[450] What eight dhammas are hard to penetrate? The eight inopportune moments (akkhaṇā), wrong occasions (asamayā) for living the holy life (brahmacariya). Here, friends, a Tathāgata has arisen in the world, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One, and the Dhamma is taught—conducing to peace, conducing to final Nibbāna (parinibbāna), leading to enlightenment, proclaimed by the Sugata—but this person has been reborn in hell (niraya). This is the first inopportune moment, the first wrong occasion for living the holy life.
Again, friends, a Tathāgata has arisen in the world, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One, and the Dhamma is taught—conducing to peace, conducing to final Nibbāna, leading to enlightenment, proclaimed by the Sugata—but this person has been reborn in the animal womb (tiracchānayoni). This is the second inopportune moment, the second wrong occasion for living the holy life.
Again, friends, a Tathāgata has arisen in the world, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One, and the Dhamma is taught—conducing to peace, conducing to final Nibbāna, leading to enlightenment, proclaimed by the Sugata—but this person has been reborn in the realm of ghosts (pittivisaya). This is the third inopportune moment, the third wrong occasion for living the holy life.
Again, friends, a Tathāgata has arisen in the world, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One, and the Dhamma is taught—conducing to peace … but this person has been reborn in a certain long-lived order of gods. This is the fourth inopportune moment, the fourth wrong occasion for living the holy life.
Again, friends, a Tathāgata has arisen in the world, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One, and the Dhamma is taught … but this person has been reborn in the border regions, among uncomprehending barbarians (milakkha), where there is no resort of bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, laymen, or laywomen. This is the fifth inopportune moment, the fifth wrong occasion for living the holy life.
Again, friends, a Tathāgata has arisen in the world, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One … and this person has been reborn in the middle regions, but he holds wrong view, seeing distortedly: "There is nothing given, nothing offered, nothing sacrificed; there is no fruit or result of deeds well done or ill done; there is no this world, no other world; there is no mother, no father; there are no spontaneously reborn beings (opapātika); there are in the world no ascetics and brahmins who have gone rightly and practiced rightly, who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make it known." This is the sixth inopportune moment, the sixth wrong occasion for living the holy life.
Again, friends, a Tathāgata has arisen in the world, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One … and this person has been reborn in the middle regions, but he is witless, dull, mute (elamūga), unable to understand the meaning of what is well spoken and ill spoken. This is the seventh inopportune moment, the seventh wrong occasion for living the holy life.
Again, friends, a Tathāgata has not arisen in the world, an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One, and the Dhamma is not taught—conducing to peace, conducing to final Nibbāna, leading to enlightenment, proclaimed by the Sugata—but this person has been reborn in the middle regions, and he is wise, not dull, not mute, able to understand the meaning of what is well spoken and ill spoken. This is the eighth inopportune moment, the eighth wrong occasion for living the holy life.
These are the eight dhammas hard to penetrate.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.