher made an end of suffering, seeing clearly, he is fully quenched.”

“Someone without four things is said to have ‘fallen from this teaching and training’. What four? Noble ethics, immersion, wisdom, and freedom. Someone without these four things is said to have ‘fallen from this teaching and training’.

Someone with four things is said to be ‘secure in this teaching and training’. What four? Noble ethics, immersion, wisdom, and freedom. Someone with these four things is said to be ‘secure in this teaching and training’.

They fall, collapsed and fallen; greedy, they return. The work is done, the joyful is enjoyed, happiness is found through happiness.”

“When a foolish, incompetent untrue person has four qualities they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness. What four? Without examining or scrutinizing, they praise those deserving of criticism, and they criticize those deserving of praise. They arouse faith in things that are dubious, and they don’t arouse faith in things that are inspiring. When a foolish, incompetent untrue person has these four qualities they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness.

When an astute, competent true person has four qualities they keep themselves intact and unscathed. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit. What four? After examining and scrutinizing, they criticize those deserving of criticism, and they praise those deserving of praise. They don’t arouse faith in things that are dubious, and they do arouse faith in things that are inspiring. When an astute, competent true person has these four qualities they keep themselves healthy and whole. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit.

When you praise someone worthy of criticism, or criticize someone worthy of praise, you choose a losing hand with your own mouth: you’ll never find happiness that way.

A losing hand at dice is a trivial thing, if all you lose is your money and all you own, even yourself. What’s a really terrible hand is to hate the holy ones.

For a hundred thousand times a hundred million, times five hundred and thirty-six times <j>a thousand times ten million years a slanderer of noble ones goes to hell, having aimed bad words and thoughts at them.”

“When a foolish, incompetent untrue person acts wrongly toward four people they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness. What four? Mother … father … a Realized One … and a disciple of a Realized One. When a foolish, incompetent untrue person acts wrongly toward these four people they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness.

When an astute, competent true person acts rightly toward four individuals they keep themselves intact and unscathed. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit. What four? Mother … father … a Realized One … and a disciple of a Realized One. When an astute, competent true person acts rightly toward these four people they keep themselves healthy and whole. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit.

A person who does wrong by their mother or father, or a Realized One, a Buddha, or one of their disciples, brims with much wickedness.

Because of their unprincipled conduct toward their parents, they’re criticized in this life by the astute, and they depart to be reborn in a place of loss.

A person who does right by their mother and father, or a Realized One, a Buddha, or one of their disciples, brims with much merit.

Because of their principled conduct toward their parents, they’re praised in this life by the astute, and they depart to rejoice in heaven.”

“These four individuals are found in the world. What four? An individual who goes with the stream; an individual who goes against the stream; a steadfast individual; and a brahmin who has crossed over, gone to the far shore, and stands on solid ground. And who is the individual who goes with the stream? It’s an individual who indulges in sensual pleasures and does bad deeds. This is called an individual who goes with the stream.

And who is the individual who goes against the stream? It’s an individual who doesn’t indulge in sensual pleasures or do bad deeds. They live the full and pure spiritual life in pain and sadness, weeping, with tearful faces. This is called an individual who goes against the stream.

And who is the steadfast individual? It’s an individual who, with the ending of the five lower fetters, is reborn spontaneously. They’re extinguished there, and are not liable to return from that world. This is called a steadfast individual.

And who is a brahmin who has crossed over, gone to the far shore, and stands on solid ground? It’s an individual who realizes the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom. And they live having realized it with their own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements. This is called a brahmin who has crossed over, gone to the far shore, and stands on solid ground. These are the four individuals found in the world.

All those people with unbridled sensuality, not free of lust, enjoying sensual pleasures in this life: again and again, they return to birth and old age; those who go with the stream are sunk in craving.

So the attentive in this life, <j>with mindfulness established, don’t take part in sensual pleasures and bad deeds. In pain they’d give up sensual pleasures: they call that individual <j>‘one who goes against the stream’.

Someone who’s given up five corruptions, a perfect trainee, not liable to decline, who’s mastered their mind, <j>with faculties immersed in samādhi, that man is called ‘steadfast’.

The sage who has comprehended all things, <j>high and low, cleared them and ended them, so they are no more; they’ve completed the spiritual journey <j>and gone to the end of the world, they’re called ‘one who has gone beyond’.”

“Mendicants, these four individuals are found in the world. What four? They may have: Little learning and not get the point of learning. Little learning but get the point of learning. Much learning but not get the point of learning. Much learning and get the point of learning. And how has an individual learned little and not got the point of learning? It’s when an individual has learned little of the statements, mixed prose & verse, discussions, verses, inspired exclamations, legends, stories of past lives, amazing stories, and elaborations. And with the little they’ve learned, they understand neither the meaning nor the teaching, nor do they practice in line with the teaching. That’s how an individual has learned little and not got the point of learning.

And how has an individual learned little but has got the point of learning? It’s when an individual has learned little of the statements, mixed prose & verse, discussions, verses, inspired exclamations, legends, stories of past lives, amazing stories, and elaborations. But with the little they’ve learned, they understand the meaning and the teaching, and they practice in line with the teaching. That’s how an individual has learned little but has got the point of learning.

And how has an individual learned much but hasn’t got the point of learning? It’s when an individual has learned much of the statements, mixed prose & verse, discussions, verses, inspired exclamations, legends, stories of past lives, amazing stories, and elaborations. But even though they’ve learned much, they understand neither the meaning nor the teaching, nor do they practice in line with the teaching. That’s how an individual has learned much but hasn’t got the point of learning.

And how has an individual learned much and has got the point of learning? It’s when an individual has learned much of the statements, mixed prose & verse, discussions, verses, inspired exclamations, legends, stories of past lives, amazing stories, and elaborations. And with the large amount they’ve learned, they understand the meaning and the teaching, and they practice in line with the teaching. That’s how an individual has learned much and has got the point of learning. These are the four individuals found in the world.

If you don’t learn much, and aren’t steady in ethics, they’ll criticize you on both counts, for your ethics and your learning.

If you don’t learn much, and you are steady in ethics, they’ll praise your ethical conduct, since your learning has succeeded.

If you learn much, but aren’t steady in ethics, they’ll criticize your ethical conduct, for your learning hasn’t succeeded.

If you learn much, and you are steady in ethics, they’ll praise you on both counts, for your ethics and your learning.

A wise disciple of the Buddha who is learned and has memorized the teachings; like a pendant of Black Plum River gold, who is worthy to criticize them? Even the gods praise them, and by the Divinity, too, they’re praised.”

“Mendicants, these four who are competent, educated, self-assured, and learned, who have memorized the teachings and practice in line with the teaching, grace the Saṅgha. What four? A monk, a nun, a layman, and a laywoman. These four who are competent, educated, self-assured, and learned, who have memorized the teachings and practice in line with the teaching, grace the Saṅgha.

Whoever is competent and self-assured, learned, a memorizer of the teachings, who lives in line with the teaching— such a one is said to grace the Saṅgha.

A monk accomplished in ethics, and a learned nun, a faithful layman, and a faithful laywoman, too: these grace the Saṅgha, they are the graces of the Saṅgha.”

“Mendicants, a Realized One possesses four kinds of self-assurance. With these he claims the bull’s place, roars his lion’s roar in the assemblies, and turns the divine wheel. What four? I see no reason for anyone—whether ascetic, brahmin, god, Māra, or the Divinity, or anyone else in the world—to legitimately scold me, saying: ‘You claim to be a fully awakened Buddha, but you don’t understand these things.’ Since I see no such reason, I live secure, fearless, and self-assured.

I see no reason for anyone—whether ascetic, brahmin, god, Māra, or the Divinity, or anyone else in the world—to legitimately scold me, saying: ‘You claim to have ended all defilements, but you still have these defilements.’ Since I see no such reason, I live secure, fearless, and self-assured.

I see no reason for anyone—whether ascetic, brahmin, god, Māra, or the Divinity, or anyone else in the world—to legitimately scold me, saying: ‘The acts that you say are obstructions are not really obstructions for the one who performs them.’ Since I see no such reason, I live secure, fearless, and self-assured.

I see no reason for anyone—whether ascetic, brahmin, god, Māra, or the Divinity, or anyone else in the world—to legitimately scold me, saying: ‘Regardless of your goal in teaching the Dhamma, it does not deliver one who applies it to the complete ending of suffering.’ Since I see no such reason, I live secure, fearless, and self-assured. A Realized One possesses these four kinds of self-assurance. With these he claims the bull’s place, roars his lion’s roar in the assemblies, and turns the divine wheel.

The various grounds for criticism that ascetics and brahmins rely on vanish on reaching a Realized One, self-assured, gone beyond grounds for criticism.

He rolls forth the Wheel of Dhamma <j>as a consummate one, complete, sympathetic for all living creatures. Sentient beings revere him, <j>first among gods and humans, who has gone beyond rebirth.”

“Mendicants, there are four things that give rise to craving in a mendicant. What four? For the sake of robes, almsfood, lodgings, or rebirth in this or that state. These are the four things that give rise to craving in a mendicant.

