3.
The Discourse on Heirs in the Teaching
29. Thus have I heard - On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's park. There the Blessed One addressed the monks - "Monks." "Venerable sir," those monks assented to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this -
"Be my heirs in the Community, monks, not heirs in material gains. There is compassion in me for you - 'How might my disciples become heirs in the Community, not heirs in material gains.' And if you, monks, were to become my heirs in material gains, not heirs in the Community, you too would thereby be subject to criticism - 'The Teacher's disciples dwell as heirs in material gains, not heirs in the Community'; I too would thereby be subject to criticism - 'The Teacher's disciples dwell as heirs in material gains, not heirs in the Community.' And if you, monks, were to become my heirs in the Community, not heirs in material gains, you too would thereby not be subject to criticism - 'The Teacher's disciples dwell as heirs in the Community, not heirs in material gains'; I too would thereby not be subject to criticism - 'The Teacher's disciples dwell as heirs in the Community, not heirs in material gains.' Therefore, monks, be my heirs in the Community, not heirs in material gains. There is compassion in me for you - 'How might my disciples become heirs in the Community, not heirs in material gains.'
30. "Here, monks, suppose I had eaten, having been invited to admonish, full, finished, satisfied, having had as much as I liked; and there might be almsfood left over, subject to being thrown away. Then two monks might come, afflicted by hunger and weakness. To them I would say thus - 'I indeed, monks, have eaten, having been invited to admonish, full, finished, satisfied, having had as much as I liked; and there is this almsfood of mine left over, subject to being thrown away. If you wish, eat; if you do not eat, I will now throw it away where there is little green vegetation, or I will drop it in water without living creatures.' Therein one monk might think thus - 'The Blessed One indeed has eaten, having been invited to admonish, full, finished, satisfied, having had as much as he liked; and there is this almsfood of the Blessed One left over, subject to being thrown away. If we do not eat, now the Blessed One will throw it away where there is little green vegetation, or will drop it in water without living creatures.' But this was said by the Blessed One - 'Be my heirs in the Community, monks, not heirs in material gains.' But this is one of the material gains, namely almsfood. What if I, not eating this almsfood, were to spend this night and day in just this way with hunger and weakness." He, not eating that almsfood, might spend that night and day in just that way with that very hunger and weakness. Then the second monk might think thus - 'The Blessed One indeed has eaten, having been invited to admonish, full, finished, satisfied, having had as much as he liked; and there is this almsfood of the Blessed One left over, subject to being thrown away. If we do not eat, now the Blessed One will throw it away where there is little green vegetation, or will drop it in water without living creatures. What if I, having eaten this almsfood, having dispelled hunger and weakness, were to spend this night and day in this way.' He, having eaten that almsfood, having dispelled hunger and weakness, might spend that night and day in that way. Although, monks, that monk, having eaten that almsfood, having dispelled hunger and weakness, might spend that night and day in that way, yet that former monk is more worthy of respect and more praiseworthy to me. What is the reason for this? For that, monks, will conduce for a long time to that monk's fewness of wishes, contentment, detachment, easy supportability, and arousal of energy. Therefore, monks, be my heirs in the Community, not heirs in material gains. There is compassion in me for you - 'How might my disciples become heirs in the Community, not heirs in material gains.'"
This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One rose from his seat and entered the dwelling.
