Chakkanipāta 79

Numbered Discourses 6.79

8. Perfection

Achievement

1 “Mendicants, a mendicant who has six qualities is unable to acquire more skillful qualities or to increase the skillful qualities they’ve already acquired. What six? It’s when a mendicant is not skilled in progress, skilled in regress, or skilled in means. They don’t generate enthusiasm to achieve skillful qualities not yet achieved. They don’t protect skillful qualities they have achieved. And they don’t try to persist in the task. A mendicant who possesses these six qualities is unable to acquire more skillful qualities or to increase the skillful qualities they’ve already acquired.

2 A mendicant who has six qualities is able to acquire more skillful qualities or to increase the skillful qualities they’ve already acquired. What six? It’s when a mendicant is skilled in progress, skilled in regress, and skilled in means. They generate enthusiasm to achieve skillful qualities not yet achieved. They protect skillful qualities they have achieved. And they try to persist in the task. A mendicant who possesses these six qualities is able to acquire more skillful qualities or to increase the skillful qualities they’ve already acquired.”