113 (1) Bound for the Plane of Misery
“Bhikkhus, there are three who, if they do not abandon this [fault of theirs], are bound for the plane of misery, bound for hell. Which three? (1) One who, though not celibate, claims to be celibate; (2) one who slanders a pure celibate leading a pure celibate life with a groundless charge of non-celibacy; and (3) one who holds such a doctrine and view as this: ‘There is no fault in sensual pleasures,’ and then falls into indulgence in sensual pleasures. These are the three who, if they do not abandon this [fault of theirs], are bound for the plane of misery, bound for hell.”
“Bhikkhus, the manifestation of three [persons] is rare in the world. What three? (1) The manifestation of a Tathāgata, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One is rare in the world. (2) A person who teaches the Dhamma and discipline proclaimed by the Tathāgata is rare in the world. (3) A grateful and thankful person is rare in the world. The manifestation of these three [persons] is rare in the world.”
“Bhikkhus, there are these three kinds of persons found existing in the world. What three? The one who is easily measured, the one who is hard to measure, and the immeasurable one.
(1) “And what, bhikkhus, is the person who is easily measured? Here, some person is restless, puffed up, personally vain, talkative, rambling in his talk, muddle-minded, without clear comprehension, unconcentrated, with a wandering mind, with loose sense faculties. This is called the person who is easily measured.
(2) “And what is the person who is hard to measure? Here, some person is not restless, puffed up, and personally vain; he is not talkative and rambling in his talk; he has mindfulness established and clearly comprehends, is concentrated, with a one-pointed mind, with restrained sense faculties. This is called the person who is hard to measure.
(3) “And what is the person who is immeasurable? Here, a bhikkhu is an arahant, one whose taints have been destroyed. This is called the person who is immeasurable. “These are the three kinds of persons found existing in the world.”
“Bhikkhus, there are these three kinds of persons found existing in the world. What three?
(1) “Here, bhikkhus, with the complete surmounting of perceptions of forms, with the passing away of perceptions of sensory impingement, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, [perceiving] ‘space is infinite,’ some person enters and dwells in the base of the infinity of space. He relishes it, desires it, and finds satisfaction in it. If he is firm in it, focused on it, often dwells in it, and has not lost it when he dies, he is reborn in companionship with the devas of the base of the infinity of space. The life span of the devas of the base of the infinity of space is 20,000 eons. The worldling remains there all his life, and when he has completed the entire life span of those devas, he goes to hell, to the animal realm, or to the sphere of afflicted spirits. But the Blessed One’s disciple remains there all his life, and when he has completed the entire life span of those devas, he attains final nibbāna in that very same state of existence. This is the distinction, the disparity, the difference between the instructed noble disciple and the uninstructed worldling, that is, when there is future destination and rebirth.
(2) “Again, by completely surmounting the base of the infinity of space, [perceiving] ‘consciousness is infinite,’ someone here enters and dwells in the base of the infinity of consciousness. He relishes it, desires it, and finds satisfaction in it. If he is firm in it, focused on it, often dwells in it, and has not lost it when he dies, he is reborn in companionship with the devas of the base of the infinity of consciousness. The life span of the devas of the base of the infinity of consciousness is 40,000 eons. The worldling remains there all his life, and when he has completed the entire life span of those devas, he goes to hell, to the animal realm, or to the sphere of afflicted spirits. But the Blessed One’s disciple remains there all his life, and when he has completed the entire life span of those devas, he attains final nibbāna in that very same state of existence. This is the distinction, the disparity, the difference between the instructed noble disciple and the uninstructed worldling, that is, when there is future destination and rebirth.
(3) “Again, bhikkhus, by completely surmounting the base of the infinity of consciousness [perceiving] ‘there is nothing,’ some person here enters and dwells in the base of nothingness. He relishes it, desires it, and finds satisfaction in it. If he is firm in it, focused on it, often dwells in it, and has not lost it when he dies, he is reborn in companionship with the devas of the base of nothingness. The life span of the devas of the base of nothingness is 60,000 eons. The worldling remains there all his life, and when he has completed the entire life span of those devas, he goes to hell, to the animal realm, or to the sphere of afflicted spirits. But the Blessed One’s disciple remains there all his life, and when he has completed the entire life span of those devas, he attains final nibbāna in that very same state of existence. This is the distinction, the disparity, the difference between the instructed noble disciple and the uninstructed worldling, that is, when there is future destination and rebirth.
