Nissarana Noble Sharing

Vitthara Sutta: (Strengths) in Detail

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

© 1998–2011

"Monks, there are these five strengths for one in training. Which five? Strength of conviction, strength of conscience, strength of concern, strength of persistence, & strength of discernment.

"And what is strength of conviction? There is the case where a monk, a disciple of the noble ones, has conviction, is convinced of the Tathagata's Awakening: 'Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy and rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine & human beings, awakened, blessed.' This, monks, is called the strength of conviction.

"And what is the strength of conscience? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones feels shame at [the thought of engaging in] bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, mental misconduct. This is called the strength of conscience.

"And what is the strength of concern? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones feels concern for [the suffering that results from] bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, mental misconduct. This is called the strength of concern.

"And what is the strength of persistence? There is the case where a monk, a disciple of the noble ones, keeps his persistence aroused for abandoning unskillful mental qualities and taking on skillful mental qualities. He is steadfast, solid in his effort, not shirking his duties with regard to skillful mental qualities. This is called the strength of persistence.

"And what is the strength of discernment? There is the case where a monk, a disciple of the noble ones, is discerning, endowed with discernment of arising & passing away — noble, penetrating, leading to the right ending of stress. This is called the strength of discernment.

"These, monks, are the five strengths of one in training. Thus you should train yourselves, 'We will be endowed with the strength of conviction that is the strength of one in training; with the strength of conscience... the strength of concern... the strength of persistence... the strength of discernment that is the strength of one in training.' That's how you should train yourselves."

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.

He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Raga-vinaya Sutta: The Subduing of Passion

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

© 1998–2010

"Monks, these four types of individuals are to be found existing in the world. Which four? The one who practices for his/her own benefit but not for that of others. The one who practices for the benefit of others but not for his/her own. The one who practices neither for his/her own benefit nor for that of others. The one who practices for his/her own benefit and for that of others.

"And who is the individual who practices for his/her own benefit but not for that of others? There is the case where a certain individual practices for the subduing of passion within him/herself but doesn't encourage others in the subduing of passion; practices for the subduing of aversion within him/herself but doesn't encourage others in the subduing of aversion; practices for the subduing of delusion within him/herself but doesn't encourage others in the subduing of delusion. Such is the individual who practices for his/her own benefit but not for that of others.