1“Mendicants, I don’t praise stagnation in skillful qualities, let alone decline. I praise growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline.

2And how is there decline in skillful qualities, not stagnation or growth? It’s when a mendicant has a certain degree of faith, ethics, generosity, wisdom, and eloquence. Those qualities neither stagnate nor grow in them. I call this decline in skillful qualities, not stagnation or growth. This is how there’s decline in skillful qualities, not stagnation or growth.

3And how is there stagnation in skillful qualities, not decline or growth? It’s when a mendicant has a certain degree of faith, ethics, generosity, wisdom, and eloquence. Those qualities neither decline nor grow in them. I call this stagnation in skillful qualities, not decline or growth. This is how there’s stagnation in skillful qualities, not decline or growth.

4And how is there growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline? It’s when a mendicant has a certain degree of faith, ethics, generosity, wisdom, and eloquence. Those qualities neither stagnate nor decline in them. I call this growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline. This is how there’s growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline.

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5If 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.’

6And how is a mendicant skilled in the ways of their own mind? 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. But if they don’t see any dirt or blemish there, they’re happy with that, as they’ve got all they wished for: ‘How fortunate that I’m clean!’ In the same way, checking is very helpful for a mendicant’s skillful qualities.

‘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?’

7Suppose that, upon checking, a mendicant knows this: ‘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 outstanding enthusiasm, effort, zeal, vigor, perseverance, mindfulness, and situational awareness. Suppose your clothes or head were on fire. In order to extinguish it, you’d apply outstanding enthusiasm, effort, zeal, vigor, perseverance, mindfulness, and situational awareness. In the same way, in order to give up those bad, unskillful qualities, that mendicant should apply outstanding enthusiasm …

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8But suppose that, upon checking, a mendicant knows this: ‘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.”

1"Ṭhitimpāhaṁ, bhikkhave, na vaṇṇayāmi kusalesu dhammesu, pageva parihāniṁ. Vuḍḍhiñca kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, vaṇṇayāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhitiṁ no hāniṁ.

2Kathañca, bhikkhave, hāni hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no vuḍḍhi? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yattako hoti saddhāya sīlena sutena cāgena paññāya paṭibhānena, tassa te dhammā neva tiṭṭhanti no vaḍḍhanti. Hānimetaṁ, bhikkhave, vadāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhitiṁ no vuḍḍhiṁ. Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, hāni hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no vuḍḍhi.

3Kathañca, bhikkhave ṭhiti hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no hāni no vuḍḍhi? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yattako hoti saddhāya sīlena sutena cāgena paññāya paṭibhānena, tassa te dhammā neva hāyanti no vaḍḍhanti. Ṭhitimetaṁ, bhikkhave, vadāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no hāniṁ no vuḍḍhiṁ. Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, ṭhiti hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no vuḍḍhi no hāni.

4Kathañca, bhikkhave, vuḍḍhi hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no hāni? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yattako hoti saddhāya sīlena sutena cāgena paññāya paṭibhānena, tassa te dhammā neva tiṭṭhanti no hāyanti. Vuḍḍhimetaṁ, bhikkhave, vadāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhitiṁ no hāniṁ. Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, vuḍḍhi hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no hāni.

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5No ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paracittapariparacittapariparacittapariyāyakusaloyāyakusaloyāyakusalo hoti, atha ‘sacittapariyāyakusalo bhavissāmī’ti – evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabbaṁ.

6Kathañca, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sacittapariyāyakusalo hoti? 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. No ce tattha passati rajaṁ vā aṅgaṇaṁ vā, tenevattamano hoti paripuṇṇasaṅkappo:  ‘lābhā vata me, parisuddhaṁ vata me’ti. Evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno paccavekkhaṇā bahukārā hoti kusalesu dhammesu:

‘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.

7Sace, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paccavekkhamāno evaṁ jānāti:  ‘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. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, ādittacelo vā ādittasīso vā. 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.

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8Sace pana, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paccavekkhamāno evaṁ jānāti:  ‘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.

Tatiyaṁ.