{"collection":"Buddhism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/bud/iti/iti3.htm","path":"bud/iti/iti3.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/bud/iti/iti3.htm","text":"\"There are these three roots of what is unskillful. Which three? Greed as a root of what is unskillful, aversion as a root of what is unskillful, delusion as a root of what is unskillful. There are the three roots of what is unskillful.\"\nGreed, aversion, & delusion\ndestroy the evil-minded person\nfrom which they are born,\nlike the fruiting of the bamboo.\n\"There are these three feelings. Which three? A feeling of pleasure, a feeling of pain, a feeling of neither pleasure nor pain. These are the three feelings.\"\nConcentrated, alert, mindful,\nthe disciple of the Awakened One\ndiscerns feelings,\nfeelings' origin,\nwhere they cease,\n& the path to their ending.\nWith the ending of feelings,\na monk free of want\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 is totally unbound.\n\"There are these three feelings. Which three? A feeling of pleasure, a feeling of pain, a feeling of neither pleasure nor pain. A feeling of pleasure should be seen as stressful. A feeling of pain should be seen as a stinger. A feeling of neither pleasure nor pain should be seen as inconstant. When a monk has seen a feeling of pleasure as stressful, a feeling of pain as a stinger, and a feeling of neither pleasure nor pain as inconstant, then he is called a monk who is noble, who has seen rightly, who has cut off craving, destroyed the fetter, and who -- from the right breaking-through of conceit -- has put an end to suffering & stress.\"\nWhoever sees\npleasure as stress,\npain as a stinger,\nand peaceful neither-pleasure-nor-pain\nas inconstant,\nis a monk who has seen rightly.\nFrom that he is there set free:\na master of direct knowledge,\nat peace,\na sage gone beyond\nthe yoke.\n\"There are these three searches. Which three? The search for sensuality, the search for becoming, the search for a holy life. These are the three searches.\"\nSensual search, becoming-search,\ntogether with the holy-life search --\ni.e., grasping at truth\nbased on the accumulation of viewpoints.\nThrough the relinquishment of searches\n& the abolishing of viewpoints\nof one dispassionate to all passion,\nand released in the ending of craving,\nthrough the ending of searches, the monk\nis devoid of perplexity & desire.\n\"There are these three effluents. Which three? The effluent of sensuality, the effluent of becoming, the effluent of ignorance. These are the three effluents.\"\nConcentrated, alert, mindful,\nthe disciple of the Awakened One\ndiscerns effluents,\neffluents' origin,\nwhere they cease,\n& the path to their ending.\nWith the ending of effluents,\na monk free of want\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 is totally unbound.\nOne whose effluent of sensuality\nis ended,\nwhose ignorance is cleansed,\nwhose effluent of becoming\nis exhausted,\nis free of acquisitions, his mind totally released.\nHe bears his last body,\nhaving conquered Mara & his mount.\n\"There are these three cravings. Which three? Craving for sensuality, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming. These are the three cravings.\"\nThose joined with the yoke of craving,\ntheir minds smitten with becoming & non-,\nare yoked with the yoke of Mara --\npeople with no rest from the yoke,\nbeings going through the wandering-on,\nheaded for birth & death.\nWhile those who've abandoned craving,\nfree from the craving for becoming & non-,\nreaching the ending of effluents,\nthough in the world,\nhave gone beyond.\n\"Endowed with three qualities a monk has passed beyond Mara's domain and shines like the sun. Which three? There is the case where a monk is endowed with the aggregate of virtue of one beyond training [i.e., an Arahant], the aggregate of concentration of one beyond training, the aggregate of discernment of one beyond training. Endowed with these three qualities a monk has passed beyond Mara's domain and shines like the sun.\"\nVirtue, concentration, & discernment:\nOne in whom these are well-developed,\npassing beyond Mara's domain,\nshines, shines\nlike the sun.\n\"There are these three grounds for meritorious activity. Which three? The ground for meritorious activity made of generosity, the ground for meritorious activity made of virtue, and the ground for meritorious activity made of development [meditation]. These are the three grounds for meritorious activity.\"\nTrain just in the merit\nthat yields bliss for a long time to come.\nDevelop generosity, a life in-tune,\n& a mind of good-will.\nHaving developed these qualities\n-- the three that yield bliss --\nthe wise one reappears in a world\nof bliss unafflicted.\n\"There are these three eyes. Which three? The eye of flesh, the heavenly eye [clairvoyance], & the eye of discernment. These are the three eyes.\"\nThe eye of flesh, the heavenly eye,\n& the unexcelled eye of discernment:\nThese three eyes were taught\nby the One Awakened,\nsupreme among men.\nThe arising of the eye of flesh\nis the path to the heavenly eye.\nFrom the unexcelled eye of discernment\nknowledge\narises.\nWhoever gains this eye\nis -- from suffering & stress --\nset free.\n\"There are these three faculties. Which three? The faculty of 'I am about to know what is not yet finally known,' the faculty of final knowledge, the faculty of one who has finally known. These are the three faculties.\"\nFor a learner in training\nalong the straight path,\nthe knowledge of ending arises first\nand from that immediately\nfinal knowledge.\nFrom that final knowledge,\nin one who is Such,\nreleased\nwith the ending of the fetter of becoming,\nthere is the knowledge:\n'My release is unshaken.'\nOne thus consummate in these faculties,\npeaceful, enjoying the peaceful state,\nbears his final body,\nhaving defeated Mara & his mount.\n\"There are these three times. What three? Past time, future time, and present time. These are the three times.\"\nPerceiving in terms of signs, beings\ntake a stand on signs.\nNot fully comprehending signs,\nthey come into the bonds of death.\nBut fully comprehending signs,\none does not construe a signifier.\nTouching liberation with the mind,\nthe unsurpassed state of peace,\nconsummate in terms of signs,\ncalm,\nenjoying the calm state,\nstanding on Dhamma,\nhe, the Expert, uses classifications\nwithout entering into them.\n\"Anyone -- monk or nun -- in whom passion is unabandoned, aversion is unabandoned, & delusion is unabandoned, is said not to have crossed the ocean with its waves, breakers, & whirlpools, its sharks & demons. Anyone -- monk or nun -- in whom passion is abandoned, aversion is abandoned, & delusion is abandoned, is said to have crossed the ocean with its waves, breakers, & whirlpools, its sharks & demons. Having crossed over, having reached the far shore, he/she stands on high ground, a brahmin.\"\nOne whose passion, aversion, & ignorance\nare washed away,\nhas crossed over this ocean\nwith its sharks,\ndemons,\n& dangerous waves,\nso hard to cross.\nFree from acquisitions -- \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bonds surmounted\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 death abandoned -- \nhe has abandoned stress\nwith no further becoming.\nHaving gone to the goal\nhe is undefined.\nHe has outwitted, I tell you,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the King of Death.\n\"I have seen beings who -- endowed with bad conduct of body, endowed with bad conduct of speech, endowed with bad conduct of mind, who reviled the Noble Ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views -- on the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, in hell. It is not from having heard this from other priests and contemplatives that I tell you that I have seen beings who -- endowed with bad conduct of body, endowed with bad conduct of speech, endowed with bad conduct of mind, who reviled the Noble Ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views -- on the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, in hell. It is from having known it myself, seen it myself, realized it myself that I tell you that I have seen beings who -- endowed with bad conduct of body, endowed with bad conduct of speech, endowed with bad conduct of mind, who reviled the Noble Ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views -- on the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, in hell.\"\nWith mind wrongly directed,\nspeaking wrong speech,\ndoing wrong deeds with the body\n-- a person here --\nof little learning,\na doer of evil\nhere in this life so short,\nwith the break-up of the body,\nundiscerning,\nre-appears in hell.\n\"I have seen beings who -- endowed with good conduct of body, endowed with good conduct of speech, endowed with good conduct of mind, who did not revile the Noble Ones, who held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views -- on the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the good destination, the heavenly world. It is not from having heard this from other priests and contemplatives that I tell you that I have seen beings who -- endowed with good conduct of body, endowed with good conduct of speech, endowed with good conduct of mind, who did not revile the Noble Ones, who held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views -- on the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the good destination, the heavenly world. It is from having known it myself, seen it myself, realized it myself that I tell you that I have seen beings who -- endowed with good conduct of body, endowed with good conduct of speech, endowed with good conduct of mind, who did not revile the Noble Ones, who held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views -- on the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the good destination, the heavenly world.\"\nWith mind rightly directed,\nspeaking right speech,\ndoing right deeds with the body\n-- a person here --\nof much learning,\na doer of merit\nhere in this life so short,\nwith the break-up of the body,\ndiscerning,\nre-appears in heaven.\n\"There are these three properties for escape. Which three? This is the escape from sensuality: renunciation. This is the escape from form: formlessness. And as for whatever has come into being, is fabricated & dependently co-arisen, the escape from that is cessation. These are the three properties for escape.\"\nKnowing the escape from sensuality,\nthe overcoming of forms\n-- always ardent --\ntouching the stilling\nof all fabrications:\nHe is a monk\nwho sees rightly, so\nthere he's released.\nHaving mastered direct knowing,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 calm,\nhaving gone beyond bondage, he\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 is a sage.\n\"Formless phenomena are more peaceful than forms; cessation, more peaceful than formless phenomena.\"\nThose beings headed to forms,\nand those standing in the formless,\nwith no knowledge of cessation,\nreturn to further becoming.\nBut those who comprehend forms\nwithout getting stuck\nin formless phenomena,\nare released into cessation,\nleaving death far behind.\nHaving, through his body,\ntouched the deathless property,\nwith no acquisitions\n-- having witnessed\nthe relinquishing of acquisitions -- \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 effluent-free,\nthe Rightly Self-awakened One\nteaches the state\nfree \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 of sorrow,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 of dust.\n\"There are these three types of sons & daughters existing in the world. Which three? One of heightened birth, one of similar birth, one of lowered birth.\n\"And how is a son or daughter of heightened birth? There is the case where a son or daughter's parents have not gone to the Buddha for refuge, have not gone to the Dhamma for refuge, have not gone to the Sangha for refuge. They do not abstain from taking life, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, from fermented & distilled liquors that cause heedlessness. They are unprincipled & evil by nature. However, their son or daughter has gone to the Buddha for refuge, has gone to the Dhamma for refuge, has gone to the Sangha for refuge. He/she abstains from taking life, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, from fermented & distilled liquors that cause heedlessness. He/she is principled & admirable by nature. This is called a son or daughter of heightened birth.\n\"And how is a son or daughter of similar birth? There is the case where a son or daughter's parents have gone to the Buddha for refuge, have gone to the Dhamma for refuge, have gone to the Sangha for refuge. They abstain from taking life, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, from fermented & distilled liquors that cause heedlessness. They are principled & admirable by nature. Their son or daughter has also gone to the Buddha for refuge, has gone to the Dhamma for refuge, has gone to the Sangha for refuge. He/she abstains from taking life, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, from fermented & distilled liquors that cause heedlessness. He/she is principled & admirable by nature. This is called a son or daughter of similar birth.\n\"And how is a son or daughter of lowered birth? There is the case where a son or daughter's parents have gone to the Buddha for refuge, have gone to the Dhamma for refuge, have gone to the Sangha for refuge. They abstain from taking life, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, from fermented & distilled liquors that cause heedlessness. They are principled & admirable by nature. However, their son or daughter has not gone to the Buddha for refuge, has not gone to the Dhamma for refuge, has not gone to the Sangha for refuge. He/she does not abstain from taking life, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, from fermented & distilled liquors that cause heedlessness. He/she is unprincipled & evil by nature. This is called a son or daughter of lowered birth.\"\nThe wise hope for a child\nof heightened or similar birth,\nnot for one of lowered birth,\na disgrace to the family.\nThese children in the world,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 lay-followers,\nconsummate in virtue & conviction,\ngenerous & free from stinginess,\nshine forth in any gathering\nlike the moon when freed from a cloud.