Majjhima Nikāya
III. Upari-Paṇṇāsa
1. Devadaha Vagga
Sacred Books of the Buddhists
Volume VI
Dialogues of the Buddha
Part V
Further Dialogues of the Buddha
Volume II
Translated from the Pali
by Lord Chalmers, G.C.B.
Sometime Governor of Ceylon
London
Humphrey Milford
Oxford University Press
1927
Public Domain
Sutta 110
Cūḷa Puṇṇama Suttaɱ
Bad Men and Good
[1][pts][than][upal] THUS have I heard:
Once when the Lord was staying in the palace of Migara's mother in the Old Pleasaunce at Sāvatthī,
the Lord was seated,
as it was the sabbath of the [21] full moon,
with the Confraternity around him in the moonlight.
Surveying the silent Confraternity
of silent Almsmen,
the Lord addressed them as follows:
Can a bad man tell
that another bad man is bad?
No, sir.
Quite right, Almsmen;
it is impossible and inadmissible.
Can a bad man tell a good man?
No, sir.
Quite right, Almsmen;
this too is impossible and inadmissible.
A bad man is bad in his nature.
[168] nurtured on bad,
bad in his thoughts,
bad in his resolves,
bad in his speech,
bad in his doings,
bad in his views,
bad in his distribution of alms.
How is he bad in his nature? -
The bad man is devoid of faith,
devoid of shame,
devoid of scruples,
uninstructed,
inert,
unmindful,
empty of wisdom.
How is the bad man nurtured on bad? -
He finds his friends and his associates
among such recluses and brahmins
as are devoid of faith,
devoid of shame,
devoid of scruples,
uninstructed,
inert,
unmindful,
empty of wisdom.
How is the bad man bad in his thoughts? -
His thoughts are malevolent to himself,
malevolent to others,
malevolent to both himself and others.
How is he bad in his resolves? -
In his resolves he is malevolent to himself,
malevolent to others,
malevolent to both himself and others.
[22] How is he bad in his speech? -
He is a liar,
or a traducer,
violent in his language
or a tattler.
How is he bad in his doings? -
He slays or robs or fornicates.
How is he bad in his views? -
He holds the view
that there is no such thing as alms
or sacrifice
or oblations,
that there is no such thing
as the fruit and harvest
of deeds good or bad,
that there is no such thing
as this world or the next,
that there are no such things
as either parents
or a spontaneous generation elsewhere,
that there are no such things
as recluses and brahmins
who tread the right path
and walk aright,
who have,
of and by themselves,
comprehended and realized this world
and make it all known to others.
How is the bad man
bad in distributing alms? -
He is casual in his giving,
gives neither with his own hand
nor with consideration,
gives only the scraps away,
heedless of retribution to come.
Such a bad man
at the body's dissolution after death
passes away to fare
as bad men fare, -
in purgatory
or as a brute beast.
Can a good man tell a good man, Almsmen?
[28] Yes, sir.
Quite right;
it is possible for a good man
to tell a good man.
Can a good man tell a bad man?
Yes, sir.
Quite right;
it is possible for a good man
to tell [169] a bad one.
A good man is good in his nature,
nurtured on good,
good in his thoughts,
good in his aims,
good in his speech,
good in his doings,
good in his views,
good in his distribution of alms.
How is he good in his nature? -
The good man has faith,
has conscience,
has scruples,
is instructed
zealous
mindful
and wise.
How is the good man nurtured on good? -
He finds his friends and his associates
among such recluses and brahmins
as have faith,
have conscience,
have scruples,
are instructed
zealous
mindful
and wise.
How is the good man good in his thoughts? -
His thoughts are benevolent to himself,
benevolent to others,
benevolent to both himself and others.
How is he good in his aims? -
In his aims he is benevolent to himself,
benevolent to others,
benevolent to both himself and others.
How is he good in his speech? -
He eschews lying and traducing,
he eschews violence in his language and tattling.
How is he good in his doings? -
He eschews slaying and robbing [24] and fornicating.
How is he good in his views? -
He holds that there is such a thing
as alms and sacrifice and oblations
that there is such a thing
as the fruit and harvest of deeds good and bad,
that there is such a thing
as this world and the next,
that there are such things
as parents and a spontaneous generation elsewhere,
that there are such things
as recluses and brahmins who tread the right path
and walk aright,
who have,
of and by themselves,
comprehended and realized this world
and made it all known to others.
How is the good man good in distributing alms? -
He is circumspect in giving,
gives with his own hand
and with proper consideration,
heedful of retribution to come.
Such a good man at the body's dissolution after death
passes away to fare as good men fare, -
exalted among gods
or exalted among men.
Thus spoke the Lord.
Glad at heart,
those Almsmen rejoiced in what the Lord had said.
