sutta » an » an10 » Aṅguttara Nikāya 10.53

Ṭhitisutta

Stagnation

“Ṭhitimpāhaṁ, bhikkhave, na vaṇṇayāmi kusalesu dhammesu, pageva parihāniṁ.
“Mendicants, I don’t praise stagnation in skillful qualities, let alone decline.

Vuḍḍhiñca kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, vaṇṇayāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhitiṁ no hāniṁ.
I praise growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline.

Kathañca, bhikkhave, hāni hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no vuḍḍhi?
And how is there decline in skillful qualities, not stagnation or growth?

Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yattako hoti saddhāya sīlena sutena cāgena paññāya paṭibhānena, tassa te dhammā neva tiṭṭhanti no vaḍḍhanti.
It’s when a mendicant has a certain degree of faith, ethics, generosity, wisdom, and eloquence. Those qualities neither stagnate nor grow in them.

Hānimetaṁ, bhikkhave, vadāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhitiṁ no vuḍḍhiṁ.
I call this decline in skillful qualities, not stagnation or growth.

Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, hāni hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no vuḍḍhi.
This is how there’s decline in skillful qualities, not stagnation or growth.

Kathañca, bhikkhave ṭhiti hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no hāni no vuḍḍhi?
And how is there stagnation in skillful qualities, not decline or growth?

Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yattako hoti saddhāya sīlena sutena cāgena paññāya paṭibhānena, tassa te dhammā neva hāyanti no vaḍḍhanti.
It’s when a mendicant has a certain degree of faith, ethics, generosity, wisdom, and eloquence. Those qualities neither decline nor grow in them.

Ṭhitimetaṁ, bhikkhave, vadāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no hāniṁ no vuḍḍhiṁ.
I call this stagnation in skillful qualities, not decline or growth.

Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, ṭhiti hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no vuḍḍhi no hāni.
This is how there’s stagnation in skillful qualities, not decline or growth.

Kathañca, bhikkhave, vuḍḍhi hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no hāni?
And how is there growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline?

Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yattako hoti saddhāya sīlena sutena cāgena paññāya paṭibhānena, tassa te dhammā neva tiṭṭhanti no hāyanti.
It’s when a mendicant has a certain degree of faith, ethics, generosity, wisdom, and eloquence. Those qualities neither stagnate nor decline in them.

Vuḍḍhimetaṁ, bhikkhave, vadāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhitiṁ no hāniṁ.
I call this growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline.

Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, vuḍḍhi hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no hāni.
This is how there’s growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline.

No ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paracittapariyāyakusalo hoti, atha ‘sacittapariyāyakusalo bhavissāmī’ti—
If a mendicant isn’t skilled in the ways of another’s mind, then they should train themselves: ‘I will be skilled in the ways of my own mind.’

evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabbaṁ.

Kathañca, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sacittapariyāyakusalo hoti?
And how is a mendicant skilled in the ways of their own mind?

Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, itthī vā puriso vā daharo yuvā maṇḍanakajātiko ādāse vā parisuddhe pariyodāte acche vā udapatte sakaṁ mukhanimittaṁ paccavekkhamāno sace tattha passati rajaṁ vā aṅgaṇaṁ vā, tasseva rajassa vā aṅgaṇassa vā pahānāya vāyamati.
Suppose there was a woman or man who was young, youthful, and fond of adornments, and they check their own reflection in a clean bright mirror or a clear bowl of water. If they see any dirt or blemish there, they’d try to remove it.

No ce tattha passati rajaṁ vā aṅgaṇaṁ vā, tenevattamano hoti paripuṇṇasaṅkappo:
But if they don’t see any dirt or blemish there, they’re happy with that, as they’ve got all they wished for:

‘lābhā vata me, parisuddhaṁ vata me’ti.
‘How fortunate that I’m clean!’

Evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno paccavekkhaṇā bahukārā hoti kusalesu dhammesu:
In the same way, checking is very helpful for a mendicant’s skillful qualities.

‘abhijjhālu nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, anabhijjhālu nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, byāpannacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, abyāpannacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, thinamiddhapariyuṭṭhito nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, vigatathinamiddho nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, uddhato nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, anuddhato nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, vicikiccho nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, tiṇṇavicikiccho nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, kodhano nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, akkodhano nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, saṅkiliṭṭhacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, asaṅkiliṭṭhacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, sāraddhakāyo nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, asāraddhakāyo nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, kusīto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, āraddhavīriyo nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, samāhito nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, asamāhito nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmī’ti.
‘Am I often covetous or not? Am I often malicious or not? Am I often overcome with dullness and drowsiness or not? Am I often restless or not? Am I often doubtful or not? Am I often irritable or not? Am I often defiled in mind or not? Am I often disturbed in body or not? Am I often energetic or not? Am I often immersed in samādhi or not?’

Sace, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paccavekkhamāno evaṁ jānāti:
Suppose that, upon checking, a mendicant knows this:

‘abhijjhālu bahulaṁ viharāmi, byāpannacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, thinamiddhapariyuṭṭhito bahulaṁ viharāmi, uddhato bahulaṁ viharāmi, vicikiccho bahulaṁ viharāmi, kodhano bahulaṁ viharāmi, saṅkiliṭṭhacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, sāraddhakāyo bahulaṁ viharāmi, kusīto bahulaṁ viharāmi, asamāhito bahulaṁ viharāmī’ti, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesaṁyeva pāpakānaṁ akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya adhimatto chando ca vāyāmo ca ussāho ca ussoḷhī ca appaṭivānī ca sati ca sampajaññañca karaṇīyaṁ.
‘I am often covetous, malicious, overcome with dullness and drowsiness, restless, doubtful, irritable, defiled in mind, disturbed in body, lazy, and not immersed in samādhi.’ In order to give up those bad, unskillful qualities, they should apply intense enthusiasm, effort, zeal, vigor, perseverance, mindfulness, and situational awareness.

Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, ādittacelo vā ādittasīso vā.
Suppose your clothes or head were on fire. In order to extinguish it, you’d apply intense enthusiasm, effort, zeal, vigor, perseverance, mindfulness, and situational awareness.

Tasseva celassa vā sīsassa vā nibbāpanāya adhimattaṁ chandañca vāyāmañca ussāhañca ussoḷhiñca appaṭivāniñca satiñca sampajaññañca kareyya;

evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, tena bhikkhunā tesaṁyeva pāpakānaṁ akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya adhimatto chando ca vāyāmo ca ussāho ca ussoḷhī ca appaṭivānī ca sati ca sampajaññañca karaṇīyaṁ.
In the same way, in order to give up those bad, unskillful qualities, that mendicant should apply intense enthusiasm …

Sace pana, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paccavekkhamāno evaṁ jānāti:
But suppose that, upon checking, a mendicant knows this:

‘anabhijjhālu bahulaṁ viharāmi, abyāpannacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, vigatathinamiddho bahulaṁ viharāmi, anuddhato bahulaṁ viharāmi, tiṇṇavicikiccho bahulaṁ viharāmi, akkodhano bahulaṁ viharāmi, asaṅkiliṭṭhacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, asāraddhakāyo bahulaṁ viharāmi, āraddhavīriyo bahulaṁ viharāmi, samāhito bahulaṁ viharāmī’ti, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesuyeva kusalesu dhammesu patiṭṭhāya uttari āsavānaṁ khayāya yogo karaṇīyo”ti.
‘I am often content, kind-hearted, rid of dullness and drowsiness, calm, confident, loving, pure in mind, undisturbed in body, energetic, and immersed in samādhi.’ Grounded on those skillful qualities, they should practice meditation further to end the defilements.”

Tatiyaṁ.