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AN 5.233PTS AN 3.2621 min read

Grace

Sobhanasutta

Reasons a resident mendicant beautifies a monastery.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Aṅguttara Nikāya 5.233Numbered Discourses 5.233
  • 0.224. Āvāsikavagga24. A Resident Mendicant

0.3SobhanasuttaGrace

1.1PTS 3.263“Pañcahi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato āvāsiko bhikkhu āvāsaṁ sobheti.“Mendicants, a resident mendicant with five qualities graces the monastery.1.2Katamehi pañcahi?What five?

1.3Sīlavā hoti …pe… samādāya sikkhati sikkhāpadesu;They’re ethical, restrained in the monastic code, conducting themselves well and resorting for alms in suitable places. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, they keep the rules they’ve undertaken.

1.4bahussuto hoti …pe… diṭṭhiyā suppaṭividdhā;They’re very learned, remembering and keeping what they’ve learned. These teachings are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, meaningful and well-phrased, describing a spiritual practice that’s totally full and pure. They are very learned in such teachings, remembering them, reciting them, mentally scrutinizing them, and penetrating them theoretically.

1.5kalyāṇavāco hoti kalyāṇavākkaraṇo poriyā vācāya samannāgato vissaṭṭhāya anelagalāya atthassa viññāpaniyā;They’re a good speaker who enunciates well, with a polished, clear, and articulate voice that expresses the meaning.

1.6paṭibalo hoti upasaṅkamante dhammiyā kathāya sandassetuṁ samādapetuṁ samuttejetuṁ sampahaṁsetuṁ;They’re able to educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire those who approach them with a Dhamma talk.

1.7catunnaṁ jhānānaṁ ābhicetasikānaṁ diṭṭhadhammasukhavihārānaṁ nikāmalābhī hoti akicchalābhī akasiralābhī.They get the four absorptions—blissful meditations in this life that belong to the higher mind—when they want, without trouble or difficulty.

1.8Imehi kho, bhikkhave, pañcahi dhammehi samannāgato āvāsiko bhikkhu āvāsaṁ sobhetī”ti.A resident mendicant with these five qualities graces the monastery.”

1.9Tatiyaṁ.