應法經

Thus have I heard:

At one time the Blessed One was dwelling in the land of Dharma-rule, in the country of Kuru. At that time the Buddha addressed the bhikkhus:

–Now in this world, lust such as this, desire such as this, craving such as this, delight such as this, joy such as this, are merely things of decay and ruin, not to be craved, not to be remembered and longed for. If craving and remembrance increase, then such kinds of lust, such desire, such craving, such delight, such joy cause unwholesome states to grow and craving for wholesome states to diminish. My Dharma is exceedingly profound, hard to see, hard to awaken to, hard to understand, hard to know.

My Dharma, being thus profound, hard to see, hard to awaken to, hard to understand, hard to know, yet now causes the lack of liking for wholesome states to be reduced and the liking for wholesome states to grow; and being conjoined with these four states, this matter exists in the world. What are the four?

–There is a state, conjoined, that is pleasant in the present but afterward bears a fruit of suffering.

–There is a state, conjoined, that is painful in the present but afterward bears a fruit of pleasure.

–There is a state, conjoined, that is painful in the present and afterward bears a fruit of suffering.

–There is a state, conjoined, that is pleasant in the present and afterward bears a fruit of pleasure.

+ What is the state, conjoined, that is pleasant in the present but afterward bears a fruit of suffering?

There may be a person who, of himself, is devoted to and delights in committing killing, and on account of killing takes it as enjoyment, takes it as delight. That one enjoys and delights in taking what is not given, in practicing sexual misconduct, in lying, even down to wrong view. On account of this wrong view he takes it as delight, takes it as enjoyment. That one, with body delighting and mind delighting in such unwholesome things, since they are unwholesome, also does not attain the spiritual powers, does not lead to the Path of Equality, is not conjoined with Nirvana. This state, conjoined, is pleasant in the present but afterward bears a fruit of suffering.

+ What is the state, conjoined, that is painful in the present but afterward bears a fruit of pleasure?

There may be a person who, devoted, makes himself suffer and does not make himself enjoy: he abandons the causes of killing, abandons killing, because it makes for suffering, because it makes for no enjoyment. That one makes himself suffer, takes no pleasure in taking what is not given, in practicing sexual misconduct, in lying ... even down to wrong view. On account of forsaking wrong view, he makes right view, regarding it as suffering, regarding it as no enjoyment. With bodily conduct of suffering and mental conduct of suffering, in this way the wholesome is wholesome; he accomplishes the spiritual powers, leads to the Path of Equality, is conjoined with Nirvana. Being conjoined with this state, it is therefore painful in the present but afterward bears a fruit of pleasure.

+ What is the state, conjoined, that is painful in the present and afterward bears a fruit of suffering?

There may be a person who, devoted, makes himself suffer, of himself takes no delight, and commits killing, and on account of killing is therefore subjected to suffering and to no delight. That one makes himself suffer, makes himself do what brings no delight, takes what is not given, practices sexual misconduct, lies ... even down to wrong view. On account of wrong view he attains no peace and ease, no delight. With body making for suffering, with mind making for suffering in this way, doing unwholesome things he must receive the unwholesome, does not accomplish the spiritual powers, does not lead to the Path of Equality, is not conjoined with Nirvana. Being conjoined with this state, it is therefore painful in the present and afterward bears a fruit of suffering.

+ What is the state, conjoined, that is pleasant in the present and afterward bears a fruit of pleasure?

There may be a person who, devoted, makes himself enjoy, makes himself do what brings delight, forsakes killing, and on account of forsaking killing takes it as enjoyment, takes it as pleasure. That one enjoys and takes pleasure in forsaking the taking of what is not given, in forsaking the practice of sexual misconduct, of lying, even down to wrong view. On account of forsaking wrong view, he regards it as enjoyment, regards it as pleasure. With body delighting and mind delighting in this way, doing wholesome things is wholesome, so he accomplishes the spiritual powers, even reaches the Path of Equality, is conjoined with Nirvana; therefore it is pleasant in the present and in the next life bears a fruit of pleasure.

That which is called being conjoined with this state, pleasant in the present and afterward bearing a fruit of suffering, is not wisdom—what one of wisdom expounds—he does not know it as it truly is; and being conjoined with this state, it is therefore pleasant in the present but afterward bears a fruit of suffering. That one, not knowing it as it truly is in this way, does and does not forsake. Because that one does and does not forsake, the states that are not to be craved, not to be delighted in, grow, while the states worthy of craving, worthy of delight, are in turn reduced—just as with the kind of medicine called Amani, complete in color, complete in scent, complete in taste: because it is mixed with poison, a sick person then drinks it down.

That one drinks it past the mouth; while drinking, the medicine does not stay at the throat, and once drunk it becomes no medicine at all. In this way, being conjoined with this state, it is pleasant in the present but afterward bears a fruit of suffering; it is not wisdom, and because it is not wisdom one does not know it as it truly is; being conjoined with this state, it is pleasant in the present but afterward bears a fruit of suffering.

Because that one does not know it as it truly is, he practices and does not forsake. Because that one practices and does not forsake, the states not to be craved, the states not to be delighted in, grow; while the states of craving, the states of delight, are in turn reduced. That state is therefore not wisdom.

Being conjoined with this state, painful in the present but afterward attaining a fruit of pleasure, is not wisdom; and because it is not wisdom one does not know it as it truly is; being conjoined with this state, it is therefore painful in the present and afterward bears a fruit of pleasure. That one does not know it as it truly is, also does not practice, but again forsakes; because that one does not practice but again forsakes, the states not to be craved, not to be delighted in, grow, while the states of craving, of joy, are reduced.

This state is not wisdom. Being conjoined with that state, it is therefore painful in the present and afterward bears a fruit of suffering; it is not wisdom, and because it is not wisdom, being conjoined with this state, it is therefore painful in the present and afterward bears a fruit of suffering. Not knowing it as it truly is, that one does and does not forsake; because that one does and does not forsake, the states not to be craved, not to be delighted in, grow, while the states of craving, the states of delight, are reduced—just as when feces and urine are poisoned, and then someone with an illness takes that and drinks it; when that one drinks, the throat is in pain, unable to swallow it down, and it is foul-smelling and tasteless.

When drunk it ruins the throat, and once drunk it becomes no medicine at all. In this way, being conjoined with this state, it is painful in the present and afterward bears a fruit of suffering. Because one does not know it as it truly is, being conjoined with this state, it is painful in the present and afterward bears a fruit of suffering.

Because that one does not know it as it truly is, he practices and does not forsake; because he practices and does not forsake, the states not to be craved, not to be joyed in, gradually grow, while the states of craving, of joy, gradually are reduced. This state is not wisdom.

Being conjoined with this state, pleasant in the present and afterward attaining a fruit of pleasure, is not wisdom—as expounded by one of wisdom—one does not know it as it truly is; being conjoined with this state, it is pleasant in the present and afterward attains a fruit of pleasure. That one, not knowing it as it truly is, therefore does not practice the forsaking and distancing. Because he does not cast off, does not distance, the states not to be craved, not to be joyed in, gradually grow, while the states of craving, of joy, gradually are reduced.

This state is not wisdom; that one practices the state of knowing as it truly is, that one does not practice the state of knowing as it truly is, that one practices the state of knowing as it truly is, that other does not practice the state of knowing as it truly is, and so he has not practiced the state worthy to be practiced, but practices the state not worthy to be practiced. That one has not practiced the state worthy to be practiced but rather practices the state not to be practiced; thereby the unwholesome states gradually grow and the wholesome states gradually are reduced.

This state is not wisdom.

Being conjoined with this state, pleasant in the present and afterward bearing a fruit of suffering, as expounded by one of wisdom, a person of wisdom, is known as it truly is. Because one is conjoined with this state, it is pleasant in the present and afterward bears a fruit of suffering. That one knows it as it truly is in this way; that one does not do but forsakes and renounces; because he does not do, and having forsaken and renounced, that one then does not do, forsakes, and renounces, the unwholesome states are reduced and the wholesome states are made to grow. This state is wisdom.

Being conjoined with this state, painful in the present and afterward bearing a fruit of pleasure—this is wisdom, as expounded by one of wise discernment, who knows this as truth; because that one is conjoined with this state, it is painful in the present and afterward bears a fruit of pleasure, and that person knows it as it truly is in this way. That one does and does not forsake; not doing and not forsaking, the states not to be craved, not to be joyed in, are reduced, while the states of craving, the states of joy, grow.

This state is wisdom—just as when feces and urine are mixed with various medicinal herbs, and a sick person takes them to drink: when that one drinks, it does not stay at the throat; while drinking it breaks open the throat, and once drunk its efficacy is in accord with the way of medicine. In this way, being conjoined with this state, it is painful in the present but afterward bears a fruit of pleasure. This is wisdom, as expounded by one of wise discernment, known as it truly is.

This is being conjoined with this state, painful in the present and afterward bearing a fruit of pleasure. That one knows it as it truly is in this way, and practices without forsaking; because he practices without forsaking, the states not to be craved, not to be joyed in, are reduced, while the states of craving, of joy, are made to grow. That state is wisdom.

Being conjoined with this state, painful in the present and afterward bearing a fruit of suffering, is one of wisdom, as expounded by one of wisdom, known as it truly is. This is being conjoined with this state, painful in the present and afterward bearing a fruit of suffering; that one knows it as it truly is in this way; that one does not do the forsaking and distancing, and because he does not practice the forsaking and distancing, the states not to be craved, not to be joyed in, are reduced, while the states of craving, of joy, are made to grow. This state is wisdom.

Being conjoined with this state, pleasant in the present and afterward bearing a fruit of pleasure—this is the state of wisdom expounded by one of wisdom, meaning being conjoined with this state, pleasant in the present and afterward bearing a fruit of pleasure. That one knows this to be truth; that one knows which state is to be renounced or not to be renounced, and so the state not loved is removed and reduced, while the state that is loved is made to grow.

This state is wisdom—just as when butter and honey are mixed with various medicines, and a sick person then drinks it down: when drunk it makes the throat clear and free; while drinking it does not stay at the throat, and once drunk it proves effective in accord with the way of medicine. In this way, being conjoined with this state, it is pleasant in the present and afterward bears a fruit of pleasure. This is wisdom, as expounded by one of wisdom, known as it truly is.

This is being conjoined with this state, attaining pleasure in the present and afterward bearing a fruit of pleasure. That one knows this to be truth, and practices non-renunciation; because of practicing non-renunciation, the state not loved and not worthy of remembrance is reduced, while the state loved and remembered is made to grow. This state is wisdom, as expounded by one of wisdom; that one, having practiced this state, knows it as it truly is; having not practiced this state, knows it as it truly is; that one practices the state of knowing as it truly is, and does not practice the state of knowing as it truly is.

The state not to be practiced he then does not practice; the state that should be practiced he must practice. As for that one, the state not to be practiced he then does not practice, and the state that should be practiced he must practice, so the unwholesome states are reduced and the wholesome states are made to grow. This state is wisdom; wisdom, conjoined with these four states—the world has this teaching, and this is the cause of expounding this sutra.

The Buddha having spoken thus, the bhikkhus, having heard what the Blessed One taught, were joyful and rejoiced.