“Bhikkhus, I will teach you about the bad person and the person inferior to the bad person; about the good person and the person superior to the good person. Listen and attend closely; I will speak.”
“Yes, Bhante,” those bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
(1) “And who, bhikkhus, is the bad person? Here, someone destroys life, takes what is not given, engages in sexual misconduct, speaks falsely, and indulges in liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness. This is called the bad person.
(2) “And who is the person inferior to the bad person? Here, someone himself destroys life and encourages others to destroy life; he himself takes what is not given and encourages others to take what is not given; he himself engages in sexual misconduct and encourages others to engage in sexual misconduct; he himself speaks falsely and encourages others to speak falsely; he himself indulges in liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness, and encourages others to indulge in liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness. This is the person inferior to the bad person.
(3) “And who is the good person? Here, someone abstains from the destruction of life, abstains from taking what is not given, abstains from sexual misconduct, abstains from false speech, and abstains from liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness. This is called the good person.
(4) “And who is the person superior to the good person? Here, someone himself abstains from the destruction of life and encourages others to abstain from the destruction of life; he himself abstains from taking what is not given and encourages others to abstain from taking what is not given; he himself abstains from sexual misconduct and encourages others to abstain from sexual misconduct; he himself abstains from false speech and encourages others to abstain from false speech; he himself abstains from liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness, and encourages others to abstain from liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness. This is called the person superior to the good person.”
[Opening as in 4:201.]
(1) “And who, bhikkhus, is the bad person? Here, someone is devoid of faith, morally shameless, morally reckless, deficient in learning, lazy, muddle-minded, and unwise. This is called the bad person.
(2) “And who is the person inferior to the bad person? Here, someone is himself devoid of faith and encourages others to be devoid of faith; he is himself morally shameless and encourages others to be morally shameless; he is himself morally reckless and encourages others to be morally reckless; he is himself deficient in learning and encourages others to be deficient in learning; he is himself lazy and encourages others in laziness; he is himself muddle-minded and encourages others in being muddle-minded; he is himself unwise and encourages others in lack of wisdom. This is called the person inferior to the bad person.
(3) “And who is the good person? Here, someone is endowed with faith, has a sense of moral shame and moral dread, and is learned, energetic, mindful, and wise. This is called the good person.
(4) “And who is the person superior to the good person? Here, someone is himself accomplished in faith and encourages others to be accomplished in faith; he himself has a sense of moral shame and encourages others in moral shame; he himself has moral dread and encourages others in moral dread; he is himself learned and encourages others in learning; he is himself energetic and encourages others to arouse energy; he is himself mindful and encourages others to establish mindfulness; he is himself wise and encourages others to be accomplished in wisdom. This is called the person superior to the good person.”
[Opening as in 4:201.]
(1) “And who, bhikkhus, is the bad person? Here, someone destroys life, takes what is not given, engages in sexual misconduct, speaks falsehood, speaks divisively, speaks harshly, and indulges in idle chatter.
(2) “And who is the person inferior to the bad person? Here, someone himself destroys life and encourages others to destroy life ... he himself indulges in idle chatter and encourages others to indulge in idle chatter. This is called the person inferior to the bad person.
(3) “And who is the good person? Here, someone abstains from the destruction of life ... abstains from idle chatter. This is called the good person.
(4) “And who is the person superior to the good person? Here, someone himself abstains from the destruction of life and encourages others to abstain from the destruction of life ... he himself abstains from idle chatter and encourages others to abstain from idle chatter. This is called the person superior to the good person.”
[Opening as in 4:201.]
(1) “And who, bhikkhus, is the bad person? Here, someone destroys life ... indulges in idle chatter; he is full of longing, bears ill will, and holds wrong view. This is called the bad person.
(2) “And who is the person inferior to the bad person? Here, someone himself destroys life and encourages others to destroy life ... he himself holds wrong view and encourages others in wrong view. This is called the person inferior to the bad person.
(3) “And who is the good person? Here, someone abstains from the destruction of life ... abstains from idle chatter; he is without longing, of good will, and holds right view. This is called the good person.
