Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā vesāliyaṁ viharati mahāvane kūṭāgārasālāyaṁ. Atha kho mahāpajāpatī gotamī yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṁ ṭhitā kho sā mahāpajāpatī gotamī bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:
Once, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesāli, in the Great Wood, in the Hall with the Peaked Roof. Then Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī approached the Blessed One; having approached, she paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side. Standing to one side, |Mahāpajāpati::Buddha’s foster-mother; first Bhikkhunī [mahāpajāpati]| Gotamī said to the Blessed One:
“Sādhu me, bhante, bhagavā saṅkhittena dhammaṁ desetu, yamahaṁ bhagavato dhammaṁ sutvā ekā vūpakaṭṭhā appamattā ātāpinī pahitattā vihareyyan”ti.
“Please, venerable sir, teach me the Dhamma in brief, so that having heard the Dhamma from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone, diligent, ardent, and resolute.”
Dhamma To Be Abandoned
“Ye kho tvaṁ, gotami, dhamme jāneyyāsi:
“Gotamī, you should know the Dhamma to be abandoned if you find:
1 ‘ime dhammā sarāgāya saṁvattanti, no virāgāya;
1 ‘These teachings lead to |passion::intense desire, strong emotion, infatuation, obsession, lust [rāga]|, not to dispassion;
2 saṁyogāya saṁvattanti, no visaṁyogāya;
2 to |being bound::bondage, fetter, association, attachment, involvement [saṁyoga]|, not to being unbound;
3 ācayāya saṁvattanti, no apacayāya;
3 to |accumulation::increase, growth [ācaya]|, not to reduction;
4 mahicchatāya saṁvattanti, no appicchatāya;
4 to |wanting more::having many desires, greediness [mahicchatā]|, not to wanting less;
5 asantuṭṭhiyā saṁvattanti, no santuṭṭhiyā;
5 to |discontentment::dissatisfaction [asantuṭṭhi]|, not to contentment;
6 saṅgaṇikāya saṁvattanti, no pavivekāya;
6 to |company::socializing, society, association [saṅgaṇikā]|, not to seclusion;
7 kosajjāya saṁvattanti, no vīriyārambhāya;
7 to |procrastination::laziness, inactivity, idleness [kosajja]|, not to rousing of energy;
8 dubbharatāya saṁvattanti, no subharatāyā’ti.
8 to |being difficult to support::being burdensome [dubbharatā]|, not to being easy to support.’
ekaṁsena, gotami, dhāreyyāsi: ‘neso dhammo, neso vinayo, netaṁ satthusāsanan’ti.
In this way, Gotamī, you should conclude: ‘This is not the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]|, this is not the |Vinaya::training, discipline [vinaya]|, this is not the Teacher’s instruction.’
Dhamma To Be Embraced
Ye ca kho tvaṁ, gotami, dhamme jāneyyāsi:
And, Gotamī, you should know the Dhamma to be embraced if you find:
1 ‘ime dhammā virāgāya saṁvattanti, no sarāgāya;
1 ‘These teachings lead to dispassion, not to passion;
2 visaṁyogāya saṁvattanti, no saṁyogāya;
2 to |being unbound::release, liberation [visaṁyoga]|, not to being bound;
3 apacayāya saṁvattanti, no ācayāya;
3 to |reduction::decrease, dispersal, discarding, less [apacaya]|, not to accumulation;
4 appicchatāya saṁvattanti, no mahicchatāya;
4 to |wanting less::having few wishes [appicchatā]|, not to wanting more;
5 santuṭṭhiyā saṁvattanti, no asantuṭṭhiyā;
5 to |contentment::satisfaction [santuṭṭhi]|, not to discontentment;
6 pavivekāya saṁvattanti, no saṅgaṇikāya;
6 to |seclusion::solitude [paviveka]|, not to company;
7 vīriyārambhāya saṁvattanti, no kosajjāya;
7 to |rousing of energy::taking initiative, making a mental decision to act [vīriyārambha]|, not to procrastination;
8 subharatāya saṁvattanti, no dubbharatāyā’ti.
8 to |being easy to support::being unburdensome, being low maintenance [subharatā]|, not to being difficult to support.’
ekaṁsena, gotami, dhāreyyāsi: ‘eso dhammo, eso vinayo, etaṁ satthusāsanan’”ti.
In this way, Gotamī, you should conclude: ‘This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Teacher’s instruction.’”