Home | Dhamma | Teachings | Practice | Glossary | Tipiṭaka | Suttas

Anguttara Nikaya

# AN 10.92 Bhaya Sutta (Discourse on Fear) AN 10.92

Download TXT Download PDF Browse this collection Home

Candana Bhikkhu audio

## Listen on YouTube

- The Numerical Discourses: Book X: Suttas 91-100, "The Section on The Venerable Upāli." (Duration: 2:39:08)

## Text

    [page 1]
    Anguttara Nikāya
    The Numerical Discourses

    Dasakanipāta
    (Book of the Tens)

    AN 10.92

    Bhaya Sutta
    “Discourse on Fear”

    Translated by Bhikkhu Candana

    Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2023

    Once, the householder Anāthapiṇḍika approached The Blessed One, and after paying his
    respects, sat to one side, and The Blessed One spoke to him by saying:
    “Householder, when the Noble Disciple has overcome five fear-causing dangers and threats,
    while also possessing the four factors of a Stream Winner; the one who has clearly and
    penetratingly seen with wisdom the Noble Pattern, then, if he so wishes, he could declare:
    ‘I am done with rebirth into the hell realms, the animal realm,
    The realm of hungry and dejected ghosts;
    I am done with ever reappearing into states of misery and loss,
    And with any sort of birth in evil or horrible states.
    I am indeed a Stream Winner, and therefore I will never fall from that state,
    For I am on my unmistakable and direct course,
    Headed on the straight Path to Nibbāna Supreme.’

    “And what are the five fears and threats they have overcome?

    [page 2]
    1. “Householder, whoever intentionally destroys, kills, or harms living beings, whether directly
    or indirectly, then because of that intentional action, they create for themselves the situations
    where they will have to face the consequences in the form of fears and threats that will come to
    them, sooner or later, along with the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain they
    bring.
    “But, when the person has abandoned the destruction and killing of living beings, then they
    eliminate for themselves any situations where they would have to face fears and threats, and in
    this manner, they release themselves from the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain
    such evil and unwholesome actions would have brought.
    “Thus, the householder who refuses to harm or kill living beings, protects those around him and
    himself, too! This in turn, extinguishes any fears or threats, connected to the destruction of life.
    2. “Next, householder, whoever intentionally steals from another, or takes what is not freely
    given, whether directly or indirectly, then because of that intentional action, they create for
    themselves the situations where they will have to face consequences, in the form of fears and
    threats that will come to them, sooner or later, along with the mental, emotional, and physical
    suffering and pain they bring.
    “But, when the person has abandoned stealing or taking of what is not given, then they eliminate
    for themselves any situations where they would have to face fears and threats, thus releasing
    themselves from the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain such evil and
    unwholesome actions would have brought.
    “Thus, the householder who refuses to steal or take what is not given, protects those around him
    and himself, too! This, in turn, extinguishes any fears or threats connected to stealing or to taking
    what is not given.
    3. “Householder, whoever intentionally engages in any kind of sexual misconduct, whether
    directly or indirectly, then because of that intentional action, they create for themselves the
    situations where they will have to face consequences in the form of fears and threats that will
    come to them, sooner or later, along with the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain
    they bring.
    “But, when the person has abandoned engaging in sexual misconduct, then they eliminate for
    themselves any situations where they would have to face fears and threats, thus releasing
    themselves from the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain such evil and
    unwholesome actions would have brought.
    “Thus, the householder who refuses to engage in sexual misconduct, protects those around him
    and himself, too! This, in turn, extinguishes any fears or threats connected to engaging in sexual
    misconduct.

    [page 3]
    4. “Householder, whoever intentionally lies or speaks falsely, or engages in dishonest behavior,
    whether directly or indirectly, then because of that intentional action, they create for themselves
    the situations where they will have to face consequences, in the form of fears and threats that will
    come to them, sooner or later, along with the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain
    they bring.
    “But, when the person has abandoned lies or speaking falsely, or engaging in dishonest behavior,
    then they eliminate for themselves any situations where they would have to face fears and
    threats, thus releasing themselves from the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain
    such evil and unwholesome actions would have brought.
    “Thus, the householder who refuses to lie or speak falsely, or engage in dishonest behavior,
    protects those around him and himself, too! This, in turn, extinguishes any fears or threats
    connected to speaking falsely or engaging in dishonest behavior.
    5. “Householder, whoever intentionally, whether directly or indirectly, consumes any
    intoxicating substances, be it wine or liquor, or any kinds of substances that delude and
    hallucinate the mind, resulting in heedlessness, then because of that intentional action, they
    create for themselves the situations where they will have to face consequences, in the form of
    fears and threats that will come to them, sooner or later, along with the mental, emotional, and
    physical suffering and pain they bring.
    “But, when the person has abandoned the taking of any intoxicating substances, be it wine or
    liquor, or any kinds of substances that delude and hallucinate the mind, resulting in heedlessness,
    then they eliminate for themselves any situations where they would have to face fears and
    threats, thus releasing themselves from the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain
    such evil and unwholesome action would have brought.
    “Thus, the householder who refuses to consume any intoxicating substances, be it wine or liquor,
    or any kinds of substances that delude and hallucinate the mind, resulting in heedlessness,
    protects those around him and himself, too! This, in turn, extinguishes any fears or threats,
    connected to the consumption of intoxicating and mind-altering substances.
    “And what, householder, are the four factors of a Stream Winner, that such a Noble Disciple
    possesses?
    6. “Here, householder, the Noble Disciple possesses unshakable faith in his heart towards The
    Blessed One, knowing for certain that:

    ‘The Blessed One is an Arahant, Perfectly Awakened,
    He is supremely endowed with knowledge and conduct,
    The Well-Gone, The Knower of the worlds,
    The Incomparable Tamer of those to be tamed,
    The Teacher of gods and humans,
    The Enlightened and Blessed.’

