1.
The Chapter on the Good Teaching
1.
The First Discourse on the Fixed Course of the Right Path
151. "Monks, one possessed of five qualities, even while hearing the Good Teaching, is incapable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states. Which five? He disparages the talk, he disparages the speaker, he disparages himself, he listens to the Teaching with a distracted mind, and with an unfocused mind he attends unwisely. Monks, one possessed of these five qualities, even while hearing the Good Teaching, is incapable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states.
"Monks, one possessed of five qualities, while hearing the Good Teaching, is capable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states. Which five? He does not disparage the talk, he does not disparage the speaker, he does not disparage himself, he listens to the Teaching with an undistracted mind, and with a fully focused mind he attends wisely. Monks, one possessed of these five qualities, while hearing the Good Teaching, is capable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states." The first.
2.
The Second Discourse on the Fixed Course of the Right Path
152. "Monks, one possessed of five qualities, even while hearing the Good Teaching, is incapable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states. Which five? He disparages the talk, he disparages the speaker, he disparages himself, he is unwise, dull, an idiot, and he is conceited about what is not known as if it were known. Monks, one possessed of these five qualities, even while hearing the Good Teaching, is incapable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states.
"Monks, one possessed of five qualities, while hearing the Good Teaching, is capable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states. Which five? He does not disparage the talk, he does not disparage the speaker, he does not disparage himself, he is wise, not dull, not an idiot, and he is not conceited about what is not known as if it were known. Monks, one possessed of these five qualities, while hearing the Good Teaching, is capable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states." The second.
3.
The Third Discourse on the Fixed Course of the Right Path
153. "Monks, one possessed of five qualities, even while hearing the Good Teaching, is incapable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states. Which five? One who depreciates another's worth hears the Teaching, pervaded by contempt; one with a censuring mind hears the Teaching, seeking faults; towards the speaker of the Teaching he has a struck mind, with barrenness arisen; he is unwise, dull, an idiot; he is conceited about what is not known as if it were known. Monks, one possessed of these five qualities, even while hearing the Good Teaching, is incapable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states.
"Monks, one possessed of five qualities, while hearing the Good Teaching, is capable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states. Which five? One without depreciation hears the Teaching, not pervaded by contempt; one without a censuring mind hears the Teaching, not seeking faults; towards the speaker of the Teaching he is without a struck mind, without barrenness arisen; he is wise, not dull, not an idiot; he is not conceited about what is not known as if it were known. Monks, one possessed of these five qualities, while hearing the Good Teaching, is capable of entering upon the fixed course, the right path, in wholesome mental states." The third.
4.
The First Discourse on the Decline of the Good Teaching
154. "Monks, these five things lead to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching. Which five? Here, monks, monks do not listen to the Teaching attentively, do not learn the Teaching thoroughly attentively, do not retain the Teaching attentively, do not investigate the meaning of the teachings retained attentively, do not proceed in accordance with the Teaching having understood the meaning and having understood the Teaching attentively. These, monks, are the five things that lead to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Monks, these five things lead to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching. Which five? Here, monks, monks listen to the Teaching attentively, learn the Teaching thoroughly attentively, retain the Teaching attentively, investigate the meaning of the teachings retained attentively, proceed in accordance with the Teaching having understood the meaning and having understood the Teaching attentively. These, monks, are the five things that lead to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching." The fourth.
5.
The Second Discourse on the Decline of the Good Teaching
155. "Monks, these five things lead to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching. Which five? Here, monks, monks do not learn the Teaching thoroughly - discourse, mixed prose and verse, explanation, verse, inspired utterance, thus-it-is-said, birth story, wonderful phenomena, catechism. This, monks, is the first thing that leads to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, monks do not teach the Teaching in detail to others as they have heard it, as they have learned it. This, monks, is the second thing that leads to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, monks do not teach the Teaching in detail to another as they have heard it, as they have learned it. This, monks, is the third thing that leads to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, monks do not recite the Teaching in detail as they have heard it, as they have learned it. This, monks, is the fourth thing that leads to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, monks do not reflect upon, examine, and mentally contemplate the Teaching as they have heard it, as they have learned it. This, monks, is the fifth thing that leads to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching. These, monks, are the five things that lead to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Monks, these five things lead to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching. Which five? Here, monks, monks learn the Teaching thoroughly - discourse, mixed prose and verse, explanation, verse, inspired utterance, thus-it-is-said, birth story, wonderful phenomena, catechism. This, monks, is the first thing that leads to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, monks teach the Teaching in detail to others as they have heard it, as they have learned it. This, monks, is the second thing that leads to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, monks teach the Teaching in detail to another as they have heard it, as they have learned it. This, monks, is the third factor that leads to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, monks recite the Teaching in detail as they have heard it, as they have learned it. This, monks, is the fourth factor that leads to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, monks reflect upon, examine, and mentally contemplate the Teaching as they have heard it, as they have learned it. This, monks, is the fifth thing that leads to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching. These, monks, are the five things that lead to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching." The fifth.
6.
