Itivuttaka 33

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Endowed with two things, monks, a person–as if carried off–is thus placed in heaven. Which two? Auspicious habits & auspicious views. Endowed with these two things, a person–as if carried off–is thus placed in heaven.”

Auspicious habits & auspicious views: a person, discerning, endowed with these two things, at the break-up of the body reappears in heaven.

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Itivuttaka 32

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Endowed with two things, monks, a person–as if carried off–is thus placed in hell. Which two? Evil habits & evil views. Endowed with these two things, a person–as if carried off–is thus placed in hell.”

Evil habits & evil views:1 a person, undiscerning, endowed with these two things, at the break-up of the body reappears in hell.

Note

1. MN 22 gives the following example of an evil view: “As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, those acts the Blessed One says are obstructive, when indulged in, are not genuine obstructions.” MN 38 gives another example: “As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, it is just this consciousness that runs and wanders on [from birth to birth], not another.”

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Itivuttaka 29

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Endowed with two things, monks, a monk lives in ease in the present life–untroubled, undistressed, & unfeverish–and at the break-up of the body, after death, a good destination can be expected. Which two? A guarding of the doors of the sense faculties, and knowing moderation in food. Endowed with these two things, a monk lives in ease in the present life–untroubled, undistressed, & unfeverish–and at the break-up of the body, after death, a good destination can be expected.”

Eye & ear & nose, tongue, body, & mind: when a monk has these doors well guarded –knowing moderation in food, restraining his senses– he experiences ease: ease in body, ease in mind. Not burning in body, not burning in mind, whether by day or by night, one like this lives in ease.

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Itivuttaka 28

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Endowed with two things, monks, a monk lives in stress in the present life–troubled, distressed, & feverish–and at the break-up of the body, after death, a bad destination can be expected. Which two? A lack of guarding of the doors of the sense faculties, and knowing no moderation in food. Endowed with these two things, a monk lives in stress in the present life–troubled, distressed, & feverish–and at the break-up of the body, after death, a bad destination can be expected.”

Eye & ear & nose, tongue, body & mind: when a monk leaves these doors unguarded –knowing no moderation in food, not restraining his senses– he experiences stress: stress in body, stress in mind. Burning in body, burning in mind, whether by day or by night, one like this lives in suffering & stress.

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Itivuttaka 27

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, all the grounds for making merit leading to spontaneously arising [in heaven] do not equal one-sixteenth of the awareness-release through good will. Good will–surpassing them–shines, blazes, & dazzles.

“Just as the radiance of all the stars does not equal one-sixteenth of the radiance of the moon, as the moon–surpassing them–shines, blazes, & dazzles, even so, all the grounds for making merit leading to spontaneously arising [in heaven] do not equal one-sixteenth of the awareness-release through good will. Good will–surpassing them–shines, blazes, & dazzles.

“Just as in the last month of the rains, in autumn, when the sky is clear & cloudless, the sun, on ascending the sky, overpowers the space immersed in darkness, shines, blazes, & dazzles, even so, all the grounds for making merit leading to spontaneously arising [in heaven] do not equal one-sixteenth of the awareness-release through good will. Good will–surpassing them–shines, blazes, & dazzles.

“Just as in the last stage of the night the morning star shines, blazes, & dazzles, even so, all the grounds for making merit leading to spontaneously arising [in heaven] do not equal one-sixteenth of the awareness-release through good will. Good will–surpassing them–shines, blazes, & dazzles.”

When one develops–mindful– good will without limit, fetters are worn through, on seeing the ending of acquisitions. If with uncorrupted mind you feel good will for even            one being, you become skilled from that. But a noble one produces a mind of sympathy for all beings, an abundance of merit. Kingly seers, who conquered the earth swarming with beings, went about making sacrifices: the horse sacrifice, human sacrifice, water rites, soma rites, & the “Unobstructed,” but these don’t equal one sixteenth of a well-developed mind of good will– as all the constellations don’t, one sixteenth of the radiance of the moon. One who neither kills nor gets others to kill, neither conquers, nor gets others to conquer, with good will for all beings, has no hostility with anyone at all.

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Itivuttaka 26

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, if beings knew, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would the stain of selfishness overcome their minds. Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared, if there were someone to receive their gift. But because beings do not know, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they eat without having given. The stain of selfishness overcomes their minds.”

