Numbered Discourses 8.78

8. Pairs

Good Enough

There Sāriputta addressed the bhikkhus: “Friends, a bhikkhu with six qualities is good enough for themselves and others. What six? A bhikkhu is quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice accordingly. They’re a good speaker. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning. They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A bhikkhu with these six qualities is good enough for themselves and others.

A bhikkhu with five qualities is good enough for themselves and others. What five? A bhikkhu is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice accordingly. They’re a good speaker. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning. They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A bhikkhu with these five qualities is good enough for themselves and others.

A bhikkhu with four qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others. What four? A bhikkhu is quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice accordingly. They’re not a good speaker. Their voice isn’t polished, clear, articulate, and doesn’t express the meaning. They don’t educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A bhikkhu with these four qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.

A bhikkhu with four qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves. What four? A bhikkhu is quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. But they don’t examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they don’t practice accordingly. They’re a good speaker. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning. They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A bhikkhu with these four qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.

A bhikkhu with three qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others. What three? A bhikkhu is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice accordingly. They’re not a good speaker. Their voice isn’t polished, clear, articulate, and doesn’t express the meaning. They don’t educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A bhikkhu with these three qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.

A bhikkhu with three qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves. What three? A bhikkhu is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. But they don’t examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they don’t practice accordingly. They’re a good speaker. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning. They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A bhikkhu with these three qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.

A bhikkhu with two qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others. What two? A bhikkhu is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. And they don’t readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice accordingly. They’re not a good speaker. Their voice isn’t polished, clear, articulate, and doesn’t express the meaning. They don’t educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A bhikkhu with these two qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.

A bhikkhu with two qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves. What two? A bhikkhu is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. And they don’t readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. Nor do they examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they don’t practice accordingly. They’re a good speaker. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning. They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A bhikkhu with these two qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.”