AN 3.84 — The Vajji

English translation by Bhikkhu Candana.

Translation

Text

83. Vajjiputta Sutta (Son of the Vajjis) This is what I personally heard.

Once, while The Blessed One was living at the gabled hall of the Great Forest, in the city of Vesālī, a certain Bhikkhu of the Vajji people went and approached The Blessed One.

Then, after paying homage to The Teacher, he sat to one side and spoke these words, while addressing The Blessed One:

“Bhante, the recital of the one hundred and fifty rules that we chant every fortnight, is truly too much for me. Therefore, Bhante, I am unfortunately unable to go through them one by one. It is also tediously dreary and tiresome for me to recite them.”

And The Blessed One replied, by asking that Bhikkhu:

“But, Bhikkhu, can you train in the Three Trainings, by developing yourself in the Higher Virtues, by developing your Higher Mind, while also by training yourself in Higher Wisdom?”

“Yes, indeed, Bhante! I am certainly able to train in the Three Trainings, by developing myself in the Higher Virtues, by developing my Higher Mind, and also by training myself in Higher Wisdom.”

“In that case, Bhikkhu, just focus on training and developing yourself in the Higher Virtues, training and developing your Higher Mind, while also training in Higher Wisdom. And as you do so, naturally passion and lust, anger, hatred, and delusion, along with willful ignoring (avijjā) will simply drop away and be totally relinquished in you.

“Then, as a result of you having abandoned those tendencies, it will no longer be possible for you to engage in anything evil or unwholesome, nor somehow act in a damaging or harmful manner, at all. And with their fading away, all your actions will become wholesome and beneficial, while at the same time, all unwholesome and damaging traits will be entirely removed from your behavior.”

Now, as instructed by The Teacher, that Bhikkhu kept practicing and diligently training himself, as he developed himself in the Higher Virtues, training and developing in his Higher Mind, while also training in Higher Wisdom. And as expected, he gave up all his former ties to passion and lust, to anger, hatred, and delusion, along with willful ignorance.

Thus, as a result of having abandoned those tendencies, it was no longer possible for him to engage in anything evil or unwholesome, nor somehow act in a damaging or harmful manner, at all. And with their fading away, all of his actions became wholesome and beneficial, while at the same time, all unwholesome and damaging traits were entirely removed from his behavior.