ຄູ່ມືຮັກສາອຸໂປສົຖ

Then Pañcakaṅga neither approved nor dismissed that mendicant’s statement. He got up from his seat, thinking, “I will learn the meaning of this statement from the Buddha himself.”

Then he went to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and informed the Buddha of all that had been discussed.

When he had spoken, the Buddha said to him, “Master builder, if what Uggāhamāna says is true, a little baby boy is an invincible ascetic—accomplished in the skillful, excelling in the skillful, attained to the highest attainment. For a little baby doesn’t even have a concept of ‘a body’, so how could they possibly do a bad deed with their body, apart from just wriggling? And a little baby doesn’t even have a concept of ‘speech’, so how could they possibly speak bad words, apart from just crying? And a little baby doesn’t even have a concept of ‘thought’, so how could they possibly think bad thoughts, apart from just whimpering? And a little baby doesn’t even have a concept of ‘livelihood’, so how could they possibly earn a living by bad livelihood, apart from their mother’s breast? If what Uggāhamāna says is true, a little baby boy is an invincible ascetic—accomplished in the skillful, excelling in the skillful, attained to the highest attainment.

When an individual has four qualities I describe them, not as an invincible ascetic—accomplished in the skillful, excelling in the skillful, attained to the highest attainment—but as having achieved the same level as a little baby. What four? It’s when they do no bad deeds with their body; speak no bad words; think no bad thoughts; and don’t earn a living by bad livelihood. When an individual has these four qualities I describe them, not as an invincible ascetic, but as having achieved the same level as a little baby.

When an individual has ten qualities, master builder, I describe them as an invincible ascetic—accomplished in the skillful, excelling in the skillful, attained to the highest attainment.

But certain things must first be understood, I say. ‘These are unskillful behaviors.’ ‘Unskillful behaviors stem from this.’ ‘Here unskillful behaviors cease without anything left over.’ ‘Someone practicing like this is practicing for the cessation of unskillful behaviors.’

‘These are skillful behaviors.’ ‘Skillful behaviors stem from this.’ ‘Here skillful behaviors cease without anything left over.’ ‘Someone practicing like this is practicing for the cessation of skillful behaviors.’

‘These are unskillful thoughts.’ ‘Unskillful thoughts stem from this.’ ‘Here unskillful thoughts cease without anything left over.’ ‘Someone practicing like this is practicing for the cessation of unskillful thoughts.’

‘These are skillful thoughts.’ ‘Skillful thoughts stem from this.’ ‘Here skillful thoughts cease without anything left over.’ ‘Someone practicing like this is practicing for the cessation of skillful thoughts.’