“These, bhikkhus, are the three kinds of persons found existing in the world.”
117 (5) Failures and Accomplishments
“Bhikkhus, there are these three failures. What three? Failure in virtuous behavior, failure in mind, and failure in view.
(1) “And what is failure in virtuous behavior? Here, someone destroys life, takes what is not given, engages in sexual misconduct, speaks falsehood, speaks divisively, speaks harshly, and indulges in idle chatter. This is called failure in virtuous behavior.
(2) “And what is failure in mind? Here, someone is full of longing and has a mind of ill will. This is called failure in mind.
(3) “And what is failure in view? Here, someone holds wrong view and has an incorrect perspective thus: ‘There is nothing given, nothing sacrificed, nothing offered; there is no fruit or result of good and bad actions; there is no this world, no other world; there is no mother, no father; there are no beings spontaneously reborn; there are in the world no ascetics and brahmins of right conduct and right practice who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make them known to others.’ This is called failure in view.
“Because of failure in virtuous behavior, with the breakup of the body, after death, beings are reborn in the plane of misery, in a bad destination, in the lower world, in hell. Because of failure in mind ... Because of failure in view, with the breakup of the body, after death, beings are reborn in the plane of misery, in a bad destination, in the lower world, in hell.
“These, bhikkhus, are the three failures.
“There are, bhikkhus, these three accomplishments. What three? Accomplishment in virtuous behavior, accomplishment in mind, and accomplishment in view.
(1) “And what is accomplishment in virtuous behavior? Here, someone abstains from the destruction of life, from taking what is not given, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, from divisive speech, from harsh speech, and from idle chatter. This is called accomplishment in virtuous behavior.
(2) “And what is accomplishment in mind? Here, someone is without longing and has a mind free of ill will. This is called accomplishment in mind.
(3) “And what is accomplishment in view? Here, someone holds right view and has a correct perspective thus: ‘There is what is given, sacrificed, and offered; there is fruit and result of good and bad actions; there is this world and the other world; there is mother and father; there are beings spontaneously reborn; there are in the world ascetics and brahmins of right conduct and right practice who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make them known to others.’ This is called accomplishment in view. “Because of accomplishment in virtuous behavior, with the breakup of the body, after death, beings are reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world. Because of accomplishment in mind ... Because of accomplishment in view, with the breakup of the body, after death, beings are reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world.
“These, bhikkhus, are the three accomplishments.”
“Bhikkhus, there are these three failures. What three? Failure in virtuous behavior, failure in mind, and failure in view.
“And what is failure in virtuous behavior? Here, someone destroys life ... [as in 3:117] ... This is called failure in view.
“Because of failure in virtuous behavior, with the breakup of the body, after death, beings are reborn in the plane of misery, in a bad destination, in the lower world, in hell. Because of failure in mind ... Because of failure in view, with the breakup of the body, after death, beings are reborn in the plane of misery, in a bad destination, in the lower world, in hell.
“Just as dice, when thrown upward, will rest firmly wherever they fall, so too, because of failure in virtuous behav ior ... failure in mind ... failure in view, with the breakup of the body, after death, beings are reborn in the plane of misery, in a bad destination, in the lower world, in hell.
“These, bhikkhus, are the three failures.
“There are, bhikkhus, these three accomplishments. What three? Accomplishment in virtuous behavior, accomplishment in mind, and accomplishment in view.
“And what, bhikkhus, is accomplishment in virtuous behavior? Here, someone abstains from the destruction of life ... [as in 3:117] ... This is called accomplishment in view.
“Because of accomplishment in virtuous behavior, with the breakup of the body, after death, beings are reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world. Because of accomplishment in mind ... Because of accomplishment in view, with the breakup of the body, after death, beings are reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world.
