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← Aṅguttara Nikāya

Training Rules

AN 4.99 · Sikkhāpadasutta

Gentle ripples across a mountain lake reflecting green hills and clouds.

“Mendicants, these four individuals are found in the world. What four?

  1. One who practices to benefit themselves, but not others;
  2. one who practices to benefit others, but not themselves;
  3. one who practices to benefit neither themselves nor others; and
  4. one who practices to benefit both themselves and others.

And how does an individual practice to benefit themselves, but not others? It’s when an individual doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, commit sexual misconduct, lie, or consume intoxicants of beer, wine, and liquor. But they don’t encourage others to do the same. That’s how an individual practices to benefit themselves, but not others.

And how does an individual practice to benefit others, but not themselves? It’s when an individual kills living creatures, steals, commits sexual misconduct, lies, and consumes intoxicants of beer, wine, and liquor. But they encourage others to not do these things. That’s how an individual practices to benefit others, but not themselves.

And how does a person practice to benefit neither themselves nor others? It’s when an individual kills, etc. … and doesn’t encourage others to not do these things. That’s how an individual practices to benefit neither themselves nor others.

And how does an individual practice to benefit both themselves and others? It’s when an individual doesn’t kill, etc. … and encourages others to do the same. That’s how an individual practices to benefit both themselves and others.

These are the four individuals found in the world.”

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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.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.