3: The Book of the Threes
XII. Bound for Loss — AN 3.119: Action
- © Translated from the Pali by Bhante Sujato. (More copyright information)
1“Mendicants, there are three failures. What three? Failure in action, livelihood, and view.
And what is failure in action? It’s when someone kills living creatures, steals, commits sexual misconduct, and uses speech that’s false, divisive, harsh, or nonsensical. This is called ‘failure in action’.
2And what is failure in livelihood? It’s when a noble disciple has wrong livelihood and earns a living by wrong livelihood. This is called ‘failure in livelihood’.
3And what is failure in view? It’s when someone has wrong view, a distorted perspective, such as: ‘There’s no meaning in giving, sacrifice, or offerings. There’s no fruit or result of good and bad deeds. There’s no afterlife. There’s no obligation to mother and father. No beings are reborn spontaneously. And there’s no ascetic or brahmin who is well attained and practiced, and who describes the afterlife after realizing it with their own insight.’ This is called ‘failure in view’.
These are the three failures.
4There are three accomplishments. What three? Accomplishment in action, livelihood, and view.
And what is accomplishment in action? It’s when someone doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, commit sexual misconduct, or use speech that’s false, divisive, harsh, or nonsensical. This is called ‘accomplishment in action’.
5And what is accomplishment in livelihood? It’s when a noble disciple has right livelihood and earns a living by right livelihood. This is called ‘accomplishment in livelihood’.
6And what is accomplishment in view? It’s when someone has right view, an undistorted perspective, such as: ‘There is meaning in giving, sacrifice, and offerings. There are fruits and results of good and bad deeds. There is an afterlife. There is obligation to mother and father. There are beings reborn spontaneously. And there are ascetics and brahmins who are well attained and practiced, and who describe the afterlife after realizing it with their own insight.’ This is called ‘accomplishment in view’.
These are the three accomplishments.”
1"Tisso imā, bhikkhave, vipattiyo. Katamā tisso? Kammantavipatti, ājīvavipatti, diṭṭhivipatti.
Katamā ca, bhikkhave, kammantavipatti? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco pāṇātipātī hoti … pe … samphappalāpī hoti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, kammantavipatti.
2Katamā ca, bhikkhave, ājīvavipatti? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco micchāājīvo hoti, micchāājīvena jīvikaṁ kappeti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, ājīvavipatti.
3Katamā ca, bhikkhave, diṭṭhivipatti? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco micchādiṭṭhiko hoti viparītadassano: ‘Natthi dinnaṁ, natthi yiṭṭhaṁ … pe … ye imañca lokaṁ parañca lokaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedentī’ti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, diṭṭhivipatti.
Imā kho, bhikkhave, tisso vipattiyoti.
4Tisso imā, bhikkhave, sampadā. Katamā tisso? Kammantasampadā, ājīvasampadā, diṭṭhisampadā.
Katamā ca, bhikkhave, kammantasampadā? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco pāṇātipātā paṭivirato hoti … pe … samphappalāpā paṭivirato hoti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, kammantasampadā.
5Katamā ca, bhikkhave, ājīvasampadā? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco sammāājīvo hoti, sammāājīvena jīvikaṁ kappeti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, ājīvasampadā.
6Katamā ca, bhikkhave, diṭṭhisampadā? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco sammādiṭṭhiko hoti aviparītadassano: ‘atthi dinnaṁ, atthi yiṭṭhaṁ … pe … ye imañca lokaṁ parañca lokaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedentī’ti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, diṭṭhisampadā.
Imā kho, bhikkhave, tisso sampadā"ti.
Sattamaṁ.