• Numbered Discourses 4.158 Aį¹…guttara Nikāya 4.158
  • 16. Faculties 16. Indriyavagga

Decline Parihānisutta

There Sāriputta addressed the mendicants: Tatra kho āyasmā sāriputto bhikkhÅ« āmantesi: ā€œReverends, mendicants!ā€ ā€œÄvuso bhikkhaveā€ti.

ā€œReverend,ā€ they replied. ā€œÄ€vusoā€ti kho te bhikkhÅ« āyasmato sāriputtassa paccassosuṁ. Sāriputta said this: Āyasmā sāriputto etadavoca:

ā€œReverends, any monk or nun who sees four things inside themselves should conclude: ā€œYo hi koci, āvuso, bhikkhu vā bhikkhunÄ« vā cattāro dhamme attani samanupassati, niį¹­į¹­hamettha gantabbaṁ: ā€˜My skillful qualities are declining. ā€˜parihāyāmi kusalehi dhammehi’. For this is what the Buddha calls decline.’ Parihānametaṁ vuttaṁ bhagavatā. What four? Katame cattāro? They have much greed, much hate, and much delusion; and their wisdom eye doesn’t go into the many deep matters. Rāgavepullattaṁ, dosavepullattaṁ, mohavepullattaṁ, gambhÄ«resu kho panassa į¹­hānāṭhānesu paƱƱācakkhu na kamati. Any monk or nun who sees these four things inside themselves should conclude: Yo hi koci, āvuso, bhikkhu vā bhikkhunÄ« vā ime cattāro dhamme attani samanupassati, niį¹­į¹­hamettha gantabbaṁ: ā€˜My skillful qualities are declining. ā€˜parihāyāmi kusalehi dhammehi’. For this is what the Buddha calls decline.’ Parihānametaṁ vuttaṁ bhagavatā.

Any monk or nun who sees four things inside themselves should conclude: Yo hi koci, āvuso, bhikkhu vā bhikkhunÄ« vā cattāro dhamme attani samanupassati, niį¹­į¹­hamettha gantabbaṁ: ā€˜My skillful qualities are not declining. ā€˜na parihāyāmi kusalehi dhammehi’. For this is what the Buddha calls non-decline.’ Aparihānametaṁ vuttaṁ bhagavatā. What four? Katame cattāro? Their greed, hate, and delusion grow less; and their wisdom eye goes into the many deep matters. Rāgatanuttaṁ, dosatanuttaṁ, mohatanuttaṁ, gambhÄ«resu kho panassa į¹­hānāṭhānesu paƱƱācakkhu kamati. Any monk or nun who sees these four things inside themselves should conclude: Yo hi koci, āvuso, bhikkhu vā bhikkhunÄ« vā ime cattāro dhamme attani samanupassati, niį¹­į¹­hamettha gantabbaṁ: ā€˜My skillful qualities are not declining. ā€˜na parihāyāmi kusalehi dhammehi’. For this is what the Buddha calls non-decline.ā€™ā€ Aparihānametaṁ vuttaṁ bhagavatÄā€ti.

Aṭṭhamaṁ.