    [page 4]
    7. “Again, householder, the Noble Disciple possesses unshakable faith in his heart towards The
    Dhamma, knowing for certain that:

    ‘The Dhamma of The Blessed One is Well-Expounded,
    Realizable here and now,
    It is timeless, inviting direct examination,
    It unmistakably leads onwards,
    It is to be realized by the wise,
    For themselves.’

    8. “Again, householder, the Noble Disciple possesses unshakable faith in his heart towards The
    Sangha of Noble Disciples, knowing for certain that:

    ‘The Sangha of The Blessed One’s Noble Disciples has come to the Good Path,
    The Straight Path, the Wise Path, the Path of Mutual Appreciation and Understanding.
    They are the Four Pairs that comprise the Eight Great Beings,
    Who are the True Venerable Ones, Worthy of Offerings and Hospitality;
    The Ones to be revered with clasped hands,
    The Incomparable Field of Merit for the Entire World.’

    9. “Again, householder, the Noble Disciple lives with virtue, possessing the virtuous heart that is
    so loved by the Noble Ones, for it is unbroken, flawless, spotless, impeccable, praised and
    recognized by the wise as leading to freedom, untouched by any kinds of corruptions; thus he
    finds his heart softly and naturally gliding and landing into samādhi, with ease.
    “These, therefore, are the four factors that such a Noble Disciple possesses, householder.
    “In this manner, householder, when the Noble Disciple has overcome five fear-causing dangers
    and threats, while also possessing the four factors of a Stream Winner, then, if he wishes to, he
    could declare:

    ‘I am done with rebirth into the hell realms, the animal realm,
    The realm of hungry and dejected ghosts;
    I am done with ever reappearing into states of misery and loss,
    And with any sort of birth in evil or horrible states.
    I am indeed a Stream Winner, and therefore I will never fall from that state,
    For I am on my unmistakable and direct course,
    Headed on the straight Path to Nibbāna Supreme.’”

    [page 5]
    10. “And what is the Noble Pattern, the correct measure that is to be seen and thoroughly
    penetrated with wisdom?
    “Here, householder, the Noble Disciple spends his time reflecting on his experiences as he
    contemplates:
    ‘When this is present, then this comes to be; when this arises, this also arises as a consequence.
    But when this is not present, this too, does not come to be; and when this comes to an end and
    ceases, this also comes to an end and ceases.’
    Thus, he comes to understand:
    ‘In the presence of ignorance as their condition, habitual drives arise; In the presence of
    habitual drives as its condition, consciousness or sense awareness arises; In the presence of
    sense awareness or consciousness as their condition, mentality and materiality arise; In the
    presence of mentality and materiality as their condition, the six sense spheres arise; In the
    presence of the six sense spheres as its condition, contact arises; In the presence of contact as its
    condition, feeling arises; In the presence of feeling as its condition, craving arises; In the
    presence of craving as its condition, grabbing arises; In the presence of grabbing as its
    condition, becoming arises; In the presence of becoming as its condition, rebirth arises; and in
    the presence of rebirth as their condition, ageing and death, grieving, wailing, distress, torment,
    depression, and anguish arise. Thus, this whole accumulation of suffering arises.
    ‘But with the remainder-less fading away and ending of ignorance, comes the ending of habitual
    drives; with the ending of habitual drives, comes the ending of consciousness or sense
    awareness; with the ending of consciousness or sense awareness, comes the ending of
    mentality/materiality; with the ending of mentality/materiality, comes the ending of the six sense
    spheres; with the ending of the six sense spheres, comes the ending of contact; with the ending of
    contact, comes the ending of feeling; with the ending of feeling, comes the ending of craving;
    with the ending of craving, comes the ending of grabbing; with the ending of grabbing, comes
    the ending of becoming; with the ending of becoming, comes the ending of rebirth; with the
    ending of rebirth, comes the ending of ageing and death, grieving, wailing, distress, torment,
    depression, and anguish. In this manner, this whole accumulation of suffering comes to an end
    and ceases.’
    “This is the Noble Pattern, the correct measure that is to be seen and thoroughly penetrated with
    wisdom.
    “Therefore, householder, when the Noble Disciple has overcome the five fear-causing dangers
    and threats, while also possessing the four factors of a Stream Winner; the one who has clearly
    and penetratingly seen with wisdom the Noble Pattern, then, if he wishes to, he could declare:

    ‘I am done with rebirth into the hell realms, the animal realm,
    The realm of hungry and dejected ghosts;

    [page 6]
    I am done with ever reappearing into states of misery and loss,
    And with any sort of birth in evil or horrible states.
    I am indeed a Stream Winner, and therefore I will never fall from that state,
    For I am on my unmistakable and direct course,
    Headed on the straight Path to Nibbāna Supreme.’”

    Sādhu
    Sādhu
    Sādhu

Contact: admin@opensourceeverything.net