130
“A faithful monk would rightly aspire: ‘May I be like Sāriputta and Moggallāna!’ These are a standard and a measure for my monk disciples, that is, Sāriputta and Moggallāna.”
The Chapter on Aspiration
AN 2.130-140 · 12. Āyācanavagga
Sections
131
“A faithful nun would rightly aspire: ‘May I be like the nuns Khemā and Uppalavaṇṇā!’ These are a standard and a measure for my nun disciples, that is, the nuns Khemā and Uppalavaṇṇā.”
132
“A faithful layman would rightly aspire: ‘May I be like the householder Citta and Hatthaka of Āḷavī!’ These are a standard and a measure for my male lay followers, that is, the householder Citta and Hatthaka of Āḷavī.”
133
“A faithful laywoman would rightly aspire: ‘May I be like the laywomen Khujjuttarā and Veḷukaṇṭakī, Nanda’s mother!’ These are a standard and a measure for my female lay disciples, that is, the laywomen Khujjuttarā and Veḷukaṇṭakī, Nanda’s mother.”
134
“When a foolish, incompetent untrue person has two qualities they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness. What two? Without examining or scrutinizing, they praise those deserving of criticism and they criticize those deserving of praise. When a foolish, incompetent untrue person possesses these two qualities they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness.
When an astute, competent true person has two qualities they keep themselves healthy and whole. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit. What two? After examining and scrutinizing, they criticize those deserving of criticism and they praise those deserving of praise. When an astute, competent true person possesses these two qualities they keep themselves healthy and whole. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit.”
135
“When a foolish, incompetent untrue person has two qualities they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness. What two? Without examining or scrutinizing, they arouse faith in things that are dubious, and they don’t arouse faith in things that are inspiring. When a foolish, incompetent untrue person possesses these two qualities they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness.
When an astute, competent true person has two qualities they keep themselves healthy and whole. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit. What two? After examining or scrutinizing, they don’t arouse faith in things that are dubious, and they do arouse faith in things that are inspiring. When an astute, competent true person possesses these two qualities they keep themselves healthy and whole. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit.”
136
“When a foolish, incompetent untrue person acts wrongly toward two people they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness. What two? Mother and father. When a foolish, incompetent untrue person acts wrongly toward these two people they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness.
When an astute, competent true person acts rightly toward two people they keep themselves healthy and whole. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit. What two? Mother and father. When an astute, competent true person acts rightly toward these two people they keep themselves healthy and whole. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit.”
137
“When a foolish, incompetent untrue person acts wrongly toward two people they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness. What two? The Realized One and a disciple of the Realized One. When a foolish, incompetent untrue person acts wrongly toward these people they keep themselves broken and damaged. They deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much wickedness.
When an astute, competent true person acts rightly toward two people they keep themselves healthy and whole. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit. What two? The Realized One and a disciple of the Realized One. When an astute, competent true person acts rightly toward these two people they keep themselves healthy and whole. They don’t deserve to be blamed and criticized by sensible people, and they brim with much merit.”
138
“There are these two things. What two? Cleaning your own mind, and not grasping at anything in the world. These are the two things.”
139
“There are these two things. What two? Anger and acrimony. These are the two things.”
140
“There are these two things. What two? Dispelling anger and dispelling acrimony. These are the two things.”
Connections
Collection & context
- Aṅguttara NikāyaThe collection containing this text
- The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
- Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
- The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting
Books
- The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Aṅguttara NikāyaBhikkhu Bodhi; Bhikkhu Bodhi (translator) · Complete collection edition
About this edition
Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0
This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.
Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader. This source combines a range of related numbered discourses.
The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.