[506] On one occasion the Venerable Nandaka was dwelling at Sāvatthī, in the Eastern Park, in the mansion of Migāra's mother. Then Sāḷha, Migāra's grandson, and Rohana, Pekhuṇiya's grandson, approached the Venerable Nandaka; having approached, they paid homage to the Venerable Nandaka and sat down to one side. As Sāḷha, Migāra's grandson, was seated to one side, the Venerable Nandaka said this to him:
"Come, Sāḷhas, do not go by oral tradition, by lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by scriptural collections, by logic, by inference, by reasoned reflection, by acceptance of a view after consideration, by the seeming competence of a speaker, or because you think 'the ascetic is our teacher.' When, Sāḷhas, you know for yourselves: 'These dhammas are unwholesome; these dhammas are blameworthy; these dhammas are censured by the wise; these dhammas, when accepted and undertaken, lead to harm and to suffering (dukkha)' — then, Sāḷhas, you should abandon them.
"What do you think, Sāḷhas — is there greed (lobha)?" — "Yes, venerable sir." — "Covetousness (abhijjhā), Sāḷhas, is what I say this means. A greedy person, covetous, destroys life, takes what is not given, goes to another's wife, speaks falsehood, and encourages others to do likewise — which leads to his harm and suffering for a long time." — "Yes, venerable sir."
"What do you think, Sāḷhas — is there hatred (dosa)?" — "Yes, venerable sir." — "Ill will (byāpāda), Sāḷhas, is what I say this means. A hating person, with a mind of ill will, destroys life, takes what is not given, goes to another's wife, speaks falsehood, and encourages others to do likewise — which leads to his harm and suffering for a long time." — "Yes, venerable sir."
"What do you think, Sāḷhas — is there delusion (moha)?" — "Yes, venerable sir." — "Ignorance (avijjā), Sāḷhas, is what I say this means. A deluded person, sunk in ignorance, destroys life, takes what is not given, goes to another's wife, speaks falsehood, and encourages others to do likewise — which leads to his harm and suffering for a long time." — "Yes, venerable sir."
"What do you think, Sāḷhas — are these dhammas wholesome or unwholesome?" — "Unwholesome, venerable sir." — "Blameworthy or blameless?" — "Blameworthy, venerable sir." — "Censured by the wise or praised by the wise?" — "Censured by the wise, venerable sir." — "When accepted and undertaken, do they lead to harm and to suffering, or not — or how does it strike you here?" — "When accepted and undertaken, venerable sir, they lead to harm and to suffering. So it appears to us here."
"Thus, Sāḷhas, when we said: 'Come, Sāḷhas, do not go by oral tradition, by lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by scriptural collections, by logic, by inference, by reasoned reflection, by acceptance of a view after consideration, by the seeming competence of a speaker, or because you think "the ascetic is our teacher." When, Sāḷhas, you know for yourselves: "These dhammas are unwholesome; these dhammas are blameworthy; these dhammas are censured by the wise; these dhammas, when accepted and undertaken, lead to harm and to suffering" — then, Sāḷhas, you should abandon them' — it was because of this that this was said.
"Come, Sāḷhas, do not go by oral tradition, by lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by scriptural collections, by logic, by inference, by reasoned reflection, by acceptance of a view after consideration, by the seeming competence of a speaker, or because you think 'the ascetic is our teacher.' When, Sāḷhas, you know for yourselves: 'These dhammas are wholesome; these dhammas are blameless; these dhammas are praised by the wise; these dhammas, when accepted and undertaken, lead to welfare and to happiness' — then, Sāḷhas, you should enter upon and dwell in them.
"What do you think, Sāḷhas — is there non-greed?" — "Yes, venerable sir." — "Non-covetousness (anabhijjhā), Sāḷhas, is what I say this means. An ungreedy person, not covetous, does not destroy life, does not take what is not given, does not go to another's wife, does not speak falsehood, and encourages others to do likewise — which leads to his welfare and happiness for a long time." — "Yes, venerable sir."
"What do you think, Sāḷhas — is there non-hatred?" — "Yes, venerable sir." — "Non-ill will (abyāpāda), Sāḷhas, is what I say this means. An unhating person, with a mind free of ill will, does not destroy life, does not take what is not given, does not go to another's wife, does not speak falsehood, and encourages others to do likewise — which leads to his welfare and happiness for a long time." — "Yes, venerable sir."
"What do you think, Sāḷhas — is there non-delusion?" — "Yes, venerable sir." — "True knowledge (vijjā), Sāḷhas, is what I say this means. An undeluded person, arrived at true knowledge, does not destroy life, does not take what is not given, does not go to another's wife, does not speak falsehood, and encourages others to do likewise — which leads to his welfare and happiness for a long time." — "Yes, venerable sir."
"What do you think, Sāḷhas — are these dhammas wholesome or unwholesome?" — "Wholesome, venerable sir." — "Blameworthy or blameless?" — "Blameless, venerable sir." — "Censured by the wise or praised by the wise?" — "Praised by the wise, venerable sir." — "When accepted and undertaken, do they lead to welfare and to happiness, or not — or how does it strike you here?" — "When accepted and undertaken, venerable sir, they lead to welfare and to happiness. So it appears to us here."
"Thus, Sāḷhas, when we said: 'Come, Sāḷhas, do not go by oral tradition, by lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by scriptural collections, by logic, by inference, by reasoned reflection, by acceptance of a view after consideration, by the seeming competence of a speaker, or because you think "the ascetic is our teacher." When, Sāḷhas, you know for yourselves: "These dhammas are wholesome; these dhammas are blameless; these dhammas are praised by the wise; these dhammas, when accepted and undertaken, lead to welfare and to happiness" — then, Sāḷhas, you should enter upon and dwell in them' — it was because of this that this was said.
"That noble disciple, Sāḷhas, thus rid of covetousness, rid of ill will, undeluded, clearly comprehending, mindful, dwells pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with loving-kindness (mettā), likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; thus above, below, across, everywhere, to all as to himself, the entire world … with a mind imbued with compassion (karuṇā) … with a mind imbued with altruistic joy (muditā) … he dwells pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with equanimity (upekkhā), likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; thus above, below, across, everywhere, to all as to himself, he dwells pervading the entire world with a mind imbued with equanimity — abundant, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill will.
"He understands thus: 'There is this; there is the inferior; there is the superior; and there is an escape beyond this whole field of perception.' As he knows thus and sees thus, his mind (citta) is liberated from the taint (āsava) of sensuality, his mind is liberated from the taint of existence, his mind is liberated from the taint of ignorance. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge (ñāṇa): 'It is liberated.' He understands: 'Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more of this state of being.'
"He understands thus: 'Formerly there was greed; that was unwholesome. Now it exists no more; thus this is wholesome. Formerly there was hatred … Formerly there was delusion; that was unwholesome. Now it exists no more; thus this is wholesome.' Thus in this very life he dwells hungerless, quenched, grown cool, experiencing happiness, having himself become divine (brahmabhūta)."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.