“Just as dice, when thrown upward, will rest firmly wherever they fall, so too, because of accomplishment in virtuous behavior ... accomplishment in mind ... accomplishment in view, with the breakup of the body, after death, beings are reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world.
“These, bhikkhus, are the three accomplishments.”
“Bhikkhus, there are these three failures. What three? Failure in activity, failure in livelihood, and failure in view.
(1) “And what is failure in activity? Here, someone destroys life ... and indulges in idle chatter. This is called failure in activity.
(2) “And what is failure in livelihood? Here, someone is of wrong livelihood and earns a living by a wrong type of livelihood. This is called failure in livelihood.
(3) “And what is failure in view? Here, someone holds wrong view and has an incorrect perspective thus: ‘There is nothing given ... there are in the world no ascetics and brahmins of right conduct and right practice who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make them known to others.’ This is called failure in view.
“These are the three failures.
“There are, bhikkhus, these three accomplishments. What three? Accomplishment in activity, accomplishment in livelihood, and accomplishment in view.
(1) “And what is accomplishment in activity? Here, someone abstains from the destruction of life ... and from idle chatter. This is called accomplishment in activity.
(2) “And what is accomplishment in livelihood? Here, someone is of right livelihood and earns a living by a right type of livelihood. This is called accomplishment in livelihood.
(3) “And what is accomplishment in view? Here, someone holds right view and has a correct perspective thus: ‘There is what is given ... there are in the world ascetics and brahmins of right conduct and right practice who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make them known to others.’ This is called accomplishment in view.
“These, bhikkhus, are the three accomplishments.”
“Bhikkhus, there are these three purities. What three? Bodily purity, verbal purity, and mental purity.
(1) “And what is bodily purity? Here, someone abstains from the destruction of life, from taking what is not given, and from sexual misconduct. This is called bodily purity.
(2) “And what is verbal purity? Here, someone abstains from false speech, from divisive speech, from harsh speech, and from idle chatter. This is called verbal purity.
(3) “And what is mental purity? Here, someone is without longing, without ill will, and holds right view. This is called mental purity. “These, bhikkhus, are the three purities.”
“Bhikkhus, there are these three purities. What three? Bodily purity, verbal purity, and mental purity.
(1) “And what is bodily purity? Here, a bhikkhu abstains from the destruction of life, from taking what is not given, and from sexual activity. This is called bodily purity.
(2) “And what is verbal purity? Here, a bhikkhu abstains from false speech, from divisive speech, from harsh speech, and from idle chatter. This is called verbal purity.
(3) “And what is mental purity? Here, when there is sensual desire in him, a bhikkhu understands: ‘There is sensual desire in me’; or when there is no sensual desire in him, he understands: ‘There is no sensual desire in me’; and he also understands how unarisen sensual desire arises, how arisen sensual desire is abandoned, and how abandoned sensual desire does not arise again in the future.
“When there is ill will in him ... When there is dullness and drowsiness in him ... When there is restlessness and remorse in him ... ... When there is doubt in him, he understands: ‘There is doubt in me’; or when there is no doubt in him, he understands: ‘There is no doubt in me’; and he also understands how unarisen doubt arises, how arisen doubt is abandoned, and how abandoned doubt does not arise again in the future. This is called mental purity.
“These, bhikkhus, are the three purities.”
Pure in body, pure in speech,
pure in mind, without taints:
they call the pure one, accomplished in purity,
“one who has washed away evil.”
“Bhikkhus, there are these three kinds of sagacity. What three? Bodily sagacity, verbal sagacity, and mental sagacity.
(1) “And what is bodily sagacity? Here, someone abstains from the destruction of life, from taking what is not given, and from sexual activity. This is called bodily sagacity.
(2) “And what is verbal sagacity? Here, someone abstains from false speech, from divisive speech, from harsh speech, and from idle chatter. This is called verbal sagacity.
(3) “And what is mental sagacity? Here, with the destruction of the taints, a bhikkhu has realized for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life, the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, and having entered upon it, he dwells in it. This is called mental sagacity.
“These, bhikkhus, are the three kinds of sagacity.”
A sage by body, a sage in speech,
a sage in mind, without taints:
they call the sage, accomplished in sagacity,
“one who has abandoned all.”