{"collection":"Anguttara Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_an3.69/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_an3.69","id":"suttacentral_an3.69","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/an3.69/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Anguttara Nikaya","Early Buddhist Texts"],"text":"\u201cMendicants, there are these three unskillful roots. What three? Greed, hate, and delusion. Greed is a root of the unskillful. When a greedy person chooses to act by way of body, speech, or mind, that too is unskillful. When a greedy person, overcome by greed, causes another to suffer under a false pretext\u2014by execution or imprisonment or confiscation or condemnation or banishment\u2014thinking \u2018I\u2019m powerful, I want power\u2019, that too is unskillful. And so these many bad, unskillful things are produced in them, born, sourced, originated, and conditioned by greed. Hate is a root of the unskillful. When a hateful person chooses to act by way of body, speech, or mind, that too is unskillful. When a hateful person, overcome by hate, causes another to suffer under a false pretext\u2014by execution or imprisonment or confiscation or condemnation or banishment\u2014thinking \u2018I\u2019m powerful, I want power\u2019, that too is unskillful. And so these many bad, unskillful things are produced in them, born, sourced, originated, and conditioned by hate. Delusion is a root of the unskillful. When a deluded person chooses to act by way of body, speech, or mind, that too is unskillful. When a deluded person, overcome by delusion, causes another to suffer under a false pretext\u2014by execution or imprisonment or confiscation or condemnation or banishment\u2014thinking \u2018I\u2019m powerful, I want power\u2019, that too is unskillful. And so these many bad, unskillful things are produced in them, born, sourced, originated, and conditioned by delusion. Such an individual is said to have speech that\u2019s ill-timed, false, meaningless, not in line with the teaching and training. Why is this? This individual causes another to suffer under a false pretext\u2014by execution or imprisonment or confiscation or condemnation or banishment\u2014thinking \u2018I\u2019m powerful, I want power\u2019. So when someone makes a valid criticism, they\u2019re scornful and admit nothing. When someone makes a baseless criticism, they make no effort to explain, \u2018This is why that\u2019s untrue, this is why that\u2019s false.\u2019 That\u2019s why such an individual is said to have speech that\u2019s ill-timed, false, meaningless, not in line with the teaching and training. Such an individual\u2014overcome with bad, unskillful qualities born of greed, hate, and delusion\u2014suffers in this very life, with distress, anguish, and fever. And when the body breaks up, after death, they can expect to be reborn in a bad place. Suppose a sal, axlewood, or sandan tree was choked and enveloped by three camel\u2019s foot creepers. It would fall to ruin and disaster. In the same way, such an individual\u2014overcome with bad, unskillful qualities born of greed, hate, and delusion\u2014suffers in this very life, with distress, anguish, and fever. And when the body breaks up, after death, they can expect to be reborn in a bad place. These are the three unskillful roots. There are these three skillful roots. What three? Contentment, love, and understanding. Contentment is a root of the skillful. When a contented person chooses to act by way of body, speech, or mind, that too is skillful. When a contented person, not overcome by greed, doesn\u2019t cause another to suffer under a false pretext\u2014by execution or imprisonment or confiscation or condemnation or banishment\u2014thinking \u2018I\u2019m powerful, I want power\u2019, that too is skillful. And so these many skillful things are produced in them, born, sourced, originated, and conditioned by contentment. Love is a root of the skillful. When a loving person chooses to act by way of body, speech, or mind, that too is skillful. When a loving person, not overcome by hate, doesn\u2019t cause another to suffer under a false pretext\u2014by execution or imprisonment or confiscation or condemnation or banishment\u2014thinking \u2018I\u2019m powerful, I want power\u2019, that too is skillful. And so these many skillful things are produced in them, born, sourced, originated, and conditioned by love. Understanding is a root of the skillful. When an understanding person chooses to act by way of body, speech, or mind, that too is skillful. When an understanding person, not overcome by delusion, doesn\u2019t cause another to suffer under a false pretext\u2014by execution or imprisonment or confiscation or condemnation or banishment\u2014thinking \u2018I\u2019m powerful, I want power\u2019, that too is skillful. And so these many skillful things are produced in them, born, sourced, originated, and conditioned by understanding. Such an individual is said to have speech that\u2019s well-timed, true, meaningful, in line with the teaching and training. Why is this? This individual doesn\u2019t cause another to suffer under a false pretext\u2014by execution or imprisonment or confiscation or condemnation or banishment\u2014thinking \u2018I\u2019m powerful, I want power\u2019. So when someone makes a valid criticism, they admit it and aren\u2019t scornful. When someone makes a baseless criticism, they make an effort to explain, \u2018This is why that\u2019s untrue, this is why that\u2019s false.\u2019 That\u2019s why such an individual is said to have speech that\u2019s well-timed, true, meaningful, in line with the teaching and training. For such an individual, bad unskillful qualities born of greed, hate, and delusion are cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future. In this very life they\u2019re happy, free of distress, anguish, and fever, and they\u2019re also extinguished in this very life. Suppose a sal, axlewood, or sandan tree was choked and enveloped by three camel\u2019s foot creepers. Then along comes a person with a spade and basket. They\u2019d cut the creeper out by the roots, dig them up, and pull them out, down to the fibers and stems. Then they\u2019d split the creeper apart, cut up the parts, and chop it into splinters. They\u2019d dry the splinters in the wind and sun, burn them with fire, and reduce them to ashes. Then they\u2019d whisk away the ashes in a strong wind, or glide them down a swift stream. So those camel\u2019s foot creepers would be cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, and obliterated, unable to arise in the future. In the same way, for such an individual, bad unskillful qualities born of greed, hate, and delusion are cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future. In this very life they\u2019re happy, free of  distress, anguish, and fever, and they\u2019re also extinguished in this very life. These are the three skillful roots.\u201d","title":"Unskillful Roots","tradition":"Anguttara Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":1039}