If beings knew what the Great Seer said, how the result of sharing has such great fruit, then, subduing the stain of selfishness with brightened awareness, they’d give in season to the noble ones, where a gift bears great fruit. Having given food as an offering to those worthy of offerings, many donors, when they pass away from here, the human state, go to heaven. They, having gone there to heaven, rejoice, enjoying sensual pleasures. Unselfish, they partake of the result of sharing.

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Itivuttaka 21

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, there is the case where a certain person is clear-minded. Having encompassed that mind with [my] awareness, I discern, ‘If this person were to die at this instant, then as if he were to be carried off, he would thus be placed in heaven.’ Why is that? Because his mind is clear. It’s because of clear-mindedness that there are cases where some beings–at the break-up of the body, after death–reappear in a heavenly world.”

Knowing the case of a clear-minded person, the One Awakened explained its meaning in the presence of the monks. If that person were to die at this instant, he’d reappear in heaven because his mind is clear– as if he were carried off and placed there. It’s because of clear-mindedness that beings go to a good destination.

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Itivuttaka 20

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, there is the case where a certain person is corrupt-minded. Having encompassed that mind with [my] awareness, I discern, ‘If this person were to die at this instant, then as if he were to be carried off, he would thus be placed in hell.’ Why is that? Because his mind is corrupt. It’s because of corrupt-mindedness that there are cases where beings–at the break-up of the body, after death–reappear in a plane of deprivation, a bad destination, a lower realm, hell.”

Knowing the case of a corrupt-minded person, the One Awakened explained its meaning in the presence of the monks. If that person were to die at this instant, he’d reappear in hell because his mind is corrupt– as if he were carried off and placed there. It’s because of corrupt-mindedness that beings go to a bad destination.

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Ud 4:1 Meghiya (Meghiya Sutta)

Emerging from his seclusion in the late afternoon, he went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One, “Just now, while I was staying in the mango grove, I was for the most part assailed by three kinds of unskillful thoughts: thoughts of sensuality, thoughts of ill will, and thoughts of doing harm. The thought occurred to me: ‘How amazing! How astounding! Even though it was through faith that I went forth from home to the homeless life, still I am overpowered by these three kinds of unskillful thoughts: thoughts of sensuality, thoughts of ill will, and thoughts of doing harm.’”

“Meghiya, in one whose awareness-release is still immature, five qualities bring it to maturity. Which five?

“There is the case where a monk has admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues. In one whose awareness-release is still immature, this is the first quality that brings it to maturity.

“Furthermore, the monk is virtuous. He dwells restrained in accordance with the Pāṭimokkha, consummate in his behavior & range of activity. He trains himself, having undertaken the training rules, seeing danger in the slightest faults. In one whose awareness-release is still immature, this is the second quality that brings it to maturity.

“Furthermore, he gets to hear at will, easily and without difficulty, talk that is truly sobering and conducive to the opening of awareness, i.e., talk on modesty, contentment, seclusion, non-entanglement, arousing persistence, virtue, concentration, discernment, release, and the knowledge & vision of release. In one whose awareness-release is still immature, this is the third quality that brings it to maturity.

“Furthermore, he keeps his persistence aroused for abandoning unskillful [mental] qualities and for taking on skillful qualities. He is steadfast, solid in his effort, not shirking his duties with regard to skillful qualities. In one whose awareness-release is still immature, this is the fourth quality that brings it to maturity.

“Furthermore, he is discerning, endowed with the discernment related to arising & passing away–noble, penetrating, leading to the right ending of stress. In one whose awareness-release is still immature, this is the fifth quality that brings it to maturity.

“Meghiya, in one whose awareness-release is still immature, these are the five qualities that bring it to maturity.

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Itivuttaka 17

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, with regard to external factors, I don’t envision any other single factor like friendship with admirable people1 as doing so much for a monk in training, who has not attained the heart’s goal but remains intent on the unsurpassed safety from bondage. A monk who is a friend with admirable people abandons what is unskillful and develops what is skillful.”

A monk who’s a friend
to admirable people
–who’s reverential, respectful,
doing what his friends advise–
mindful, alert,
attains step by step
the ending of all fetters.

Note

1. In SN 45:2 the Buddha says, “Having admirable people (kalyāṇa-mitta) as friends, companions, and colleagues is actually the whole of the holy life. When a monk has admirable people as friends, companions, and colleagues, he may be expected to develop and pursue the noble eightfold path.… It’s in dependence on me as an admirable friend that beings subject to birth have gained release from birth… aging… death… sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair.”

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