My greatest inspirations from the canon usually come from simple and uncanny teachings on ethics, concerning everyday life, everyday experience. To give the most basic example, itâs in SN 3.18 Kalyanamitta Sutta, where Ananda tells Buddha that âGood friendship is half of the holy lifeâ, and Buddha corrects him by saying:
Not so, Änanda! Not so, Änanda! Good friends, companions, and associates are the whole of the spiritual life.
So, what are your favourite examples from the canon praising good ethics in interesting angles?
It would be fantastic if you could post both the sutta, and the relevant sections in small / full quote, instead of just linking it, so that perhaps reading this thread can serve as a Dharma practice in itself.
Dogen, I too ,tire of the debates and theorising and do my best to resist participating as I donât think it assists in my journey to stream entry. I am presently reading the Majjhima suttas as my daily readings so Iâm locked into that for a while. MN60 Apannaka Sutta may not be uncommon but it is a favourite of mine.
âconsider those ascetics and brahmins whose view is that there is meaning in giving, etc. You can expect that they will reject bad conduct by way of body, speech, and mind, and undertake and implement good conduct by way of body, speech, and mind. Why is that? Because those ascetics and brahmins see that unskillful qualities are full of drawbacks, sordidness, and corruption, and that skillful qualities have the benefit and cleansing power of renunciation⊠So they give up their former unethical conduct and are established in ethical conduct. And that is how these many skillful qualities come to be with right view as conditionâright view, right thought, right speech, not contradicting the noble ones, persuading others to accept true teachings, and not glorifying oneself or putting others down.â
Iâm not sure how skillful it is but early on I regarded it as an each way bet kinda sutta.
Metta to all!
Hi Dogen Iâm not sure how uncommon this is, but a sutta that sprang to mind after reading this post is the DÄna Sutta Iti 26, about giving:
Mendicants, if sentient beings only knew, as I do, the fruit of giving and sharing, they would not eat without first giving, and the stain of stinginess would not occupy their minds. They would not eat without sharing even their last mouthful, their last morsel, so long as there was someone to receive it.
This sutta is inspirational and guiding to me, and quite succinct too.
I like AN 10.2âs emphasis on the natural progression of the path, starting with virtue.
(1)â(2) âBhikkhus, for a virtuous person, one whose behavior is virtuous, no volition need be exerted: âLet non-regret arise in me.â It is natural that non-regret arises in a virtuous person, one whose behavior is virtuous.
AN 4.61 is a nice sutta which is very down-to-earth and addressed to laity. I like the Buddha describing wisdom (paññÄ) in terms of the five hindrances obsessing the mind.
AN 4.32 is also a very underrated list of four qualities for inclusion in community
say that not far from the village there is a deep lake, and the surface of that lake is covered with algae and grass. There is someone who comes near that lake who is very thirsty, suffering greatly from the heat. They take off their clothes, jump into the water, and using their hands to clear away the algae and grass, enjoy bathing and drinking the cool water of the lake. It is the same, friends, with someone whose words are not kind but whose bodily actions are kind. Do not pay attention to that personâs words. Only pay attention to their bodily actions in order to put an end to your anger. Someone who is wise should practice in this way.
Habitually engaging in the following things is a drain on wealth: consuming beer, wine, and liquor intoxicants; roaming the streets at night; frequenting festivals; gambling; bad friends; laziness.
I have read once that advising against roaming the streets at night can only be found in the Buddhaâs teachings, so i hope it meets the criteria of âuncommonâ.
AN 7.7 is a personal favourite. I love the following dialogueâŠ
AN 7.7
Then Ugga the government chief minister went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him,âItâs incredible, sir, itâs amazing! MigÄra of Rohaáča is so rich, so very wealthy.â
âBut Ugga, how rich is he?â
"He has a hundred thousand gold coins, not to mention the silver coins! "
"Well, Ugga, that is wealth, I canât deny it. But fire, water, rulers, thieves, and unloved heirs all take a share of that wealth. There are these seven kinds of wealth that they canât take a share of.What seven? The wealth of faith, ethics, conscience, prudence, learning, generosity, and wisdom. There are these seven kinds of wealth that fire, water, rulers, thieves, and unloved heirs canât take a share of .
Nobody remembers Migara of Rohana. Heck, mostly nobody knows who Carnegie was - even though he was the richest man in America a century ago!
But everyone knows the Buddha. The worldly wealth has long been lost⊠but the Teaching has survived.
One of my favourites, especially when the going gets tough, is MN8 Sallekhasutta. When it feels like the world is drowning in unwholesome and unskilful qualities, reading this just makes me happy and calm.. nothing has changed even from the time of the Buddha. But knowing the Dhamma, we have a clear Path to ease and the end of Samsara. All we have to do is keep moving forward, little step by little step
here are 2 short excerpts.
2 Cunda, I say that even giving rise to the thought of skillful qualities is very helpful, let alone following that path in body and speech. âOthers will be cruel, but here we will not be cruel.â âOthers will kill living creatures, but here we will not kill living creatures.â ⊠âOthers will be attached to their own views, holding them tight, and refusing to let go, but here we will not be attached to our own views, not holding them tight, but will let them go easily.â
4 Cunda, all unskillful qualities lead downwards, while all skillful qualities lead upwards. In the same way, a cruel individual is led upwards by not being cruel. An individual who kills is led upwards by not killing ⊠An individual who is attached to their own views, holding them tight, and refusing to let go, is led upwards by not being attached to their own views, not holding them tight, but letting them go easily.
"And as I remained thus heedful, ardent, & resolute, thinking imbued with harmlessness arose in me. I discerned that âThinking imbued with harmlessness has arisen in me; and that leads neither to my own affliction, nor to the affliction of others, nor to the affliction of both. It fosters discernment, promotes lack of vexation, & leads to Unbinding. If I were to think & ponder in line with that even for a night⊠even for a day⊠even for a day & night, I do not envision any danger that would come from it, except that thinking & pondering a long time would tire the body. When the body is tired, the mind is disturbed; and a disturbed mind is far from concentration.â So I steadied my mind right within, settled, unified, & concentrated it. Why is that? So that my mind would not be disturbed.
The Kesisutta AN4:111 is one of my favourites. Here we see the Buddha ghosted a stubborn person, unworthy of training. Itâs definitely unusual.
âSir, what do you do with a person in training who doesnât follow these forms of training?â
âIn that case, Kesi, I kill them.â
âSir, itâs not appropriate for the Buddha to kill living creatures. And yet you say you kill them.â
âItâs true, Kesi, itâs not appropriate for a Realized One to kill living creatures. But when a person in training doesnât follow any of these forms of training, the Realized One doesnât think theyâre worth advising or instructing, and neither do their sensible spiritual companions. For it is killing in the training of the Noble One when the Realized One doesnât think theyâre worth advising or instructing, and neither do their sensible spiritual companions.â
âWell, theyâre definitely dead when the Realized One doesnât think theyâre worth advising or instructing, and neither do their sensible spiritual companions. Excellent, sir! ⊠From this day forth, may the Buddha remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.â
In the spiritual path, sadly, I met people I would rather walk away and burn bridge. My spiritual path has been better ever since.
Another sutta that in line with my theme is the famous âThe Horned Rhinoâ
Having said that, I am deeply grateful for all the wonderful spiritual companions and teachers I have the blessing to meet over the years!
Iâm not sure how uncommon this is, but a sutta that sprang to mind after reading this post is the DÄna Sutta Iti 26, about giving: