AN 8.78

Alaṁsutta

Tatra kho āyasmā sāriputto bhikkhū āmantesi …pe… chahāvuso, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, alaṁ paresaṁ. Katamehi chahi? Idhāvuso, bhikkhu khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno ca hoti; kalyāṇavāco ca hoti kalyāṇavākkaraṇo, poriyā vācāya samannāgato vissaṭṭhāya anelagaḷāya atthassa viññāpaniyā; sandassako ca hoti samādapako samuttejako sampahaṁsako sabrahmacārīnaṁ. Imehi kho, āvuso, chahi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, alaṁ paresaṁ.

Good Enough

There Sāriputta addressed the mendicants: “Reverends, a mendicant with six qualities is good enough for themselves and others. What six? A mendicant is quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice in line with the teaching. They’re a good speaker who enunciates well. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning. They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A mendicant with these six qualities is good enough for themselves and others.

Pañcahāvuso, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, alaṁ paresaṁ. Katamehi pañcahi? Idhāvuso, bhikkhu na heva kho khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno ca hoti; kalyāṇavāco ca hoti …pe… sandassako ca hoti …pe… sabrahmacārīnaṁ. Imehi kho, āvuso, pañcahi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, alaṁ paresaṁ.

A mendicant with five qualities is good enough for themselves and others. What five? A mendicant is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice in line with the teaching. They’re a good speaker. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning. They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A mendicant with these five qualities is good enough for themselves and others.

Catūhāvuso, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, nālaṁ paresaṁ. Katamehi catūhi? Idhāvuso, bhikkhu khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno ca hoti; no ca kalyāṇavāco hoti …pe… no ca sandassako hoti …pe… sabrahmacārīnaṁ. Imehi kho, āvuso, catūhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, nālaṁ paresaṁ.

A mendicant with four qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others. What four? A mendicant is quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice in line with the teaching. They’re not a good speaker. Their voice isn’t polished, clear, articulate, and doesn’t express the meaning. They don’t educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A mendicant with these four qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.

Catūhāvuso, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ, nālaṁ attano. Katamehi catūhi? Idhāvuso, bhikkhu khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; no ca dhātānaṁ dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; no ca atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno hoti; kalyāṇavāco ca hoti …pe… sandassako ca hoti …pe… sabrahmacārīnaṁ. Imehi kho, āvuso, catūhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ, nālaṁ attano.

A mendicant with four qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves. What four? A mendicant is quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. But they don’t examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Not understanding the meaning and the teaching, they don’t practice in line with the teaching. They’re a good speaker. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning. They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A mendicant with these four qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.

Tīhāvuso, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, nālaṁ paresaṁ. Katamehi tīhi? Idhāvuso, bhikkhu na heva kho khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno ca hoti; no ca kalyāṇavāco hoti …pe… no ca sandassako hoti …pe… sabrahmacārīnaṁ. Imehi kho, āvuso, tīhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, nālaṁ paresaṁ.

A mendicant with three qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others. What three? A mendicant is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice in line with the teaching. They’re not a good speaker. Their voice isn’t polished, clear, articulate, and doesn’t express the meaning. They don’t educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A mendicant with these three qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.

Tīhāvuso, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ, nālaṁ attano. Katamehi tīhi? Idhāvuso, bhikkhu na heva kho khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; no ca dhātānaṁ dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; no ca atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno hoti; kalyāṇavāco ca hoti …pe… atthassa viññāpaniyā, sandassako ca hoti …pe… sabrahmacārīnaṁ. Imehi kho, āvuso, tīhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ, nālaṁ attano.

A mendicant with three qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves. What three? A mendicant is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. But they don’t examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Not understanding the meaning and the teaching, they don’t practice in line with the teaching. They’re a good speaker. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning. They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A mendicant with these three qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.

Dvīhāvuso, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, nālaṁ paresaṁ. Katamehi dvīhi? Idhāvuso, bhikkhu na heva kho khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; no ca sutānaṁ dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno ca hoti; no ca kalyāṇavāco hoti …pe… no ca sandassako hoti …pe… sabrahmacārīnaṁ. Imehi kho, āvuso, dvīhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, nālaṁ paresaṁ.

A mendicant with two qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others. What two? A mendicant is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. And they don’t readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice in line with the teaching. They’re not a good speaker. Their voice isn’t polished, clear, articulate, and doesn’t express the meaning. They don’t educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A mendicant with these two qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.

Dvīhāvuso, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ, nālaṁ attano. Katamehi dvīhi? Idhāvuso, bhikkhu na heva kho khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; no ca sutānaṁ dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; no ca dhātānaṁ dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; no ca atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno hoti; kalyāṇavāco ca hoti kalyāṇavākkaraṇo, poriyā vācāya samannāgato vissaṭṭhāya anelagaḷāya atthassa viññāpaniyā; sandassako ca hoti samādapako samuttejako sampahaṁsako sabrahmacārīnaṁ. Imehi kho, āvuso, dvīhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ, nālaṁ attano”ti.

A mendicant with two qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves. What two? A mendicant is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings. And they don’t readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard. Nor do they examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized. Not understanding the meaning and the teaching, they don’t practice in line with the teaching. They’re a good speaker who enunciates well. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning. They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions. A mendicant with these two qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.”