Craving is a person’s partner as they transmigrate on this long journey. They go from this state to another, but don’t escape transmigration.

Knowing this drawback— that craving is the cause of suffering— rid of craving, free of grasping, a mendicant would wander mindful.”

“Mendicants, there are these four yokes. What four? The yokes of sensual pleasures, future lives, views, and ignorance. And what is the yoke of sensual pleasures? It’s when you don’t truly understand sensual pleasures’ origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape. So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for sensual pleasures linger on inside. This is called the yoke of sensual pleasures. Such is the yoke of sensual pleasures.

And what is the yoke of future lives? It’s when you don’t truly understand future lives’ origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape. So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for continued existence linger on inside. This is called the yoke of future lives. Such are the yokes of sensual pleasures and future lives.

And what is the yoke of views? It’s when you don’t truly understand views’ origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape. So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for views linger on inside. This is called the yoke of views. Such are the yokes of sensual pleasures, future lives, and views.

And what is the yoke of ignorance? It’s when you don’t truly understand the six fields of contact’s origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape, so ignorance and unknowing of the six fields of contact linger on inside. This is called the yoke of ignorance. Such are the yokes of sensual pleasures, future lives, views, and ignorance. These are bad, unskillful qualities that are corrupting, leading to future lives, hurtful, resulting in suffering and future rebirth, old age, and death. That’s why someone yoked to them is called: ‘one who has not found sanctuary from the yoke’. These are the four yokes.

There are these four kinds of unyoking. What four? Unyoking from sensual pleasures, future lives, views, and ignorance. And what is unyoking from sensual pleasures? It’s when you truly understand sensual pleasures’ origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape. So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for sensual pleasures don’t linger on inside. This is called unyoking from sensual pleasures. Such is unyoking from sensual pleasures.

And what is unyoking from future lives? It’s when you truly understand future lives’ origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape. So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for continued existence don’t linger on inside. This is called unyoking from future lives. Such is unyoking from sensual pleasures and future lives.

And what is unyoking from views? It’s when you truly understand views’ origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape. So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for views don’t linger on inside. This is called unyoking from views. Such is unyoking from sensual pleasures, future lives, and views.

And what is unyoking from ignorance? It’s when you truly understand the six fields of contact’s origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape, so ignorance and unknowing of the six fields of contact don’t linger on inside. This is called unyoking from ignorance. Such is unyoking from sensual pleasures, future lives, views, and ignorance. These are bad, unskillful qualities that are corrupting, leading to future lives, hurtful, resulting in suffering and future rebirth, old age, and death. That’s why someone unyoked from them is called: ‘one who has found sanctuary from the yoke’. These are the four kinds of unyoking.

Yoked to both sensual pleasures and the desire to be reborn in a future life; yoked also to views, and governed by ignorance,

sentient beings continue to transmigrate, with ongoing birth and death. But those who fully understand sensual pleasures, and the yoke to all future lives;

with the yoke of views eradicated, and ignorance dispelled, unyoked from all yokes, truly those sages have slipped their yoke.”

“Mendicants, suppose a mendicant has a sensual, malicious, or cruel thought while walking. They tolerate it and don’t give it up, dispel it, eliminate it, and obliterate it. Such a mendicant is said to be ‘not keen or prudent, always lazy, and lacking energy’ when walking.

Suppose a mendicant has a sensual, malicious, or cruel thought while standing …

sitting …

or when lying down while awake. They tolerate it and don’t give it up, dispel it, eliminate it, and obliterate it. Such a mendicant is said to be ‘not keen or prudent, always lazy, and lacking energy’ when lying down while awake.

Suppose a mendicant has a sensual, malicious, or cruel thought while walking. They don’t tolerate it, but give it up, dispel it, eliminate it, and obliterate it. Such a mendicant is said to be ‘keen and prudent, always energetic and resolute’ when walking.

Suppose a mendicant has a sensual, malicious, or cruel thought while standing …

sitting …

or when lying down while awake. They don’t tolerate it, but give it up, dispel it, eliminate it, and obliterate it. Such a mendicant is said to be ‘keen and prudent, always energetic and resolute’ when lying down while awake.

Whether walking or standing, sitting or lying down, if you think a bad thought to do with the domestic life,

you’re on the wrong path, lost among things that delude. Such a mendicant is incapable of experiencing the highest awakening.

But one who, whether standing or walking, sitting or lying down, has calmed their thoughts, loving peace of mind; such a mendicant is capable of experiencing the highest awakening.”