\nThis was said by the Lord....\n\"Bhikkhus, these three kinds of persons are found existing in the world. What three? One who is like a rainless cloud, one who rains locally, and one who rains everywhere.\n\"Now what kind of person, bhikkhus, is like a rainless cloud? Here, a certain person is not a giver to anyone; he does not give food, drink, clothing, vehicles, garlands, scents, ointments, beds, lodging, and lamps to recluses and brahmins, to the poor, destitute, and needy. This kind of person is like a rainless cloud.\n\"Now what, bhikkhus, is the kind of person who rains locally? Here, a certain person is a giver to some but not a giver to others. Food, drink, clothing, vehicles, garlands, scents, ointments, beds, lodging, and lamps he gives only to some recluses and brahmins, to some of the poor, destitute, and needy, but not to others. This is the kind of person who rains locally.\n\"Now what, bhikkhus, is the kind of person who rains everywhere? Here, a certain person gives to all. He gives food, drink, clothing, vehicles, garlands, scents, ointments, beds, lodging, and lamps to all recluses and brahmins, to the poor, destitute, and needy. This is the kind of person who rains everywhere.\n\"These, bhikkhus, are the three kinds of persons found existing in the world.\"\nNeither to recluses nor brahmins\nNor to the poor and destitute\nDoes he distribute his store\nOf food and drink and goods;\nThat base person is called\n\"One like a rainless cloud.\"\nTo some he does not give,\nTo some he offers alms;\nThat one wise people call\n\"One who rains only locally.\"\nA person renowned for his bounty,\nCompassionate towards all beings,\nDistributes alms gladly.\n\"Give! Give!\" he says.\nLike a great storm cloud\nThat thunders and rains down\nFilling the levels and hollows,\nSaturating the earth with water,\nEven so is such a person.\nHaving righteously gathered wealth\nWhich he obtains by his own effort,\nHe fully satisfies with food and drink\nWhatever beings live in need.\n\"This body falls apart; consciousness is subject to fading; all acquisitions are inconstant, stressful, subject to change.\"\nKnowing the body as falling apart,\n& consciousness as dissolving,\nseeing the danger in acquisitions,\none has gone beyond\nbirth & death.\nHaving reached the foremost peace,\none bides one's time,\ncomposed.\n\"It is in accordance with their properties that beings come together & associate with one another. Beings of low dispositions come together & associate with beings of low dispositions. Beings of admirable dispositions come together & associate with beings of admirable dispositions. In the past, it was in accordance with their properties that beings came together & associated with one another...In the future, it will be in accordance with their properties that beings will come together & associate with one another...And now at present, it is in accordance with their properties that beings come together & associate with one another. Beings of low dispositions come together & associate with beings of low dispositions. Beings of admirable dispositions come together & associate with beings of admirable dispositions.\"\nThe underbrush born\nof association\nis cut away\nby non-association.\nJust as one riding\na small wooden plank\nsinks\nin the great sea,\nso does one of right living\nsink,\nassociating with the lazy.\nSo avoid the lazy,\nthose with little persistence,\nLive with the noble ones -- \nsecluded, resolute, absorbed in jhana,\ntheir persistence constantly aroused:\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the wise.\n\"These three divine sounds sound forth among the devas on appropriate occasions. Which three? When a noble disciple, shaving off his hair and beard, clothing himself in the ochre robe, makes up his mind to go forth from the home life into homelessness, on that occasion the divine sound sounds forth among the devas: 'This noble disciple has made up his mind to do battle with Mara.' This is the first divine sound that sounds forth among the devas on appropriate occasions.\n\"When a noble disciple lives engaged in developing the seven [sets of] qualities that are wings to awakening, on that occasion the divine sound sounds forth among the devas: 'This noble disciple is doing battle with Mara.' This is the second divine sound that sounds forth among the devas on appropriate occasions.\n\"When a noble disciple, through the ending of effluents dwells in the release of awareness and release of discernment that are free from effluent, having known and made them manifest for himself in the here and now, on that occasion the divine sound sounds forth among the devas: 'This noble disciple has won the battle. Having been in the front lines of the battle, he now dwells victorious.' This is the third divine sound that sounds forth among the devas on appropriate occasions.