{"collection":"Khuddaka Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_snp1.6/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_snp1.6","id":"suttacentral_snp1.6","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/snp1.6/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Khuddaka Nikaya"],"text":"So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near S\u0101vatth\u012b in Jeta\u2019s Grove, An\u0101thapi\u1e47\u1e0dika\u2019s monastery. Then, late at night, a glorious deity, lighting up the entire Jeta\u2019s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, and stood to one side. Standing to one side, that deity addressed the Buddha in verse: \u201cWe ask Gotama about a man\u2019s downfall. We have come to ask you, sir: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s easy to understand success, understanding downfall is just as easy. One who loves the teaching succeeds, but a hater of the teaching meets their downfall.\u201d \u201cWe understand what you\u2019re saying, this is the first downfall. Tell us the second, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cThe bad are dear to him, he has no love for the good. He believes the teaching of the bad; and that leads to his downfall.\u201d \u201cWe understand what you\u2019re saying, this is the second downfall. Tell us the third, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cFond of sleep, fond of company, a man who does no work; he\u2019s lazy, marked by anger, and that leads to his downfall.\u201d \u201cWe understand what you\u2019re saying, this is the third downfall. Tell us the fourth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cThough able, he does not look after his mother and father when elderly, past their prime, and that leads to his downfall.\u201d \u201cWe understand what you\u2019re saying, this is the fourth downfall. Tell us the fifth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cHe deceives with lies ascetics and brahmins and other supplicants, and that leads to his downfall.\u201d \u201cWe understand what you\u2019re saying, this is the fifth downfall. Tell us the sixth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cA man with plenty of wealth, including gold coin and food, eats delicacies alone, and that leads to his downfall.\u201d \u201cWe understand what you\u2019re saying, this is the sixth downfall. Tell us the seventh, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cVain of birth, wealth, and clan, a man looks down on his own family, and that leads to his downfall.\u201d \u201cWe understand what you\u2019re saying, this is the seventh downfall. Tell us the eighth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cIn womanizing, drinking, and gambling, a man wastes all that he has earned, and that leads to his downfall.\u201d \u201cWe understand what you\u2019re saying, this is the eighth downfall. Tell us the ninth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cNot content with his own partners, he debauches himself with prostitutes, and with others\u2019 partners, and that leads to his downfall.\u201d \u201cWe understand what you\u2019re saying, this is the ninth downfall. Tell us the tenth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cA man well past his prime marries a girl with budding breasts; he cannot sleep for jealousy, and that leads to his downfall.\u201d \u201cWe understand what you\u2019re saying, this is the tenth downfall. Tell us the eleventh, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cHe places in authority a woman or a man who\u2019s a drunkard and a wastrel, and that leads to his downfall.\u201d \u201cWe understand what you\u2019re saying, this is the eleventh downfall. Tell us the twelfth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?\u201d \u201cA man of little wealth and strong craving, born into an aristocratic family, sets his sights on kingship, and that leads to his downfall. Seeing these downfalls in the world, an astute and noble person, accomplished in vision, will enjoy a world of grace.\u201d","title":"Downfalls","tradition":"Khuddaka Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":572}