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Anguttara Nikaya
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[page 1] AN 5.79 Tatiyaanāgatabhaya Sutta “On Terrors to Come– Part 3” Translated by Bhikkhu Candana Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2021 “Bhikkhus, these five are future terrors to come that are not yet here, but they will arrive in the future. You should be alert to them and make a strong effort to abandon them when they do arrive. What are these five? 1) Bhikkhus, in the future there will be Bhikkhus, who will not be strong enough to persevere bodily hardship, and similarly will not be strong enough to persevere in developing virtuous behavior, similarly with their mental cultivation, and therefore, severely lacking in their wisdom. And although they will give the Higher Ordination to others but will be unable to discipline them in the higher virtues, in the higher mind, and in the higher wisdom. Then, similar to their own preceptors, those ordained Bhikkhus too who will not be strong enough to persevere bodily hardship, and similarly will not be strong enough to persevere in developing virtuous behavior, similarly with their mental cultivation, and therefore, severely lacking in their wisdom. And these too, in turn will give the Higher Ordination to others but will be unable to discipline them in the higher virtues, in the higher mind, and in the higher wisdom. And those Bhikkhus also will be unable to discipline them in the higher virtues, in the higher mind, and in the higher wisdom. In this manner, Bhikkhus, by corrupting the Dhamma, the Vinaya Discipline also becomes corrupted, and similarly by corrupting the Vinaya, the Dhamma itself becomes corrupted. This, Bhikkhus, is the first of the five terrors to come that are not yet here, but they will arrive in the future. You should be alert to them and make a strong effort to abandon them when they do arrive. 2) Bhikkhus, in the future there will be Bhikkhus, who will not be strong enough to persevere bodily hardship, and similarly will not be strong enough to persevere in developing virtuous behavior, similarly with their mental cultivation, and therefore, severely lacking in their wisdom. And although they will provide dependence to others during their primary monastic years, but will be unable to discipline them in the higher virtues, in the higher mind, and in the higher wisdom. Then, similar to their own preceptors, those ordained Bhikkhus too who will not be strong enough to persevere bodily hardship, and similarly will not be strong enough to persevere in developing virtuous behavior, similarly with their mental cultivation, and therefore, severely lacking in their wisdom. And these too, in turn will provide dependence to others during their primary monastic years but will be unable to discipline them in the higher virtues, in the higher mind, and in the higher wisdom. [page 2] In this manner, Bhikkhus, by corrupting the Dhamma, the Vinaya Discipline also becomes corrupted, and similarly by corrupting the Vinaya, the Dhamma itself becomes corrupted. This, Bhikkhus, is the second of the five terrors to come that are not yet here, but they will arrive in the future. You should be alert to them and make a strong effort to abandon them when they do arrive. 3) Bhikkhus, in the future there will be Bhikkhus, who will not be strong enough to persevere bodily hardship, and similarly will not be strong enough to persevere in developing virtuous behavior, similarly with their mental cultivation, and therefore, severely lacking in their wisdom. And as these Bhikkhus engage in discussions on the Dhamma, due to their lack in practice and therefore, genuine understanding, they will decline into evil ways by teaching and living according to what is aDhamma, as they even defend their wrong views when being questioned. In this manner, Bhikkhus, by corrupting the Dhamma, the Vinaya Discipline also becomes corrupted, and similarly by corrupting the Vinaya, the Dhamma itself becomes corrupted. This, Bhikkhus, is the third of the five terrors to come that are not yet here, but they will arrive in the future. You should be alert to them and make a strong effort to abandon them when they do arrive. 4) Bhikkhus, in the future there will be Bhikkhus, who will not be strong enough to persevere bodily hardship, and similarly will not be strong enough to persevere in developing virtuous behavior, similarly with their mental cultivation, and therefore, severely lacking in their wisdom. And when the words of the Blessed One; the discourses spoken by the Tathāgata that are deep in meaning, leading one to the supramundane state, connected with emptiness are being spoken and recited, they will not want to listen to them, pay close attention to them, or try to apply their minds to them, in an effort to grasp their deep meanings. In fact, these Bhikkhus, will discourage and minimize in importance the study and learning of the Tathāgata’s words found within the Suttas. However, when the words spoken by the Blessed One have been altered by commentators or other disciples, and transformed into poetry, using flowery and fancy language, when these are then recited, suddenly these Bhikkhus, will want to listen to them, as they will respect and worship these words, memorizing them, claiming them as the words of the Blessed One, as it fits their defiled minds. In this manner, Bhikkhus, by corrupting the Dhamma, the Vinaya Discipline also becomes corrupted, and similarly by corrupting the Vinaya, the Dhamma itself becomes corrupted. This, Bhikkhus, is the fourth of the five terrors to come that are not yet here, but they will arrive in the future. You should be alert to them and make a strong effort to abandon them when they do arrive. 5) Bhikkhus, in the future there will be Bhikkhus, who will not be strong enough to persevere bodily hardship, and similarly will not be strong enough to persevere in developing virtuous behavior, similarly with their mental cultivation, and therefore, severely lacking in their wisdom. [page 3] At that time, the elder Bhikkhus being themselves not strong enough to persevere bodily hardship, and similarly will not be strong enough to persevere in developing virtuous behavior, similarly with their mental cultivation, and therefore, severely lacking in their wisdom, they will then indulge in a luxurious and comfortable lifestyle, slacking in their practice and development in the Dhamma, as they become leaders in backsliding, neglecting the work to be done in seclusion, and therefore neither being vigilant nor alert, nor putting in the effort to strive diligently to attain what is yet to be attained, to experience what is yet to be experienced, to realize what is yet to be realized, as they will lack the resolve or desire to do it. And those Bhikkhus to follow them, will follow the example of their preceptors, as they too will then indulge in a luxurious and comfortable lifestyle, slacking in their practice and development in the Dhamma, as they too become leaders in backsliding, neglecting the work to be done in seclusion, and therefore neither being vigilant nor alert, nor putting in the effort to strive diligently to attain what is yet to be attained, to experience what is yet to be experienced, to realize what is yet to be realized, as they will lack the resolve or desire to do it. In this manner, Bhikkhus, by corrupting the Dhamma, the Vinaya Discipline also becomes corrupted, and similarly by corrupting the Vinaya, the Dhamma itself becomes corrupted. This, Bhikkhus, is the fifth of the five terrors to come that are not yet here, but they will arrive in the future. You should be alert to them and make a strong effort to abandon them when they do arrive.” Sādhu Sādhu Sādhu
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