\n\"These are the three divine sounds that sound forth among the devas on appropriate occasions.\"\nSeeing that he has won the battle\n-- the disciple of the rightly\nself-awakened one --\neven the devas pay homage\nto this great one, thoroughly mature.\n\"Homage to you, O thoroughbred of a man,\nyou who have won the hard victory,\ndefeating the army of Death,\nunhindered in emancipation.\"\nThus the devas pay homage\nto one who has reached the heart's goal,\nfor they see no means in him\nthat would bring him under Death's sway.\n\"These three persons, appearing in the world, appear for the benefit of many, the happiness of many, in sympathy for the world -- for the welfare, the benefit, the happiness of beings human & divine. Which three?\n\"There is the case where a Tathagata appears in the world, worthy & rightly self-awakened, consummate in clear knowing & conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the cosmos, unsurpassed trainer of tamable people, teacher of beings human & divine, awakened, blessed. He teaches the Dhamma admirable in its beginning, admirable in its middle, admirable in its end. He proclaims the holy life both in its particulars & in its essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure. This is the first person who, appearing in the world, appears for the benefit of many, the happiness of many, in sympathy for the world -- for the welfare, the benefit, the happiness of beings human & divine.\n\"Furthermore, there is the disciple of that Teacher who is a worthy one, his mental effluents ended, who has reached fulfillment, done the task, laid down the burden, attained the true goal, totally destroyed the fetter of becoming, and who is released through right gnosis. He teaches the Dhamma admirable in its beginning, admirable in its middle, admirable in its end. He proclaims the holy life both in its particulars & in its essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure. This is the second person who, appearing in the world, appears for the benefit of many, the happiness of many, in sympathy for the world -- for the welfare, the benefit, the happiness of beings human & divine.\n\"Furthermore, there is the disciple of that Teacher who is a learner, following the way, erudite, endowed with [good] practices & principles. He, too, teaches the Dhamma admirable in its beginning, admirable in its middle, admirable in its end. He proclaims the holy life both in its particulars & in its essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure. This is the third person who, appearing in the world, appears for the benefit of many, the happiness of many, in sympathy for the world -- for the welfare, the benefit, the happiness of beings human & divine.\n\"These are the three persons who, appearing in the world, appear for the benefit of many, the happiness of many, in sympathy for the world -- for the welfare, the benefit, the happiness of beings human & divine.\"\nThe Teacher,\nthe great seer,\nis first in the world;\nfollowing him, the disciple\ncomposed.\nAnd then the learner,\nfollowing the way, erudite,\nendowed with good practices,\nprinciples.\nThese three, chief\namong beings human & divine,\ngiving light, proclaiming the Dhamma,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 throw open the door to the Deathless,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 release many\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 from the yoke.\nThose who follow the path,\nwell-taught by the Caravan leader\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 unsurpassed,\nwill put an end to stress\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 right here -- \nthose heeding the bidding\nof the One Well-gone.\n\"Remain focused, monks, on the foulness of the body. Have mindfulness of in-and-out breathing well established to the fore within you. Remain focused on the inconstancy of all fabrications. For one who remains focused on the foulness of the body, the latent tendency to passion for the property of beauty is abandoned. For one who has mindfulness of in-and-out breathing well established to the fore within oneself, annoying external thoughts and inclinations don't exist. For one who remains focused on the inconstancy of all fabrications, ignorance is abandoned, and clear knowing arises.\"\nFocusing on foulness\nwith regard to the body,\nmindful\nof in & out breathing,\nseeing\nthe stilling of all fabrications\n-- always ardent --\nthe right-seeing monk,\nwhen released there,\nis truly a master\nof direct knowledge.\nCalm.\nHe is truly a sage\ngone beyond bonds.