AN 8.61 - AN 8:61 Desire | Icchā Sutta
Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
Source: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN8_61.html
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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: MN 6; AN 4:28; AN 5:30; AN 5:80; AN 5:196; AN 6:42; AN 8:103
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.

Desire
 Icchā Sutta (AN 8:61)

“Monks, these eight persons are to be found existing in the world. Which eight?

“There is the case where a desire for gain arises in a monk living independently in seclusion. He rouses himself, strives, & makes an effort for gain, yet for him—rousing himself, striving, & making an effort for gain—gain doesn’t arise. Because of that lack of gain, he sorrows, grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. This is called a monk who desires gain, who rouses himself, strives, & makes an effort for gain, but not gaining it, sorrows & laments. And he has fallen away from the True Dhamma.

“Then there is the case where a desire for gain arises in a monk living independently in seclusion. He rouses himself, strives, & makes an effort for gain, and for him—rousing himself, striving, & making an effort for gain—gain arises. Because of that gain, he becomes intoxicated, complacent, & falls into heedlessness. This is called a monk who desires gain, who rouses himself, strives, & makes an effort for gain, and on gaining it becomes intoxicated & heedless. And he has fallen away from the True Dhamma.

“Then there is the case where a desire for gain arises in a monk living independently in seclusion. He doesn’t rouse himself, strive, or make an effort for gain, and for him—not rousing himself, striving, or making an effort for gain—gain doesn’t arise. Because of that lack of gain, he sorrows, grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. This is called a monk who desires gain, who doesn’t rouse himself, strive, or make an effort for gain, and not gaining it, sorrows & laments. And he has fallen away from the True Dhamma.

“Then there is the case where a desire for gain arises in a monk living independently in seclusion. He doesn’t rouse himself, strive, or make an effort for gain, yet for him—not rousing himself, striving, or making an effort for gain—gain arises. Because of that gain, he becomes intoxicated, complacent, & falls into heedlessness. This is called a monk who desires gain, who doesn’t rouse himself, strive, or make an effort for gain, but on gaining it becomes intoxicated & heedless. And he has fallen away from the True Dhamma.

“Then there is the case where a desire for gain arises in a monk living independently in seclusion. He rouses himself, strives, & makes an effort for gain, yet for him—rousing himself, striving, & making an effort for gain—gain doesn’t arise. Because of that lack of gain, he doesn’t sorrow, grieve, lament, beat his breast, or become distraught. This is called a monk who desires gain, who rouses himself, strives, & makes an effort for gain, but not gaining it, doesn’t sorrow or lament. And he has not fallen away from the True Dhamma.

“Then there is the case where a desire for gain arises in a monk living independently in seclusion. He rouses himself, strives, & makes an effort for gain, and for him—rousing himself, striving, & making an effort for gain—gain arises. Because of that gain, he doesn’t become intoxicated, complacent, or fall into heedlessness. This is called a monk who desires gain, who rouses himself, strives, & makes an effort for gain, and on gaining it doesn’t become intoxicated or heedless. And he has not fallen away from the True Dhamma.

“Then there is the case where a desire for gain arises in a monk living independently in seclusion. He doesn’t rouse himself, strive, or make an effort for gain, and for him—not rousing himself, striving, or making an effort for gain—gain doesn’t arise. Because of that lack of gain, he doesn’t sorrow, grieve, lament, beat his breast, or become distraught. This is called a monk who desires gain, who doesn’t rouse himself, strive, or make an effort for gain, and not gaining it, doesn’t sorrow or lament. And he not has fallen away from the True Dhamma.

“Then there is the case where a desire for gain arises in a monk living independently in seclusion. He doesn’t rouse himself, strive, or make an effort for gain, yet for him—not rousing himself, striving, or making an effort for gain—gain arises. Because of that gain, he doesn’t become intoxicated, complacent, or fall into heedlessness. This is called a monk who desires gain, who doesn’t rouse himself, strive, or make an effort for gain, and on gaining it doesn’t become intoxicated or heedless. And he has not fallen away from the True Dhamma.

“Monks, these eight persons are to be found existing in the world.”