The Third Discourse on the Decline of the Good Teaching
156. "Monks, these five things lead to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching. Which five? Here, monks, monks learn a discourse that has been misapprehended, with wrongly placed phrasing. For wrongly placed phrasing, monks, the meaning too is wrongly inferred. This, monks, is the first thing that leads to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, monks are difficult to admonish, endowed with qualities that make them difficult to admonish, impatient, not receiving instruction respectfully. This, monks, is the second thing that leads to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, those monks who are very learned, who have learnt the collections, who are bearers of the Teaching, bearers of the monastic discipline, bearers of the matrices, they do not carefully teach the discourse to others; with their passing away, the discourse becomes cut off at the root, without refuge. This, monks, is the third thing that leads to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, the elder monks are luxurious, lax, forerunners in falling away, having laid down the responsibility for solitude, they do not arouse energy for the attainment of the unattained, for the achievement of the unachieved, for the realisation of the unrealised. Their later generation follows the example of what they have seen. They too are luxurious, lax, forerunners in falling away, having laid down the responsibility for solitude, they do not arouse energy for the attainment of the unattained, for the achievement of the unachieved, for the realisation of the unrealised. This, monks, is the fourth thing that leads to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, the monastic community is split. But when the monastic community is split, monks, there is mutual reviling, there is mutual abuse, there is mutual exclusion, there is mutual abandonment. Therein those without faith do not gain faith, and for some of those with faith there is alteration. This, monks, is the fifth thing that leads to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching. These, monks, are the five things that lead to the decay and disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Monks, these five things lead to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching. Which five? Here, monks, monks learn a discourse that has been rightly taken, with rightly placed phrasing. For rightly placed phrasing, monks, the meaning too is rightly inferred. This, monks, is the first thing that leads to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, monks are easy to admonish, endowed with qualities that make for being easy to admonish, patient, receiving instruction respectfully. This, monks, is the second thing that leads to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, those monks who are very learned, who have learnt the collections, who are bearers of the Teaching, bearers of the monastic discipline, bearers of the matrices, they carefully teach the discourse to others; with their passing away, the discourse is not cut off at the root, it has a refuge. This, monks, is the third factor that leads to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, the elder monks are not luxurious, not lax, having laid down the responsibility for falling away, forerunners in solitude; they arouse energy for the attainment of the unattained, for the achievement of the unachieved, for the realisation of the unrealised. Their later generation follows the example of what they have seen. They too are not luxurious, not lax, having laid down the responsibility for falling away, forerunners in solitude, they arouse energy for the attainment of the unattained, for the achievement of the unachieved, for the realisation of the unrealised. This, monks, is the fourth factor that leads to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching.
"Furthermore, monks, the monastic community dwells in unity, being joyful, without contention, with common recitation, comfortably. But when the monastic community is united, monks, there is no mutual reviling, there is no mutual abuse, there is no mutual exclusion, there is no mutual abandonment. Therein those without faith gain faith, and for those with faith there is increase. This, monks, is the fifth thing that leads to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching. These, monks, are the five things that lead to the presence, non-decay, and non-disappearance of the Good Teaching." The sixth.
7.
The Discourse on Bad Talk
157. "Monks, talk is badly spoken to five persons, compared with person to person. Which five? Monks, talk about faith is badly spoken to one who is faithless; talk about morality is badly spoken to one who is immoral; talk about great learning is badly spoken to one of little learning; talk about generosity is badly spoken to one who is stingy; talk about wisdom is badly spoken to one who is unwise.
"And why, monks, is talk about faith badly spoken to one who is faithless? A faithless person, monks, when talk about faith is being spoken, becomes attached, becomes angry, is repelled, becomes obstinate, and manifests irritation, hate, and displeasure. What is the reason for this? For he, monks, does not see accomplishment in faith in himself, and he does not obtain joy and gladness on that account. Therefore talk about faith is badly spoken to one who is faithless.
"And why, monks, is talk about morality badly spoken to one who is immoral? An immoral person, monks, when talk about morality is being spoken, becomes attached, becomes angry, is repelled, becomes obstinate, and manifests irritation, hate, and displeasure. What is the reason for this? For he, monks, does not see accomplishment in morality in himself, and he does not obtain joy and gladness on that account. Therefore talk about morality is badly spoken to one who is immoral.
"And why, monks, is talk about great learning badly spoken to one of little learning? One of little learning, monks, when talk about great learning is being spoken, becomes attached, becomes angry, is repelled, becomes obstinate, and manifests irritation, hate, and displeasure. What is the reason for this? For he, monks, does not see accomplishment in learning in himself, and he does not obtain joy and gladness on that account. Therefore talk about great learning is badly spoken to one of little learning.
"And why, monks, is talk about generosity badly spoken to one who is stingy? A stingy person, monks, when talk about generosity is being spoken, becomes attached, becomes angry, is repelled, becomes obstinate, and manifests irritation, hate, and displeasure. What is the reason for this? For he, monks, does not see accomplishment in generosity in himself, and he does not obtain joy and gladness on that account. Therefore talk about generosity is badly spoken to one who is stingy.
