AN 4.209

Tatiyapāpadhammasutta

“Pāpadhammañca vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi, pāpadhammena pāpadhammatarañca; kalyāṇadhammañca, kalyāṇadhammena kalyāṇadhammatarañca. Taṁ suṇātha …pe….

Bad Character (3rd)

“Mendicants, I will teach you bad character and worse character, good character and better character.

“Katamo ca, bhikkhave, pāpadhammo? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco pāṇātipātī hoti …pe… micchādiṭṭhiko hoti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, pāpadhammo.

And who has bad character? It’s someone who kills living creatures, steals, and commits sexual misconduct. They use speech that’s false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical. And they’re covetous, malicious, with wrong view. This is called bad character.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, pāpadhammena pāpadhammataro? Idha bhikkhave, ekacco attanā ca pāṇātipātī hoti, parañca pāṇātipāte samādapeti …pe… attanā ca micchādiṭṭhiko hoti, parañca micchādiṭṭhiyā samādapeti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, pāpadhammena pāpadhammataro.

And who has worse character? It’s someone who kills living creatures, steals, and commits sexual misconduct. They use speech that’s false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical. They’re covetous, malicious, with wrong view. And they encourage others to do these things. This is called worse character.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, kalyāṇadhammo? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco pāṇātipātā paṭivirato hoti …pe… sammādiṭṭhiko hoti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, kalyāṇadhammo.

And who has good character? It’s someone who doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, or commit sexual misconduct. They don’t use speech that’s false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical. And they’re contented, kind-hearted, with right view. This is called good character.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, kalyāṇadhammena kalyāṇadhammataro? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco attanā ca pāṇātipātā paṭivirato hoti, parañca pāṇātipātā veramaṇiyā samādapeti …pe… attanā ca sammādiṭṭhiko hoti, parañca sammādiṭṭhiyā samādapeti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, kalyāṇadhammena kalyāṇadhammataro”ti.

And who has better character? It’s someone who doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, or commit sexual misconduct. They don’t use speech that’s false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical. They’re contented, kind-hearted, with right view. And they encourage others to do these things. This is called better character.”