Aṭṭhakanipāta 71

Numbered Discourses 8.71

8. Pairs

Inspiring All Around (1st)

1 “Mendicants, a mendicant is faithful but not ethical. So they’re incomplete in that respect, and should fulfill it, thinking: ‘How can I become faithful and ethical?’ When the mendicant is faithful and ethical, they’re complete in that respect.

2 A mendicant is faithful and ethical, but not learned. So they’re incomplete in that respect, and should fulfill it, thinking: ‘How can I become faithful, ethical, and learned?’ When the mendicant is faithful, ethical, and learned, they’re complete in that respect.

3 A mendicant is faithful, ethical, and learned, but not a Dhamma speaker. … they don’t frequent assemblies … they don’t teach Dhamma to the assembly with assurance … they don’t get the four absorptions—blissful meditations in this life that belong to the higher mind—when they want, without trouble or difficulty … they don’t realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom, and live having realized it with their own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements. So they’re incomplete in that respect, and should fulfill it, thinking: ‘How can I become faithful, ethical, and learned, a Dhamma speaker, one who frequents assemblies, one who teaches Dhamma to the assembly with assurance, one who gets the four absorptions when they want, and one who lives having realized the ending of defilements?’

4 When they’re faithful, ethical, and learned, a Dhamma speaker, one who frequents assemblies, one who teaches Dhamma to the assembly with assurance, one who gets the four absorptions when they want, and one who lives having realized the ending of defilements, they’re complete in that respect. A mendicant who possesses these eight qualities is impressive all around, and is complete in every respect.”