[326] "Of what virtue, of what conduct,
fostering what deeds,
would a person be rightly established
and attain the highest goal (uttamattha)?"
"One should be a reverer of one's elders, free from envy;
one should know the right time for seeing one's teachers;
knowing the moment when a Dhamma talk is uttered,
one should listen carefully to well-spoken words.
At the right time one should go into the teachers' presence;
casting off obstinacy (thambha), humble in bearing,
the meaning, the Dhamma, self-restraint (saṃyama), and the holy life (brahmacariya) —
these one should both call to mind and rightly practice.
Taking delight in the Dhamma, rejoicing in the Dhamma,
standing firm in the Dhamma, knowing how to judge the Dhamma,
one should never engage in talk that corrupts the Dhamma,
but should be guided by true, well-spoken words.
Merriment, prattle, lamentation, malice,
deceitful acts, hypocrisy, greed and conceit,
contentiousness (sārambha), harshness, turbidity (kasāva), and infatuation —
abandoning these, one should live rid of intoxication, inwardly steadfast.
Well-spoken words have understanding as their essence;
learning (suta) and understanding have concentration (samādhi) as their essence;
for the person who is rash and heedless,
wisdom (paññā) and learning do not grow.
But those who delight in the Dhamma proclaimed by the noble ones
are unsurpassed in speech, in mind, and in deed;
settled in peace (santi), meekness (soracca), and concentration,
they have attained the essence of learning and of wisdom."
The Kiṃsīla Sutta, the ninth.
In the Suttanipāta, the tenth discourse of the second chapter, the Cūḷavagga: the Uṭṭhāna Sutta.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.