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Anguttara Nikaya
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[page 1] Anguttara Nikāya The Numerical Discourses Dasakanipāta (Book of the Tens) AN 10.76 Tayodhamma Sutta “The Three Things” Translated by Bhikkhu Candana Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2023 1. “Bhikkhus, if these three troubling facts were not present in the world, then The Tathāgata, The Perfectly Self-Awakened Arahant, would not arise or appear in the world. And similarly, The Dhamma that is declared by The Tathāgata would not arise to shine its brilliance throughout the world either. And what are these three facts? “Birth, aging, and death – “Bhikkhus, if these three troubling facts were not present in the world, then The Tathāgata, The Perfectly Self-Awakened Arahant, would not arise or appear in the world. And similarly, The Dhamma that is declared by The Tathāgata would not arise to shine its brilliance throughout the world either. “However, Bhikkhus, since these three troubling facts are indeed present in the world, then The Tathāgata, The Perfectly Self-Awakened Arahant, arises by appearing in the world. And similarly, The Dhamma that is declared by The Tathāgata arises to shine its brilliance throughout the world. 2. “Know this, Bhikkhus, that without first having dispelled and abandoned three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon birth, aging, and death. What are these three? “Lust, hatred, and delusion. “So, Bhikkhus, without having first dispelled and abandoned these three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon birth, aging, and death. 3. “And Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon lust, hatred, and delusion. [page 2] “And what are these three? “The view of having a personal and substantially unchanging essence of a self; doubts about what the True Path is; and holding on to the view that ceremonies and rituals would somehow release one from suffering or lead one to attain the Goal of the Holy Life. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, without having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon lust, hatred, and delusion. 4. “Further, Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon the view of having a personal and substantially unchanging essence of a self; doubts about what the True Path is; and the holding on to the view that ceremonies and rituals would somehow release one from suffering or lead one to attain the Goal of the Holy Life. “Now what are these three things? “Unwise radical attention; pursuing the wrong spiritual path and training; and having an unmotivated heart, with a listless mind. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, without having first dispelled and abandoned these three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon the view of having a personal and substantially unchanging essence of a self; doubts about what the True Path is; and the holding on to the view that ceremonies and rituals would somehow release one from suffering or lead one to attain the Goal of the Holy Life. 5. “And, Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon unwise radical attention; pursuing the wrong spiritual path and training; and having an unmotivated heart, with a listless mind. And what are these three? “Living a life without mindfulness; lacking in full awareness; and possessing an agitated heart. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, without having first dispelled and abandoned these three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon unwise radical attention; pursuing the wrong spiritual path and training; and having an unmotivated heart, with a listless mind. 6. “Furthermore, Bhikkhus, without having first dispelled and abandoned three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon living a life without mindfulness; lacking in full awareness; and possessing an agitated heart. And what are these three? “Not being interested in or refusing to go and see The Noble Ones; not being interested in or refusing to go and hear the Teachings of The Noble Ones; and possessing a contentious heart that always seeks to find fault in others. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon living a life without mindfulness; lacking in full awareness; and possessing an agitated heart. [page 3] 7. “Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon the disinterest and refusal to go and see The Noble Ones; the disinterest and refusal to go and hear the Teachings of The Noble Ones; and possessing a contentious heart that always seeks to find fault in others. And what are these three? “Restlessness; lack in restraining the sense faculties; and living an immoral and evil life, without any virtue. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon the disinterest and refusal to go and see The Noble Ones; the disinterest and refusal to go and hear the Teachings of The Noble Ones; and possessing a contentious heart that always seeks to find fault in others. 8. “Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon restlessness; the lack in restraining the sense faculties; and living an immoral and evil life, without any virtue. What are these three? “Not possessing strong faith in one’s heart; stinginess; and being lazy. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon restlessness; the lack in restraining the sense faculties; and living an immoral and evil life, without any virtue. 