08/26/07
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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.’”
“Endowed with these eight qualities, a True Follower of the Path shown by The Awakened One is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, an incomparable field of merit for the world.”
” True Followers of the Path shown by The Awakened One, this assembly is free from idle chatter, devoid of idle chatter, and is established on pure heartwood: such is this community of True Followers of the Path shown by The Awakened One, such is this assembly. The sort of assembly that is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, an incomparable field of merit for the world: such is this community of monks, such is this assembly. The sort of assembly to which a small gift, when given, becomes great, and a great gift greater: such is this community of monks, such is this assembly. The sort of assembly that it is rare to see in the world: such is this community of True Followers of the Path shown by The Awakened One, such is this assembly β the sort of assembly that it would be worth traveling for leagues, taking along provisions, in order to see.”
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