The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - Bhikkhu Nanamoli [441]
42. “‘Almsfood is of two kinds, I say’…
43. “‘Resting places are of two kinds, I say’…
44. “‘Villages are of two kinds, I say’…
45. “‘Towns are of two kinds, I say’…
46. “‘Cities are of two kinds, I say’…
47. “‘Districts are of two kinds, I say’…
48. “‘Persons are of two kinds, I say: to be cultivated and not to be cultivated.’ So it was said by the Blessed One. And with reference to what was this said?
“Venerable sir, [association with] such persons as causes unwholesome states to increase and wholesome states to diminish in one who cultivates it should not be cultivated. But [association with] such persons as causes unwholesome states to diminish and wholesome states to increase in one who cultivates it should be cultivated.
“So it was with reference to this that it was said by the Blessed One: ‘Persons are of two kinds, I say: to be cultivated and not to be cultivated.’
49. “Venerable sir, I understand the detailed meaning of the Blessed One’s utterance, which he has spoken in brief without expounding the detailed meaning, to be thus.”
(THIRD APPROVAL AND RECAPITULATION)
50. “Good, good, Sāriputta! It is good that you understand the detailed meaning of my utterance, which I spoke in brief without expounding the detailed meaning, to be thus.
51–58. (In these paragraphs the Buddha repeats verbatim §§41–48 with the necessary substitutions.) [60]
59. “Sāriputta, the detailed meaning of my utterance, which I spoke in brief, should be regarded thus.
(CONCLUSION)
60. “Sāriputta, if all nobles understood thus the detailed meaning of my utterance, which I spoke in brief, it would lead to their welfare and happiness for a long time.1076 If all brahmins…all merchants…all workers understood thus the meaning of my utterance, which I spoke in brief, it would lead to their welfare and happiness for a long time. If the world with its gods, its Māras, and its Brahmās, this generation with its recluses and brahmins, its princes and its people, understood thus the detailed meaning of my utterance, which I spoke in brief, it would lead to the welfare and happiness of the world for a long time.” [61]
That is what the Blessed One said. The venerable Sāriputta was satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
Bahudhātuka Sutta
The Many Kinds of Elements
1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus.”—“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Blessed One said this:
2. “Bhikkhus, whatever fears arise, all arise because of the fool, not because of the wise man; whatever troubles arise, all arise because of the fool, not because of the wise man; whatever calamities arise, all arise because of the fool, not because of the wise man. Just as a fire that starts in a shed made of rushes or grass burns down even houses with peaked roofs, with walls plastered inside and outside, shut off, secured by bars, with shuttered windows; so too, bhikkhus, whatever fears arise…all arise because of the fool, not because of the wise man. Thus the fool brings fear, the wise man brings no fear; the fool brings trouble, the wise man brings no trouble; the fool brings calamity, the wise man brings no calamity. No fear comes from the wise man, no trouble comes from the wise man, no calamity comes from the wise man. Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train thus: ‘We shall be wise men, we shall be inquirers.’” [62]
3. When this was said, the venerable ̄nanda asked the Blessed One: “In what way, venerable sir, can a bhikkhu be called a wise man and an inquirer?”
“When, Ānanda, a bhikkhu is skilled in the elements, skilled in the bases, skilled in dependent origination, skilled in what is possible and what is impossible, in that way he can be called a wise man and an inquirer.”
(THE ELEMENTS)
4. “But, venerable sir, in what way can a bhikkhu be called skilled in the elements?”