\n\"With reference to a monk who practices the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, it is this way of according with the Dhamma that he should be described as practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma. When speaking, he speaks Dhamma and not non-Dhamma. When thinking, he thinks about Dhamma and not about non-Dhamma. Avoiding both these things, he stays equanimous, mindful, alert.\"\nDhamma his dwelling,\nDhamma his delight,\na monk pondering Dhamma,\ncalling Dhamma to mind,\ndoes not fall away\nfrom true Dhamma.\nWhether walking, standing,\nsitting, or lying down\n-- his mind restrained within -- \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 he arrives\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 right at peace.\n\"There are these three kinds of unskillful thinking that produce blindness, produce lack of vision, produce lack of knowledge, lead to the cessation of discernment, side with vexation, and are not conducive to Unbinding. Which three? Thinking imbued with sensuality...Thinking imbued with ill-will...Thinking imbued with harmfulness produces blindness, produces lack of vision, produces lack of knowledge, leads to the cessation of discernment, sides with vexation, and is not conducive to Unbinding. These are the three kinds of unskillful thinking that produce blindness, produce lack of vision, produce lack of knowledge, lead to the cessation of discernment, side with vexation, and are not conducive to Unbinding.\n\"There are these three kinds of skillful thinking that produce non-blindness, produce vision, produce knowledge, foster discernment, side with non-vexation, and are conducive to Unbinding. Which three? Thinking imbued with renunciation...Thinking imbued with non-ill-will...Thinking imbued with harmlessness produces non-blindness, produces vision, produces knowledge, fosters discernment, sides with non-vexation, and is conducive to Unbinding. These are the three kinds of skillful thinking that produce non-blindness, produce vision, produce knowledge, foster discernment, side with non-vexation, and are conducive to Unbinding.\"\nThree skillful thoughts should be thought,\nthree unskillful thoughts rejected.\nWhoever stills sustained thoughts\n-- as rain would, a cloud of dust --\nthrough an awareness with thinking stilled,\nattains right here\nthe state of peace.\n\"There are these three inside stains, inside enemies, inside foes, inside murderers, inside adversaries. Which three? Greed is an inside stain, inside enemy, inside foe, inside murderer, inside adversary. Aversion is an inside stain...Delusion is an inside stain, inside enemy, inside foe, inside murderer, inside adversary. These are the three inside stains, inside enemies, inside foes, inside murderers, inside adversaries.\"\nGreed causes harm.\nGreed provokes the mind.\nPeople don't realize it\nas a danger born from within.\nA person, when greedy,\ndoesn't know his own benefit,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 doesn't see Dhamma.\nOvercome with greed,\nhe's in the dark & blind.\nBut when one, abandoning greed,\nfeels no greed\nfor what would merit greed,\ngreed gets shed from him -- \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 like a drop of water\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 off a lotus leaf.\nAversion causes harm.\nAversion provokes the mind.\nPeople don't realize it\nas a danger born from within.\nA person, when aversive,\ndoesn't know his own benefit,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 doesn't see Dhamma.\nOvercome with aversion\nhe's in the dark & blind.\nBut when one, abandoning aversion,\nfeels no aversion\nfor what would merit aversion,\naversion drops away from him -- \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 like a palm leaf from its stem.\nDelusion causes harm.\nDelusion provokes the mind.\nPeople don't realize it\nas a danger born from within.\nA person, when deluded,\ndoesn't know his own benefit,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 doesn't see Dhamma.\nOvercome with delusion\nhe's in the dark & blind.\nBut when one, abandoning delusion,\nfeels no delusion\nfor what would merit delusion,\nhe disperses all delusion -- \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 as the rising of the sun, the dark.\n\"There are these three supreme objects of confidence. Which three?\n\"Among whatever beings there may be -- footless, two-footed, four-footed, many footed; with form or formless; percipient, non-percipient, neither percipient nor non-percipient -- the Tathagata, the Arahant, the Rightly Self-awakened One is considered supreme. Those who have confidence in the Awakened One have confidence in what is supreme; and for those with confidence in the supreme, supreme is the result.