AN 4.52 - AN 4:52 Bonanzas of Merit | Puññābhisanda Sutta Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu Source: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN4_52.html License: CC-BY-NC-4.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Copyright: Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017 License notice: Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported. To see a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. “Commercial” shall mean any sale, whether for commercial or non-profit purposes or entities. Questions about this book may be addressed to Metta Forest Monastery Valley Center, CA 92082-1409 U.S.A. Additional resources More Dhamma talks, books and translations by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu are available to download in digital audio and various ebook formats at dhammatalks.org. Printed copy A paperback copy of this book is available free of charge. To request one, write to: Book Request, Metta Forest Monastery, PO Box 1409, Valley Center, CA 92082 USA. Attribution: From Handful of Leaves, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu; https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/Ebooks/SuttaPitaka_251113.epub. Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported. To see a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. “Commercial” shall mean any sale, whether for commercial or non-profit purposes or entities. Questions about this book may be addressed to Metta Forest Monastery Valley Center, CA 92082-1409 U.S.A. Additional resources More Dhamma talks, books and translations by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu are available to download in digital audio and various ebook formats at dhammatalks.org. Printed copy A paperback copy of this book is available free of charge. To request one, write to: Book Request, Metta Forest Monastery, PO Box 1409, Valley Center, CA 92082 USA. Publisher references (not part of the sutta): See also: SN 55:31 Changes: Presentation only: original HTML markup reflowed into plain text; wording, numbering and source repetitions retained. No repetitions expanded. Completeness: ABBREVIATED. Every source-unit character is preserved, including introductions, notes and verse structure. Thanissaro's collection-level note explicitly states that repetitions were cut: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/about.html. This is evidence about the translation method, not an assertion that every individual unit contains an omission; no repetitions reconstructed. Bonanzas of Merit Puññābhisanda Sutta (AN 4:52) “Monks, these four bonanzas of merit, bonanzas of skillfulness, nourishments of bliss—heavenly, resulting in bliss—lead to what is wished for, appealing, agreeable, well-being, & bliss. Which four? “There is the case where the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Awakened One: ‘Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy & rightly self-awakened, consummate in clear-knowing & conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the cosmos, unexcelled trainer of people fit to be tamed, teacher of devas & human beings, awakened, blessed.’ This is the first bonanza of merit, bonanza of skillfulness, nourishment of bliss—heavenly, resulting in bliss—that leads to what is wished for, appealing, agreeable, well-being, & bliss. “And further, the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Dhamma: ‘The Dhamma is well taught by the Blessed One, to be seen here & now, timeless, inviting verification, pertinent, to be experienced by the observant for themselves.’ This is the second bonanza of merit, bonanza of skillfulness, nourishment of bliss—heavenly, resulting in bliss—that leads to what is wished for, appealing, agreeable, well-being, & bliss. “And further, the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Saṅgha: ‘The Saṅgha of the Blessed One’s disciples who have practiced well… who have practiced straight-forwardly… who have practiced methodically… who have practiced masterfully—in other words, the four types of noble disciples when taken as pairs, the eight when taken as individual types—they are the Saṅgha of the Blessed One’s disciples: worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, the incomparable field of merit for the world.’ This is the third bonanza of merit, bonanza of skillfulness, nourishment of bliss—heavenly, resulting in bliss—that leads to what is wished for, appealing, agreeable, well-being, & bliss. “And further, the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with virtues that are appealing to the noble ones: untorn, unbroken, unspotted, unsplattered, liberating, praised by the observant, ungrasped at, leading to concentration. This is the fourth bonanza of merit, bonanza of skillfulness, nourishment of bliss—heavenly, resulting in bliss—that leads to what is wished for, appealing, agreeable, well-being, & bliss. “These are four bonanzas of merit, bonanzas of skillfulness, nourishments of bliss—heavenly, resulting in bliss—that lead to what is wished for, appealing, agreeable, well-being, & bliss.” ‘One whose conviction in the Tathāgata is well-established, unshakable; whose virtue is admirable, appealing to the noble ones, praised; who has confidence in the Saṅgha, & vision made straight: “Not poor,” they say of him. Not in vain his life. So conviction & virtue, confidence & Dhamma-vision should be cultivated by the intelligent, remembering the Buddhas’ teachings.’”1 Note 1. These verses also appear in SN 11:14 and SN 55:26. In Thailand, they are often chanted in ceremonies for dedicating merit to those who have passed away.