Numbered Discourses 2.11–20

The Chapter on Disciplinary Issues

“There are, bhikkhus, these two powers. What two? The power of reflection and the power of development. And what, bhikkhus, is the power of reflection? It’s when someone reflects: ‘Bad conduct of body, speech, or mind has a bad, painful result in both this life and the next.’ Reflecting like this, they give up bad conduct by way of body, speech, and mind, and develop good conduct by way of body, speech, and mind, keeping themselves pure. This is called the power of reflection.

And what, bhikkhus, is the power of development? In this context, the power of development is the power of the trainees. For when you rely on the power of a trainee, you give up greed, hate, and delusion. Then you don’t do anything unskillful, or practice anything bad. This is called the power of development. These are the two powers.”

“There are, bhikkhus, these two powers. What two? The power of reflection and the power of development. And what, bhikkhus, is the power of reflection? It’s when someone reflects: ‘Bad conduct of body, speech, or mind has a bad, painful result in both this life and the next.’ Reflecting like this, they give up bad conduct by way of body, speech, and mind, and develop good conduct by way of body, speech, and mind, keeping themselves pure. This is called the power of reflection.

And what, bhikkhus, is the power of development? It’s when a bhikkhu develops the awakening factors of mindfulness, investigation of principles, energy, rapture, tranquility, immersion, and equanimity, which rely on seclusion, fading away, and cessation, and ripen as letting go. This is called the power of development. These are the two powers.”

“There are, bhikkhus, these two powers. What two? The power of reflection and the power of development. And what, bhikkhus, is the power of reflection? It’s when someone reflects: ‘Bad conduct of body, speech, or mind has a bad, painful result in both this life and the next.’ Reflecting like this, they give up bad conduct by way of body, speech, and mind, and develop good conduct by way of body, speech, and mind, keeping themselves pure. This is called the power of reflection.

And what, bhikkhus, is the power of development? It’s when a bhikkhu, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first jhāna, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected. As the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, they enter and remain in the second jhāna, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected. And with the fading away of rapture, they enter and remain in the third jhāna, where they meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, personally experiencing the bliss of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.’ Giving up pleasure and pain, and ending former happiness and sadness, they enter and remain in the fourth jhāna, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. This is called the power of development. These are the two powers.”

“There are, bhikkhus, these two ways of teaching the Dhamma. What two? In brief and in detail. These are two ways of teaching the Dhamma.”

“Bhikkhus, in a disciplinary issue, if neither the offending bhikkhu nor the accusing bhikkhu carefully checks themselves, you can expect that issue will lead to lasting acrimony and enmity, and the bhikkhus won’t live comfortably. But in a disciplinary issue, if both the offending bhikkhu and the accusing bhikkhu carefully check themselves, you can expect that issue won’t lead to lasting acrimony and enmity, and the bhikkhus will live comfortably.

And how, bhikkhus, does an offending bhikkhu carefully check themselves? An offending bhikkhu reflects: ‘I have committed a certain unskillful offense with the body. That bhikkhu saw me do this. If I hadn’t committed that offense, they wouldn’t have seen me. But since I did commit that offense, they did see me. When they saw me, they were upset, and they voiced their unhappiness to me. Then I also got upset, so I told others. So the mistake is mine alone, like someone who owes customs duty on their goods.’ That’s how, bhikkhus, an offending bhikkhu carefully checks themselves.

And how, bhikkhus, does an accusing bhikkhu carefully check themselves? An accusing bhikkhu reflects: ‘This bhikkhu has committed a certain unskillful offense with the body. I saw them do that. If they hadn’t committed that offense, I wouldn’t have seen them. But since they did commit that offense, I did see them. When I saw them, I was upset, and I voiced my unhappiness to them. Then they also got upset, so they told others. So the mistake is mine alone, like someone who owes customs duty on their goods.’ That’s how, bhikkhus, an accusing bhikkhu carefully checks themselves.