9. “Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon the lack of strong faith in one’s heart; stinginess; and being lazy. And what are these three? “Inconsideration of others; being unwilling to correct oneself; and maintaining evil friendships. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon the lack of strong faith in one’s heart; stinginess; and being lazy. 10. “And, Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon inconsideration of others; being unwilling to correct oneself; and the maintaining of evil friendships. And what are these three? “Lack of wise moral shame in one’s heart; lack of wise moral fear in one’s heart; and being negligent in one’s training. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, without first having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it is impossible to dispel or abandon inconsideration of others; being unwilling to correct oneself; and the maintaining of evil friendships. “And know this, Bhikkhus – “That the one who lives without the presence of wise moral shame and wise moral fear in his heart, is inescapably negligent. [page 4] “And for such a negligent person, it is impossible to possess respect towards others, hence he is inconsiderate of others, remaining unwilling and stubborn to even try and correct himself, while maintaining evil companions and their friendship. “Also, it is impossible for the one who associates with evil friends to gain, let alone possess, strong faith in his heart, or to abandon stinginess and laziness. “Similarly, it is impossible for the lazy person to dispel restlessness, or the lack in restraining his sense faculties, and to abandon living an immoral and evil life, without any virtue. “Also, it is impossible for such an immoral person who lives without virtue, to somehow dispel or abandon the disinterest or the refusal to go and see The Noble Ones; to abandon the disinterest or the refusal to go and hear the Teachings of The Noble Ones; or to relinquish having a contentious heart that always seeks to find fault in others. “Similarly, it is impossible for the person who is driven to argue with and find fault in others, to dispel having a life that lacks mindfulness; to abandon his lack in full awareness; and to abandon possessing such an agitated heart. “Furthermore, Bhikkhus, it is impossible for this person, who possesses such an agitated heart, to dispel or abandon his unwise radical attention; or his pursuit of the wrong spiritual path and training; and to stop having an unmotivated heart, while dispelling his listless mind. “It is impossible, therefore, for the one possessing an unmotivated heart, led by his listless and sluggish mind, to dispel his view of having a personal and substantially unchanging essence of a self; to abandon his doubts about what the True Path is; or to relinquish his tenacious hold on the view that ceremonies and rituals would somehow release one from suffering or lead one to attain the Goal of the Holy Life. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, it is also impossible for the one who has doubts festering in him to somehow dispel lust, hatred, and delusion from his heart. “Thus, Bhikkhus, without dispelling and abandoning lust, hatred, and delusion, it is impossible to dispel or abandon birth, aging, and death. 1. “But, Bhikkhus, by dispelling and abandoning three things, it becomes possible to dispel and abandon birth, aging, and death. What are these three? “Lust, hatred, and delusion. “Thus, Bhikkhus, by having already dispelled and abandoned these three things, it becomes possible to dispel and end birth, aging, and death, entirely. 2. “Similarly, by having dispelled and abandoned three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon birth, aging, and death. And what are these three? [page 5] “The view of having a personal and substantially unchanging essence of a self; doubts about what the True Path is; and holding on to the view that ceremonies and rituals would somehow release one from suffering or lead one to attain the Goal of the Holy Life. “In this way, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon birth, aging, and death. 3. “And, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon the view of having a personal and substantially unchanging essence of a self; doubts about what the True Path is; and the holding on to the view that ceremonies and rituals would somehow release one from suffering or lead one to attain the Goal of the Holy Life. “And what are these three? “Unwise radical attention; pursuing the wrong spiritual path and training; and having an unmotivated heart, with a listless mind. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon the view of having a personal and substantially unchanging essence of a self; doubts about what the True Path is; and the holding on to the view that ceremonies and rituals would somehow release one from suffering or lead one to attain the Goal of the Holy Life. 4. “Further, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon unwise radical attention; pursuing the wrong spiritual path and training; and having an unmotivated heart, with a listless mind. And what are these three things? “Living a life without mindfulness; lacking in full awareness; and possessing an agitated heart. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon unwise radical attention; pursuing the wrong spiritual path and training; and having an unmotivated heart, with a listless mind. 5. “And, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon living a life without mindfulness; lacking in full awareness; and possessing an agitated heart. And what are these three? “Not being interested in or refusing to go and see The Noble Ones; not being interested in or refusing to go and hear the Teachings of The Noble Ones; and possessing a contentious heart that always seeks to find fault in others. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon living a life without mindfulness; lacking in full awareness; and possessing an agitated heart. 6. “Furthermore, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon the disinterest and refusal to go and see The Noble Ones; the [page 6] disinterest and refusal go and hear the Teachings of The Noble Ones; and possessing a contentious heart that always seeks to find fault in others. And what are these three? “Restlessness; lack in restraining the sense faculties; and living an immoral and evil life, without any virtue. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon the disinterest and refusal to go and see The Noble Ones; the disinterest and refusal to go and hear the Teachings of The Noble Ones; and possessing a contentious heart that always seeks to find fault in others. 7. “Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon restlessness; the lack in restraining the sense faculties; and living an immoral and evil life, without any virtue. And what are these three? “Not possessing strong faith in one’s heart; stinginess; and being lazy. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon restlessness; the lack in restraining the sense faculties; and living an immoral and evil life, without any virtue. 8. “And, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon the lack of strong faith in one’s heart towards the Training; stinginess; and being lazy. And what are these three? “Inconsideration of others; being unwilling to correct oneself; and maintaining evil friendships. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon the lack of strong faith in one’s heart towards the Training; stinginess; and being lazy. 9. “Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon the inconsideration of others; being unwilling to correct oneself; and maintaining evil friendships. And what are these three? “Lack of wise moral shame in one’s heart; lack of wise moral fear in one’s heart; and being negligent in one’s training. “Thus, Bhikkhus, by having dispelled and abandoned these three things, it then becomes possible to dispel and abandon the inconsideration of others; the unwillingness to correct oneself; and the maintaining of evil friendships. 10. “Therefore, know this, Bhikkhus – “That the one, who lives with the presence of wise moral shame and wise moral fear in his heart, is always vigilant and heedful. [page 7] “And with such a vigilant person, it becomes inescapable for him to possess respect towards others, hence he is considerate of others, as he remains willing and humble to look for ways to correct himself, while maintaining good spiritual companions and their friendship. “Also, it becomes possible for such a person, who associates with good spiritual friends, to increasingly gain and possess strong faith in his heart, while also abandoning stinginess, as he becomes energetic with persevering effort, rather than being lazy. “Similarly, it becomes possible for such an energetic person to dispel restlessness, as well as strengthen himself with an ever-present sense of restraint of his sense faculties, while abandoning living an immoral and evil life, and instead living a truly virtuous life. “And such a virtuous and moral person then becomes eager to rush and see The Noble Ones; while abandoning the old disinterest he had, and instead he enthusiastically wants to go and hear the Teachings of The Noble Ones, by relinquishing his old contentious heart that always sought to find fault in others. “Furthermore, such a person who is no longer driven to arguments nor tries to find fault in others, then naturally becomes established in mindfulness, supported by his ever-present full awareness, while abandoning and relinquishing agitation from his heart. “And Bhikkhus, it then becomes possible for this person, whose heart is no longer agitated, to possess wise radical attention, as he leaves behind his past pursuit in the wrong spiritual path and their training, being led by his motivated heart and mental clarity. “And for such a person, who is now driven by a motivated heart, with mental clarity, it becomes possible to dispel his old view of having a personal and substantially unchanging essence of a self; as he naturally abandons his old doubts about what the True Path is; while relinquishing his once tenacious hold on the view, that ceremonies and rituals would somehow release him from suffering and lead one to attain the Goal of the Holy Life, realizing the absurdity of such a view. “Therefore, Bhikkhus, it becomes possible for the one liberated from doubts to also dispel and abandon lust, hatred, and delusion from his heart. “Thus, Bhikkhus, by dispelling and abandoning lust, hatred, and delusion, it becomes possible to dispel and put an end to birth, aging, and death, entirely.” Sādhu Sādhu Sādhu
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