\n\"Among whatever qualities there may be, fabricated or unfabricated, the quality of dispassion -- the subduing of intoxication, the elimination of thirst, the uprooting of attachment, the breaking of the round, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, the realization of Unbinding -- is considered supreme. Those who have confidence in the quality of dispassion have confidence in what is supreme; and for those with confidence in the supreme, supreme is the result.\n\"Among whatever fabricated qualities there may be, the Noble Eightfold Path -- right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration -- is considered supreme. Those who have confidence in the Noble Eightfold Path have confidence in what is supreme; and for those with confidence in the supreme, supreme is the result.\n\"Among whatever communities or groups there may be, the Sangha of the Tathagata's disciples is considered supreme -- i.e., the four [groups of noble disciples] when taken as pairs, the eight when taken as individuals. Those who have confidence in the Sangha have confidence in what is supreme; and for those with confidence in the supreme, supreme will be the result.\n\"These, monks, are the three supreme objects of confidence.\"\nFor one with confidence,\nrealizing the supreme Dhamma to be supreme,\nwith confidence in the supreme Buddha,\nunsurpassed in deserving offerings,\nwith confidence in the supreme Dhamma,\nthe bliss of dispassion, stilling,\nwith confidence in the supreme Sangha,\nunsurpassed as a field of merit,\nhaving given gifts to the supreme,\none develops supreme merit,\nsupreme long life & beauty,\nstatus, honor, happiness, strength.\nHaving given to the supreme,\nthe wise person, firm in the supreme Dhamma,\nwhether becoming a deva or a human being,\nrejoices, having attained the supreme.\n\"Suppose a monk, taking hold of my outer cloak, were to follow right behind me, placing his feet in my footsteps, yet if he were to be greedy for sensual objects, strong in his passions, malevolent in mind, corrupt in his resolves, his mindfulness muddled, unalert, uncentered, his mind scattered, & his faculties uncontrolled, then he would be far from me, and I from him. Why is that? Because he does not see the Dhamma. Not seeing the Dhamma, he does not see me.\n\"But suppose a monk were to live one hundred leagues away, yet if he were to have no greed for sensual objects, were not strong in his passions, not malevolent in mind, uncorrupt in his resolves, his mindfulness established, alert, centered, his mind at singleness, & his faculties well-restrained, then he would be near to me, and I to him. Why is that? Because he sees the Dhamma. Seeing the Dhamma, he sees me.\"\nThough following right behind,\nfull of desire, vexation:\nSee how far he is! --\nthe perturbed from the unperturbed,\nthe bound from the Unbound,\nthe greedy one\nfrom the one with no greed.\nBut the wise person who, through\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 direct knowledge of the Dhamma,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 gnosis of the Dhamma,\ngrows still & unperturbed\nlike a lake unruffled by wind:\nSee how close he is! -- \nthe unperturbed to the unperturbed,\nthe Unbound to the Unbound,\nthe greedless one\nto the one with no greed.\n\"Monks, there are these three fires. Which three? The fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion. These, monks, are the three fires.\"\nThe fire of passion burns in a man\nexcited with sensual desires;\nthe fire of aversion, in an angry man\ntaking life;\nthe fire of delusion, in a bewildered man\nignorant of the Noble Teaching.\nNot understanding these fires, people\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 -- fond of self-identity -- \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 unreleased from the shackles of death,\nswell the ranks of hell,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the wombs of common animals, demons,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the realm of the hungry shades.\nWhile those who, day & night, follow the teachings\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 of the One Rightly Self-awakened,\nput out the fire of passion,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 constantly percipient of the foul.\nThey, the highest men, put out the fire of aversion\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with mercy,\nand the fire of delusion\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with the discernment leading to penetration.\nThey, the masterful, by night & day,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 having put out [the fires],\nare totally unbound\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 without remainder,\nhaving totally comprehended stress\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 without remainder.