(4) “And who is the person superior to the good person? Here, someone himself abstains from the destruction of life and encourages others to abstain from the destruction of life ... he is himself without longing and encourages others in non-longing; he is himself of good will and encourages others in good will; he himself holds right view and encourages others in right view. This is called the person superior to the good person.”
[Opening as in 4:201.]
(1) “And who, bhikkhus, is the bad person? Here, someone is of wrong view, wrong intention, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong concentration. This is called the bad person.
(2) “And who is the person inferior to the bad person? Here, someone is himself of wrong view and encourages others in wrong view ... he is himself of wrong concentration and encourages others in wrong concentration. This is called the person inferior to the bad person.
(3) “And who is the good person? Here, someone is of right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. This is called the good person.
(4) “And who is the person superior to the good person? Here, someone is himself of right view and encourages others in right view ... he is himself of right concentration and encourages others in right concentration. This is called the person superior to the good person.”
[Opening as in 4:201.]
(1) “And who, bhikkhus, is the bad person? Here, someone is of wrong view ... wrong concentration, wrong knowledge, and wrong liberation. This is called the bad person.
(2) “And who is the person inferior to the bad person? Here, someone is himself of wrong view and encourages others in wrong view ... he is himself of wrong liberation and encourages others in wrong liberation. This is called the person inferior to the bad person.
(3) “And who is the good person? Here, someone is of right view ... right concentration, right knowledge, and right liberation. This is called the good person.
(4) “And who is the person superior to the good person? Here, someone is himself of right view and encourages others in right view ... he is himself of right liberation and encourages others in right liberation. This is called the person superior to the good person.”
“Bhikkhus, I will teach you what is bad and what is worse than that bad. And I will teach you what is good and what is better than that good. Listen... .
(1) “And what, bhikkhus, is bad? Here, someone destroys life and holds wrong view. This is called bad.
(2) “And what is worse than that bad? Here, someone himself destroys life and encourages others to destroy life he himself holds wrong view and encourages others in wrong view. This is called what is worse than that bad.
(3) “And what is good? Here, someone abstains from the destruction of life and holds right view. This is called good.
(4) “And what is better than that good? Here, someone himself abstains from the destruction of life and encourages others to abstain from the destruction of life ... he himself holds right view and encourages others in right view. This is called what is better than that good.”
[Opening as in 4:207.]
(1) “And what, bhikkhus, is bad? Here, someone is of wrong view ... wrong liberation. This is called bad.
(2) “And what is worse than that bad? Here, someone is himself of wrong view and encourages others in wrong view ... he is himself of wrong liberation and encourages others in wrong liberation. This is called what is worse than that bad.
(3) “And what is good? Here, someone is of right view ... of right liberation. This is called good.
(4) “And what is better than that good? Here, someone is himself of right view and encourages others in right view ... he is himself of right liberation and encourages others in right liberation. This is called what is better than that good.”
“Bhikkhus, I will teach you about one of bad character and about one of still worse character. I will teach you about one of good character and about one of still better character. Listen... .
(1) “And who, bhikkhus, is of bad character? Here, someone destroys life and holds wrong view. This is called one of bad character.
(2) “And who is one of still worse character? Here, someone himself destroys life and encourages others to destroy life he holds wrong view himself and encourages others in wrong view. This is called one of still worse character.
(3) “And what is one of good character? Here, someone abstains from the destruction of life and holds right view. This is called one of good character.
(4) “And what is one of still better character? Here, someone himself abstains from the destruction of life and encourages others to abstain from the destruction of life he himself holds right view and encourages others in right view. This is called one of still better character.”
[Opening as in 4:209.]
(1) “And what, bhikkhus, is one of bad character? Here, someone is of wrong view ... of wrong liberation. This is called one of bad character.
(2) “And what is one of still worse character? Here, someone is himself of wrong view and encourages others in wrong view ... he is himself of wrong liberation and encourages others in wrong liberation. This is called one of still worse character.
(3) “And what is one of good character? Here, someone is of right view ... of right liberation. This is called one of good character.
(4) “And what is one of still better character? Here, someone is himself of right view and encourages others in right view ... he is himself of right liberation and encourages others in right liberation. This is called one of still better character.”