The Awakened One
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True Teachings of The Awakened One
The Noble Path
Skillful actions eventually bring good results, while unskillful ones bring bad. But best of all are the actions that lead to the ending of actions altogether.
” True Followers of the Path shown by The Awakened One, these four types of kamma have been directly realized, verified, & made known by me. Which four? There is action that is dark with dark result. There is action that is bright with bright result. There is action that is dark & bright with dark & bright result. There is action that is neither dark nor bright with neither dark nor bright result, leading to the ending of actions.
“And what is action that is dark with dark result? There is the case where a certain person fabricates an injurious bodily fabrication, fabricates an injurious verbal fabrication, fabricates an injurious mental fabrication. Having fabricated an injurious bodily fabrication, having fabricated an injurious verbal fabrication, having fabricated an injurious mental fabrication, he rearises in an injurious world. On rearising in an injurious world, he is there touched by injurious contacts. Touched by injurious contacts, he experiences feelings that are exclusively painful, like those of the beings in hell. This is called action that is dark with dark result.
“And what is action that is bright with bright result? There is the case where a certain person fabricates a non-injurious bodily fabrication … a non-injurious verbal fabrication … a non-injurious mental fabrication … He rearises in a non-injurious world … There he is touched by non-injurious contacts … He experiences feelings that are exclusively pleasant, like those of the Ever-radiant Devas. This is called action that is bright with bright result.
“And what is action that is dark & bright with dark & bright result? There is the case where a certain person fabricates a bodily fabrication that is injurious & non-injurious … a verbal fabrication that is injurious & non-injurious … a mental fabrication that is injurious & non-injurious … He rearises in an injurious & non-injurious world … There he is touched by injurious & non-injurious contacts … He experiences injurious & non-injurious feelings, pleasure mingled with pain, like those of human beings, some devas, and some beings in the lower realms. This is called action that is dark & bright with dark & bright result.
“And what is action that is neither dark nor bright with neither dark nor bright result, leading to the ending of kamma? Right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is called kamma that is neither dark nor bright with neither dark nor bright result, leading to the ending of action.
“These, True Followers of the Path shown by The Awakened One, are the four types of action directly realized, verified, & made known by me.”
Community of The True Followers of the Path shown by The Awakened One
Worthy
“A True Follower of the Path shown by The Awakened One endowed with eight qualities is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, an incomparable field of merit for the world. Which eight?
[1] “There is the case where a True Follower of the Path shown by The Awakened One is virtuous. He dwells restrained in accordance with the Patimokkha, consummate in his behavior & sphere of activity. He trains himself, having undertaken the training rules, seeing danger in the slightest faults.
[2] “When given food, whether coarse or refined, he eats it carefully, without complaining.
[3] “He feels disgust at bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, mental misconduct, at the development of evil, unskillful [mental] qualities.
[4] “He is composed & easy to live with, and doesn’t harass the other True Followers of the Path shown by The Awakened One
[5] “Whatever tricks or deceits or wiles or subterfuges he has, he shows them as they actually are to the Teacher or to his knowledgeable companions in the holy life, so that the Teacher or his knowledgeable companions in the holy life can try to straighten them out.
[6] “When in training he gives rise to the thought, ‘Whether the other True Followers of the Path shown by The Awakened One want to train or not, I’ll train here.’
[7] “When going, he goes the straight path; here the straight path is this: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
[8] “He dwells with his persistence aroused, [thinking,] ‘Gladly would I let the flesh & blood in my body dry up, leaving just the skin, tendons, & bones, but if I have not attained what can be reached through human steadfastness, human persistence, human striving, there will be no relaxing my persistence.’”