"And why, monks, is talk about wisdom badly spoken to one who is unwise? An unwise person, monks, when talk about wisdom is being spoken, becomes attached, becomes angry, is repelled, becomes obstinate, and manifests irritation, hate, and displeasure. What is the reason for this? For he, monks, does not see accomplishment in wisdom in himself, and he does not obtain joy and gladness on that account. Therefore talk about wisdom is badly spoken to one who is unwise. Monks, talk is badly spoken to these five persons, compared with person to person.
"For five persons, monks, talk is well-spoken, comparing person with person. Which five? For one with faith, monks, talk about faith is well-spoken; for one who is moral, talk about morality is well-spoken; for one who is very learned, talk about great learning is well-spoken; for one who is generous, talk about generosity is well-spoken; for one who is wise, talk about wisdom is well-spoken.
"And why, monks, is talk about faith well-spoken for one with faith? One with faith, monks, when talk about faith is being spoken, does not become attached, does not become angry, is not repelled, does not become obstinate, and does not manifest irritation, hate, and displeasure. What is the reason for this? For he, monks, sees accomplishment in faith within himself, and on that account obtains joy and gladness. Therefore, for one with faith, talk about faith is well-spoken.
"And why, monks, is talk about morality well-spoken for one who is moral? One who is moral, monks, when talk about morality is being spoken, does not become attached, does not become angry, is not repelled, does not become obstinate, and does not manifest irritation, hate, and displeasure. What is the reason for this? For he, monks, sees accomplishment in morality within himself, and on that account obtains joy and gladness. Therefore, for one who is moral, talk about morality is well-spoken.
"And why, monks, is talk about great learning well-spoken for one who is very learned? One who is very learned, monks, when talk about great learning is being spoken, does not become attached, does not become angry, is not repelled, does not become obstinate, and does not manifest irritation, hate, and displeasure. What is the reason for this? For he, monks, sees accomplishment in learning within himself, and on that account obtains joy and gladness. Therefore, for one who is very learned, talk about great learning is well-spoken.
"And why, monks, is talk about generosity well-spoken for one who is generous? One who is generous, monks, when talk about generosity is being spoken, does not become attached, does not become angry, is not repelled, does not become obstinate, and does not manifest irritation, hate, and displeasure. What is the reason for this? For he, monks, sees accomplishment in generosity within himself, and on that account obtains joy and gladness. Therefore, for one who is generous, talk about generosity is well-spoken.
"And why, monks, is talk about wisdom well-spoken for one who is wise? One who is wise, monks, when talk about wisdom is being spoken, does not become attached, does not become angry, is not repelled, does not become obstinate, and does not manifest irritation, hate, and displeasure. What is the reason for this? For he, monks, sees accomplishment in wisdom within himself, and on that account obtains joy and gladness. Therefore, for one who is wise, talk about wisdom is well-spoken. For these five persons, monks, talk is well-spoken, comparing person with person." The seventh.
8.
The Discourse on Timidity
158. "Monks, a monk possessed of five qualities has fallen into timidity. Which five? Here, monks, a monk is faithless, is immoral, is of little learning, is lazy, is unwise. Monks, a monk possessed of these five qualities has fallen into timidity.
"Monks, a monk possessed of five qualities is confident. Which five? Here, monks, a monk has faith, is moral, is very learned, is putting forth strenuous energy, is wise. Monks, a monk possessed of these five qualities is confident." The eighth.
9.
The Discourse about Udāyī
159. Thus have I heard - On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Kosambī in Ghosita's park. Now at that time the Venerable Udāyī was seated teaching the Teaching surrounded by a great assembly of householders. The Venerable Ānanda saw the Venerable Udāyī seated teaching the Teaching surrounded by a great assembly of householders. Having seen him, he approached the Blessed One; having approached, he paid respect to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Seated to one side, the Venerable Ānanda said this to the Blessed One - "The Venerable Udāyī, venerable sir, is teaching the Teaching surrounded by a great assembly of householders."
"Indeed, Ānanda, it is not easy to teach the Teaching to others. Ānanda, one who teaches the Teaching to others, having established five qualities internally, should teach the Teaching to others. Which five? 'I will speak a progressive discourse' - thus the Teaching should be taught to others; 'I will speak showing the method' - thus the Teaching should be taught to others; 'I will speak dependent on compassion' - thus the Teaching should be taught to others; 'I will speak not with material gain within' - thus the Teaching should be taught to others; 'I will speak without wounding oneself and others' - thus the Teaching should be taught to others. Indeed, Ānanda, it is not easy to teach the Teaching to others. Ānanda, one who teaches the Teaching to others, having established these five qualities internally, should teach the Teaching to others." The ninth.
10.
The Discourse on What is Difficult to Dispel
160. "Monks, these five things, when arisen, are hard to dispel. Which five? Arisen lust is hard to dispel, arisen hate is hard to dispel, arisen delusion is hard to dispel, arisen inspiration is hard to dispel, arisen urge to travel is hard to dispel. These, monks, are the five things, when arisen, that are hard to dispel." The tenth.
The Chapter on the Good Teaching is first.
Its summary:
Badly spoken and timidity, Udāyi and hard to dispel.