Aṇguttara Nikāya
Pañcaka Nipāta
I: Sekha-Bala Vagga
The Book of Fives
Sutta 5
Sikkhā-Pacca-k-khāna Suttaṃ
Rejecting The Seeking Out-of-Hand[1]
Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds
[5][pts][upal][bodh] Whatsoever bhikkhu or bhikkhuni, beggars,
rejects the seeking out of hand,
returning to lesser things,
is subject as it were visibly,
to five sorts of critical and deprecating thought
from a standpoint consistent with Dhamma.
What five?
"In truth, trust was a skillful thing you did not have;
in truth, fear-of-blame was a skillful thing you did not have;
in truth, sense-of-shame was a skillful thing you did not have;
in truth, energy was a skillful thing you did not have;
in truth, wisdom was a skillful thing you did not have."
Whatsoever bhikkhu or bhikkhuni beggars,
rejects the seeking out of hand,
returning to lesser things,
is subject as it were visibly,
to these five sorts of critical and deprecating thought
from a standpoint consistent with Dhamma.
Whatsoever bhikkhu or bhikkhuni beggars,
enduring pain
enduring misery
tears flowing down his face
carries on the best of lives
in utter purity
is subject as it were visibly,
to these five sorts of praise
from a standpoint consistent with Dhamma.
What five?
"In truth, trust was a skillful thing you had;
in truth, fear-of-blame was a skillful thing you had;
in truth, sense-of-shame was a skillful thing you had;
in truth, energy was a skillful thing you had;
in truth, wisdom was a skillful thing you had."
Whatsoever bhikkhu or bhikkhuni beggars,
enduring pain
enduring misery
tears flowing down his face
carries on the best of lives
in utter purity
is subject as it were visibly,
to these five sorts of praise
from a standpoint consistent with Dhamma.
[1] Sikkhā-Pacca-k-khāna. "Rejecting out-of-hand" is probably too strong. What is usually the case (at least in the Suttas) is that a Bhikkhu-in-training finds the job too difficult, and admits that it is he, himself, and not the training, that is at fault. In the case in this sutta the reference is to one who leaves the training without admitting his weakness, essentially rejecting the Dhamma, and not going through the formal renunciation of bhikkhu.