\nThey, the wise, with an attainer-of-wisdom's\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 noble vision\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with regard to right gnosis,\nfully knowing the ending of birth,\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 return to no further becoming.\n\"A monk should investigate in such a way that -- his consciousness neither externally scattered & diffused, nor internally fixated -- he is, from lack of clinging/sustenance, unagitated, and there is no seed for the origination of future birth, aging, death, or stress.\"\nFor a monk who has abandoned\nseven attachments*\nand cut the guide,\nthe wandering on in birth\nis finished,\nthere is no further becoming.\n\"Tied by the yoke of sensuality and the yoke of becoming, one is a returner, returning to this state. Untied from the yoke of sensuality but tied by the yoke of becoming, one is a non-returner, not returning to this state. Untied from [both] the yoke of sensuality and from the yoke of becoming, one is an Arahant whose effluents are ended.\"\nTied by both\nthe yoke of sensuality\n& the yoke of becoming,\nbeings continue in transmigration,\nreturning to birth & death.\nThose who have abandoned sensuality\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 without reaching the ending of the effluents,\nare bound by the yoke of becoming:\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Non-returners they are called.\nWhile those who have cut off doubt\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 have no more conceit\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 or renewal of becoming.\nThey who have reached\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the ending of the effluents,\nwhile in the world\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 have gone \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 beyond.\n\"A monk who has admirable virtue, admirable qualities, and admirable discernment is called, in this doctrine and discipline, one who is complete, fulfilled, supreme among men.\n\"And how is a monk a person with admirable virtue? There is the case where a monk is virtuous. He dwells restrained in accordance with the Patimokkha, consummate in his behavior and sphere of activity. He trains himself, having undertaken the training rules, seeing danger in the slightest faults. In this way a monk is a person with admirable virtue. Thus he is of admirable virtue.\n\"And how is a monk a person with admirable qualities? There is the case where a monk lives engaged in developing of the seven [sets of] qualities that are wings to awakening. In this way a monk is a person with admirable qualities. Thus he is of admirable virtue and admirable qualities.\n\"And how is a monk a person with admirable discernment? There is the case where a monk, through the ending of effluents, dwells in the release of awareness and release of discernment that are free from effluent, having known and made them manifest for himself in the here and now. In this way a monk is a person with admirable discernment. Thus he is of admirable virtue, admirable qualities, admirable discernment. In this doctrine and discipline he is called one who is complete, fulfilled, supreme among men.\"\nOne devoid of wrong-doing\nin thought, word, or deed,\nis called a person of admirable virtue:\nthe conscientious monk.\nOne well-developed in the qualities\nthat go to the attainment of self-awakening,\nis called a person of admirable qualities:\nthe unassuming monk.\nOne discerning right here for himself\nthe ending of stress\nis called a person of admirable discernment:\nthe monk without effluent.\nOne consummate in these things,\nuntroubled, with doubt cut away,\nunattached in all the world,\nis called one who has abandoned\nthe All.\n\"There are these two kinds of gifts: a gift of material things and a gift of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: a gift of the Dhamma. There are these two kinds of sharing: sharing of material things and sharing of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: sharing of the Dhamma. There are these two kinds of help: help with material things and help with the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: help with the Dhamma.\"\nThe gift he describes\nas foremost & unsurpassed,\nthe sharing the Blessed One has extolled:\nWho -- confident in the supreme field of merit,\nwise, discerning --\nwould not give it at appropriate times?\nBoth for those who proclaim it\nand those who listen,\nconfident in the bidding of the One Well-gone:\nit purifies their foremost benefit -- \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 those heeding the bidding\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 of the One Well-gone.","title":"Iti 3","type":"page"}