[211] There Venerable Sāriputta addressed the bhikkhus: "Friends, bhikkhus!" "Friend," those bhikkhus replied to Venerable Sāriputta. Venerable Sāriputta said this:
"Friends, for one who is immoral, whose virtue (sīla) is corrupted, non-regret (avippaṭisāra) is deprived of its proximate cause (upanisā); when there is no non-regret, for one whose non-regret is corrupted, gladness (pāmujja) is deprived of its proximate cause; when there is no gladness, for one whose gladness is corrupted, rapture (pīti) is deprived of its proximate cause; when there is no rapture, for one whose rapture is corrupted, tranquility (passaddhi) is deprived of its proximate cause; when there is no tranquility, for one whose tranquility is corrupted, happiness (sukha) is deprived of its proximate cause; when there is no happiness, for one whose happiness is corrupted, right concentration (sammāsamādhi) is deprived of its proximate cause; when there is no right concentration, for one whose right concentration is corrupted, knowledge (ñāṇa) and vision of things as they really are (yathābhūtañāṇadassana) is deprived of its proximate cause; when there is no knowledge and vision of things as they really are, for one whose knowledge and vision of things as they really are is corrupted, disenchantment (nibbidā) is deprived of its proximate cause; when there is no disenchantment, for one whose disenchantment is corrupted, dispassion (virāga) is deprived of its proximate cause; when there is no dispassion, for one whose dispassion is corrupted, the knowledge and vision of liberation (vimuttiñāṇadassana) is deprived of its proximate cause.
"Suppose, friends, there were a tree deprived of branches and foliage: its shoots do not grow to fullness, and its bark, its softwood, and its heartwood do not grow to fullness. Even so, friends, for one who is immoral, whose virtue is corrupted, non-regret is deprived of its proximate cause; when there is no non-regret, for one whose non-regret is corrupted, gladness is deprived of its proximate cause … the knowledge and vision of liberation.
"Friends, for one who is virtuous, accomplished in virtue, non-regret possesses its proximate cause; when there is non-regret, for one accomplished in non-regret, gladness possesses its proximate cause; when there is gladness, for one accomplished in gladness, rapture possesses its proximate cause; when there is rapture, for one accomplished in rapture, tranquility possesses its proximate cause; when there is tranquility, for one accomplished in tranquility, happiness possesses its proximate cause; when there is happiness, for one accomplished in happiness, right concentration possesses its proximate cause; when there is right concentration, for one accomplished in right concentration, knowledge and vision of things as they really are possesses its proximate cause; when there is knowledge and vision of things as they really are, for one accomplished in knowledge and vision of things as they really are, disenchantment possesses its proximate cause; when there is disenchantment, for one accomplished in disenchantment, dispassion possesses its proximate cause; when there is dispassion, for one accomplished in dispassion, the knowledge and vision of liberation possesses its proximate cause.
"Suppose, friends, there were a tree endowed with branches and foliage: its shoots grow to fullness, and its bark, its softwood, and its heartwood grow to fullness. Even so, friends, for one who is virtuous, accomplished in virtue, non-regret possesses its proximate cause; when there is non-regret, for one accomplished in non-regret, gladness possesses its proximate cause … the knowledge and vision of liberation."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.