[121] "Bhikkhus, there are these four fears (bhaya). What four? The fear of self-reproach (attānuvādabhaya), the fear of reproach by others (parānuvādabhaya), the fear of punishment (daṇḍabhaya), and the fear of a bad destination (duggatibhaya).
"And what, bhikkhus, is the fear of self-reproach? Here, bhikkhus, someone reflects thus: 'If I were to engage in misconduct by body, engage in misconduct by speech, engage in misconduct by mind, how would my own self not reproach me with regard to virtue?' Afraid of the fear of self-reproach, he abandons misconduct by body and develops good conduct by body; he abandons misconduct by speech and develops good conduct by speech; he abandons misconduct by mind and develops good conduct by mind; he maintains himself in purity. This, bhikkhus, is called the fear of self-reproach.
"And what, bhikkhus, is the fear of reproach by others? Here, bhikkhus, someone reflects thus: 'If I were to engage in misconduct by body, engage in misconduct by speech, engage in misconduct by mind, how would others not reproach me with regard to virtue?' Afraid of the fear of reproach by others, he abandons misconduct by body and develops good conduct by body; he abandons misconduct by speech and develops good conduct by speech; he abandons misconduct by mind and develops good conduct by mind; he maintains himself in purity. This, bhikkhus, is called the fear of reproach by others.
"And what, bhikkhus, is the fear of punishment? Here, bhikkhus, someone sees that when kings have arrested a thief, a wrongdoer, they inflict on him various punishments: they have him flogged with whips, beaten with canes, beaten with cudgels; they have his hand cut off, his foot cut off, his hand and foot cut off, his ear cut off, his nose cut off, his ear and nose cut off; they have him subjected to the 'porridge pot,' to the 'polished-shell shave,' to the 'Rāhu's mouth,' to the 'fiery garland,' to the 'flaming hand,' to the 'blades of grass,' to the 'bark dress,' to the 'antelope,' to the 'meat hooks,' to the 'coins,' to the 'lye pickling,' to the 'pivoting pin,' to the 'rolled-up straw mat'; they have him doused with boiling oil, devoured by dogs, impaled alive on a stake, and his head cut off with a sword. It occurs to him: 'It is on account of such evil deeds that when kings have arrested a thief, a wrongdoer, they inflict on him various punishments: they flog him with whips … they cut off his head with a sword. If I were to do such an evil deed, the kings would arrest me too and inflict on me such various punishments: they would flog me with whips … they would cut off my head with a sword.' Afraid of the fear of punishment, he does not go about plundering the belongings of others. This, bhikkhus, is called the fear of punishment.
"And what, bhikkhus, is the fear of a bad destination? Here, bhikkhus, someone reflects thus: 'Misconduct by body has an evil result in the life to come; misconduct by speech has an evil result in the life to come; misconduct by mind has an evil result in the life to come. If I were to engage in misconduct by body, engage in misconduct by speech, engage in misconduct by mind, what of that, by which, with the breaking up of the body, after death, I would be reborn in a state of loss, a bad destination, the lower realm, hell?' Afraid of the fear of a bad destination, he abandons misconduct by body and develops good conduct by body; he abandons misconduct by speech and develops good conduct by speech; he abandons misconduct by mind and develops good conduct by mind; he maintains himself in purity. This, bhikkhus, is called the fear of a bad destination.
"These, bhikkhus, are the four fears."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.