Aṇguttara Nikāya
X. Dasaka-Nipāta
X: Upāsaka-Vagga
The Book of the Gradual Sayings
X. The Book of the Tens
X: The Lay-followers
Sutta 92
Bhaya Suttaṃ
Guilty Dread
Translated from the Pali by F. L. Woodward, M.A.
Copyright The Pali Text Society
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Once the Exalted One was dwelling near Sāvatthī
at Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.
On that occasion the housefather Anāthapiṇḍika came to see the Exalted One
and on coming to him saluted him
and sat down at one side.
As he sat at one side the Exalted One said this to him:
"Housefather, when the fivefold guilty dread[1]
is allayed in the Ariyan disciple
and he is possessed
of the four limbs of stream-winning,
and has well seen
and well penetrated
the Ariyan Method
by insight,
he may, if he so desire,
himself proclaim thus of himself:
'I am one who has cut off the doom of Purgatory,
of rebirth in the womb of an animal,
in the realm of ghosts;
cut off is the Waste,
the Ill-bourn,
the Downfall.
A Stream-winner am I,
one not doomed to the Downfall,
assured,
bound for enlightenment.'
§
Now, housefather,
what is the fivefold guilty dread
that is allayed in him?
[183] It is that guilty dread, housefather,
which he who kills
begets in this same visible state,
as a result of his killing;
it is that guilty dread
about the life to come,
which he who kills begets;
also that mental suffering
and dejection
which he experiences.
By abstaining from killing
he begets no guilty dread
in this same visible state
nor for the life to come;
he experiences no mental suffering
and dejection.
Thus in him who abstains from killing
that guilty dread is allayed.
■
That same guilty dread, housefather,
which he who takes what is not given
begets in this same visible state,
as a result of his taking what is not given;
it is that guilty dread
about the life to come,
which he who takes what is not given begets;
also that mental suffering
and dejection
which he experiences.
By abstaining from taking what is not given
he begets no guilty dread
in this same visible state
nor for the life to come;
he experiences no mental suffering
and dejection.
Thus in him who abstains from taking what is not given
that guilty dread is allayed.
■
That same guilty dread, housefather,
which he who is a wrongdoer in sexual desires
[125] begets in this same visible state,
as a result of his wrongdoing in sexual desires;
it is that guilty dread
about the life to come,
which he who is a wrongdoer in sexual desires begets;
also that mental suffering
and dejection
which he experiences.
By abstaining from wrongdoing in sexual desires
he begets no guilty dread
in this same visible state
nor for the life to come;
he experiences no mental suffering
and dejection.
Thus in him who abstains from wrongdoing in sexual desires
that guilty dread is allayed.
■
That same guilty dread, housefather,
which he who tells lies
begets in this same visible state,
as a result of his telling lies;
it is that guilty dread
about the life to come,
which he who tells lies begets;
also that mental suffering
and dejection
which he experiences.
By abstaining from telling lies
he begets no guilty dread
in this same visible state
nor for the life to come;
he experiences no mental suffering
and dejection.
Thus in him who abstains from telling lies
that guilty dread is allayed.
■
That same guilty dread, housefather,
which he who is under the influence
of liquor fermented and distilled
and so given[2] to negligence -
begets in this same visible state,
as a result of his indulgence
in liquor fermented and distilled;
it is that guilty dread
about the life to come,
which he who indulges
in liquor fermented and distilled begets;
also that mental suffering
and dejection
which he experiences.
By abstaining from liquor fermented and distilled
he begets no guilty dread
in this same visible state
nor for the life to come;
he experiences no mental suffering
and dejection.
Thus in him who abstains from liquor fermented and distilled
that guilty dread is allayed.
These are the five guilty dreads that are allayed.
§
And of what four limbs of stream-winning is he possessed?
Herein, housefather, the Ariyan disciple
is possessed of unwavering confidence in the Enlightened One thus:
That Exalted One is arahant,
a perfectly enlightened one,
perfect in knowledge and practice,
a Wellfarer,
world-knower,
unsurpassed trainer of men who can be trained,
Teacher of devas and mankind,
a Buddha is the Exalted One.
■
He is possessed of unwavering confidence in dhamma, thus:
Well proclaimed by the Exalted One is dhamma,
to be known in this visible state,
not limited to time,
but of the sort to come and see,
that leads onward,
to be understood personally
by the discerning ones.
■
He is possessed of unwavering confidence in the Order, thus:
Well faring onward
is the Exalted One's order of disciples,
straight faring onward,
faring onward by the Method,
dutifully faring onward;
that is, the four pairs of individuals,
the eight individual men -
that is the Exalted One's order of disciples,
one worthy of reverence,
worthy of worship,
worthy of offerings,
worthy of salutations with clasped hands,
an Unsurpassed field of merit for the world.
■
He is possessed of the virtues
dear to the Ariyans,
virtues unbroken,
[184]whole,
unspotted,
giving liberty,
praised by the discerning ones,
virtues untainted,
conducing to concentration of mind.|| ||
Of these four limbs of stream-winning
he is possessed.
§
And what in him is the Ariyan Method
that is well seen
and well penetrated by insight?
[126] Herein, housefather, the Ariyan disciple thus reflects:
'This being, that is.
By the arising of this, that arises.
This not being, that is not.
By the ending of this, that comes to cease.'
■
That is to say:
Because of ignorance, the activities;
because of the activities, conscious being;
because of conscious being, name-and-shape;
because of name-and-shape, the six centres of sense;
because of the six centres of sense, contact;
because of contact, feeling;
because of feeling, craving;
because of craving, grasping;
because of grasping, becoming;
because of becoming, birth;
because of birth, decay-and-death,
grief,
lamentation
and woe,
dejection
and despair
come into being.
Thus is the arising of this whole mass of ill.
■
But with the waning
and utter ceasing without remainder
of ignorance, the ending of the activities;
with the ending of the activities, the ending of conscious being;
with the ending of conscious being, the ending of name-and-shape;
with the ending of name-and-shape, the ending of the six centres of sense;
with the ending of the six centres of sense, the ending of contact;
with the ending of contact, the ending of feeling;
with the ending of feeling, the ending of craving;
with the ending of craving, the ending of grasping;
with the ending of grasping, the ending of becoming;
with the ending of becoming, the ending of birth;
with the ending of birth,
decay-and-death,
grief,
lamentation
and woe,
dejection
and despair
cease to become.
Thus is the ending
of this whole mass of ill,
and this for him
is the Ariyan Method well seen,
well penetrated by insight.
§
Now, housefather, since for the Ariyan disciple
these five guilty dreads are allayed,
and he is possessed of these four limbs of stream-winning,
and for him this Ariyan Method
is well seen
and well penetrated by insight,
he, if he so desires,
himself
may proclaim of himself:
'Destroyed is Purgatory for me,
destroyed is birth in the womb of an animal,
destroyed is the realm of ghosts,
destroyed is (rebirth in) the Waste,
the Ill-bourn,
the Downfall,
in Purgatory;
a stream-winner am I,
one not doomed to the Downfall,
one assured,
bound for enlightenment.'"
[1] Almost the same as at K.S. v, 333, but here reckoned a Ten - i.e., freedom from the fivefold guilty dread, possession of the four elements of stream-winning and understanding of the Ariyan Method.
[2] -pamāda-ṭ-ṭhāyī.
