Then Venerable Puṇṇiya went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:
“Sir, what is the cause, what is the reason why sometimes the Realized One feels inspired to teach, and other times not?”
“Puṇṇiya, when a mendicant has faith but doesn’t approach, the Realized One doesn’t feel inspired to teach. But when a mendicant has faith and approaches, the Realized One feels inspired to teach. When a mendicant has faith and approaches, but doesn’t pay homage … they pay homage, but don’t ask questions … they ask questions, but don’t actively listen to the teaching … they actively listen to the teaching, but don’t remember the teaching they’ve heard … they remember the teaching they’ve heard, but don’t examine the meaning of the teachings they’ve remembered … they examine the meaning of the teachings they’ve remembered, but, not having understood the meaning and the teaching, they don’t practice in line with the principle of the teaching. The Realized One doesn’t feel inspired to teach.
But when a mendicant has faith, approaches, pays homage, asks questions, actively listens to the teachings, remembers the teachings, examines the meaning, and practices in line with the principle of the teaching, the Realized One feels inspired to teach. When someone possesses these eight qualities, the Realized One feels totally inspired to teach.”