31. There the Venerable Sāriputta, not long after the Blessed One had departed, addressed the monks - "Friends, monks!" "Friend," those monks assented to the Venerable Sāriputta. The Venerable Sāriputta said this -
"In what respect, friends, when the Teacher dwells secluded, do disciples not train in seclusion, and in what respect, when the Teacher dwells secluded, do disciples train in seclusion?" "We come even from afar, friend, to the presence of the Venerable Sāriputta to understand the meaning of this statement. It would be good indeed if the meaning of this statement would occur to the Venerable Sāriputta himself; having heard from the Venerable Sāriputta, the monks will remember it." "If so, friends, listen and pay close attention, I will speak." "Yes, friend," those monks assented to the Venerable Sāriputta. The Venerable Sāriputta said this -
"In what respect, friends, when the Teacher dwells secluded, do disciples not train in seclusion? Here, friends, when the Teacher dwells secluded, disciples do not train in seclusion, and those mental states of which the Teacher has declared the abandoning, those mental states they do not abandon, and they are luxurious, lax, forerunners in falling away, having laid down the responsibility for solitude. Therein, friends, elder monks are blameworthy on three grounds. 'When the Teacher dwells secluded, disciples do not train in seclusion' - by this first ground, elder monks are blameworthy. 'And those mental states of which the Teacher has declared the abandoning, those mental states they do not abandon' - by this second ground, elder monks are blameworthy. 'They are luxurious, lax, forerunners in falling away, having laid down the responsibility for solitude' - by this third ground, elder monks are blameworthy. Elder monks, friends, are blameworthy on these three grounds. Therein, friends, middling monks... etc. new monks are blameworthy on three grounds. 'When the Teacher dwells secluded, disciples do not train in seclusion' - by this first ground, new monks are blameworthy. 'And those mental states of which the Teacher has declared the abandoning, those mental states they do not abandon' - by this second ground, new monks are blameworthy. 'They are luxurious, lax, forerunners in falling away, having laid down the responsibility for solitude' - by this third ground, new monks are blameworthy. New monks, friends, are blameworthy on these three grounds. To this extent, friends, when the Teacher dwells secluded, disciples do not train in seclusion.
32. "And in what respect, friends, when the Teacher dwells secluded, do disciples train in seclusion? Here, friends, when the Teacher dwells secluded, disciples train in seclusion - and those mental states of which the Teacher has declared the abandoning, those mental states they abandon; and they are not luxurious, not lax, forerunners in solitude, having laid down the responsibility for falling away. Therein, friends, elder monks are praiseworthy on three grounds. 'When the Teacher dwells secluded, disciples train in seclusion' - by this first ground, elder monks are praiseworthy. 'And those mental states of which the Teacher has declared the abandoning, those mental states they abandon' - by this second ground, elder monks are praiseworthy. 'And they are not luxurious, not lax, forerunners in solitude, having laid down the responsibility for falling away' - by this third ground, elder monks are praiseworthy. Elder monks, friends, are praiseworthy on these three grounds. Therein, friends, middling monks... etc. new monks are praiseworthy on three grounds. 'When the Teacher dwells secluded, disciples train in seclusion' - by this first ground, new monks are praiseworthy. 'And those mental states of which the Teacher has declared the abandoning, those mental states they abandon' - by this second ground, new monks are praiseworthy. 'And they are not luxurious, not lax, forerunners in solitude, having laid down the responsibility for falling away' - by this third ground, new monks are praiseworthy. New monks, friends, are praiseworthy on these three grounds. To this extent, friends, when the Teacher dwells secluded, disciples train in seclusion.
33. "Therein, friends, greed is evil and hate is evil. For the abandoning of greed and for the abandoning of hate, there is a middle practice that gives vision, that gives knowledge, that leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. And what, friends, is that middle practice that gives vision, that gives knowledge, that leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna? It is just this noble eightfold path, as follows - right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This, friends, is that middle practice that gives vision, that gives knowledge, that leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.
"Therein, friends, wrath is evil and hostility is evil... etc. contempt is evil and insolence is evil, envy is evil and stinginess is evil, deceit is evil and fraudulence is evil, obstinacy is evil and impetuosity is evil, conceit is evil and arrogance is evil, vanity is evil and negligence is evil. For the abandoning of vanity and for the abandoning of negligence, there is a middle practice that gives vision, that gives knowledge, that leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. And what, friends, is that middle practice that gives vision, that gives knowledge, that leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna? It is just this noble eightfold path, as follows - right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This, friends, is that middle practice that gives vision, that gives knowledge, that leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna."
This the Venerable Sāriputta said. Those monks, delighted, rejoiced in what the Venerable Sāriputta had said.
The Discourse on Heirs of the Teaching is concluded as third.