In a disciplinary issue, if neither the offending bhikkhu nor the accusing bhikkhu carefully checks themselves, you can expect that issue will lead to lasting acrimony and enmity, and the bhikkhus won’t live comfortably. But in a disciplinary issue, if both the offending bhikkhu and the accusing bhikkhu carefully checks themselves, you can expect that issue won’t lead to lasting acrimony and enmity, and the bhikkhus will live comfortably.”

Then a certain brahmin went up to the Buddha and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to the Buddha:

“What is the cause, Master Gotama, what is the reason why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, are reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell?”

“Unprincipled and immoral conduct is the reason why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, are reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell.”

“What is the cause, Master Gotama, what is the reason why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, are reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm?”

“Principled and moral conduct is the reason why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, are reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.”

“Excellent, Master Gotama! Excellent! As if he was righting the overturned, or revealing the hidden, or pointing out the path to the lost, or lighting a lamp in the dark so people with clear eyes can see what’s there, Master Gotama has made the teaching clear in many ways. I go for refuge to Master Gotama, to the teaching, and to the bhikkhu Saṅgha. From this day forth, may Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”

Then the brahmin Jānussoṇi went up to the Buddha, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to the Buddha:

“What is the cause, Master Gotama, what is the reason why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, are reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell?”

“What they’ve done and what they’ve not done. That’s why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, are reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell.”

“But what is the cause, Master Gotama, what is the reason why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, are reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm?”

“What they’ve done and what they’ve not done. That’s why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, are reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.”

“I don’t understand the meaning of what Master Gotama has said in brief, without explaining the details. Master Gotama, please teach me this matter in detail so I can understand the meaning.”

“Well then, brahmin, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.”

“Yes sir,” Jānussoṇi replied. The Buddha said this:

“Firstly, brahmin, someone has done bad things and not done good things by way of body, speech, and mind. So what they’ve done and what they’ve not done is why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, are reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. Furthermore, brahmin, someone has done good things and not done bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. So what they’ve done and what they’ve not done is why some sentient beings, when their body breaks up, after death, are reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.”

“Excellent, Master Gotama! … From this day forth, may Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”

Then Venerable Ānanda went up to the Buddha, bowed, and sat down to one side. The Buddha said to him, “Ānanda, I absolutely say that you should not do bad things by way of body, speech, and mind.”

“But, sir, if someone does these things that should not be done, what drawbacks should they expect?”

“They should expect these drawbacks. They blame themselves. After examination, sensible people criticize them. They get a bad reputation. They feel lost when they die. And when their body breaks up, after death, they are reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. These are the drawbacks they should expect.”

“Ānanda, I absolutely say that you should do good things by way of body, speech, and mind.”

“But, sir, if someone does these things that should be done, what benefits should they expect?”

“They should expect these benefits. They don’t blame themselves. After examination, sensible people praise them. They get a good reputation. They don’t feel lost when they die. And when the body breaks up, after death, they are reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm. These are the benefits they should expect.”

“Bhikkhus, give up the unskillful. It is possible to give up the unskillful. If it wasn’t possible, I wouldn’t say: ‘Give up the unskillful.’ But it is possible, and so I say: ‘Give up the unskillful.’ And if giving up the unskillful led to harm and suffering, I would not say: ‘Give up the unskillful.’ But giving up the unskillful leads to welfare and happiness, so I say: ‘Give up the unskillful.’

Bhikkhus, develop the skillful. It is possible to develop the skillful. If it wasn’t possible, I wouldn’t say: ‘Develop the skillful.’ But it is possible, and so I say: ‘Develop the skillful.’ If developing the skillful led to harm and suffering I wouldn’t say: ‘Develop the skillful.’ But developing the skillful leads to welfare and happiness, so I say: ‘Develop the skillful.’”

“These two things, bhikkhus, lead to the decline and disappearance of the true teaching. What two? The words and phrases are misplaced, and the meaning is misinterpreted. When the words and phrases are misplaced, the meaning is misinterpreted. These two things lead to the decline and disappearance of the true teaching.

These two things lead to the continuation, persistence, and enduring of the true teaching. What two? The words and phrases are well organized, and the meaning is correctly interpreted. When the words and phrases are well organized, the meaning is correctly interpreted. These two things lead to the continuation, persistence, and enduring of the true teaching.”