Thus have I heard—At one time, the Blessed One was dwelling in Sāvatthi, in Jeta‘s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s park. There, the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus: “Bhikkhus.”
“Venerable sir,” those bhikkhus replied to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this:
“Bhikkhus, be my |heirs in the Dhamma::inheritors of the Dhamma [dhammadāyādā]|, not |heirs of material things::inheritors of worldly gain, material benefits [āmisadāyādā]|. Out of compassion for you I have thought: ‘How might my disciples become my heirs in the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]|, not heirs of material things?’
If you, bhikkhus, were to become heirs in material things and not heirs in the Dhamma, you would be reproachable thus: ‘The disciples of the teacher live as heirs of material things, not as his heirs in the Dhamma’; and I too would be reproachable thus: ‘The disciples of the teacher live as heirs of material things, not as his heirs in the Dhamma.’
If you, bhikkhus, were to become my heirs in the Dhamma and not heirs of material things, you would not be reproachable thus [as it would be said]: ‘The disciples of the teacher live as his heirs in the Dhamma, not as heirs of material things’; and I would not be reproachable thus [as it will be said]: ‘The disciples of the teacher live as his heirs in the Dhamma, not as heirs of material things.’
Therefore, bhikkhus, be my heirs in the Dhamma, not heirs of material things. Out of compassion for you I have thought: ‘How might my disciples become my heirs in the Dhamma, not heirs of material things?’
Suppose, bhikkhus, I had eaten, was satisfied, fulfilled, pleased, with as much as I needed, and some alms food was left over to be thrown away. Then two bhikkhus arrived who were hungry and weak, and I told them: ‘Bhikkhus, I have eaten, am satisfied, fulfilled, pleased, with as much as I needed, and there is this alms food of mine left over to be thrown away. If you wish, eat it; if you do not eat it, I will now throw it away where there is no greenery or drop it into water where there are no living beings.’
Then one bhikkhu would think: ‘The Blessed One has eaten, is satisfied, fulfilled, pleased, with as much as he needed, and there is this alms food of the Blessed One left over to be thrown away. If we do not eat it, the Blessed One will now throw it away where there is no greenery or drop it into water where there are no living beings. But this has been said by the Blessed One: “Bhikkhus, be my heirs in the Dhamma, not heirs of material things.” Now this alms food is one of the material things. What if, without eating this alms food, I were to pass this day and night with this hunger and weakness.’ And so, without eating that alms food, he might pass that day and night with that hunger and weakness.
Then the second bhikkhu would think: ‘The Blessed One has eaten, is satisfied, fulfilled, pleased, with as much as he needed, and there is this alms food of the Blessed One left over to be thrown away. If we do not eat it, the Blessed One will now throw it away where there is no greenery or drop it into water where there are no living beings. What if I were to eat this alms food, alleviate my hunger and weakness, and thus pass this day and night.’ And so, eating that alms food he might pass that day and night neither hungry nor weak.
Now although that bhikkhu by eating that alms food passed the night and day neither hungry nor weak, yet the first bhikkhu is more to be respected and commended by me. For what reason? Because that will lead him for a long time to having few wishes, contentment, |effacement::expunging, wiping out, slowly grinding away [sallekha]|, being easy to support, and |arousing energy::taking initiative, making a mental decision to act [vīriyārambha]|.
Therefore, bhikkhus, be my heirs in the Dhamma, not heirs of material things. Out of compassion for you I have thought: ‘How might my disciples become my heirs in the Dhamma, not heirs of material things?’
That is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Well-Gone One rose from his seat and entered his dwelling.
Then, not long after the Blessed One had departed, venerable Sāriputta addressed the bhikkhus: “Friends, bhikkhus!”
“Friend,” those bhikkhus replied to venerable Sāriputta. Venerable Sāriputta said this:
“Friends, in what way do the disciples of a teacher who lives |in seclusion::separated, withdrawn, detached [pavivitta]| not practice seclusion? And in what way do the disciples of a teacher who lives in seclusion practice seclusion?”
“Friend, we have come from afar to learn from the venerable Sāriputta the meaning of this statement. It would be good if the venerable Sāriputta would explain the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from him, the bhikkhus will remember it.”
“Then, friends, listen and pay close attention; I will speak.”
“Yes, friend,” the bhikkhus replied. The venerable Sāriputta said this:
“Friends, in what way do disciples of the Teacher who lives in seclusion not practice seclusion? Here, disciples of the teacher who lives in seclusion do not practice seclusion; they do not abandon the |mental qualities::mental characteristics, traits [dhamma]| that the teacher tells them to abandon; they are |indulgent::excessive, living luxuriously, extravagant [bāhulika]| and |careless::loose, lethargic, lax [sāthalika]|, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion. In this situation, the elder bhikkhus are blameworthy for three reasons. 1) ‘When the teacher lives in seclusion, the disciples do not practice seclusion’—this is the first reason the senior bhikkhus are blameworthy. 2) ‘They do not abandon the mental qualites that the teacher tells them to abandon’—this is the second reason the senior bhikkhus are blameworthy. 3) ‘They are indulgent and careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion’—this is the third reason the senior bhikkhus are blameworthy. In this situation, the middle bhikkhus are blameworthy for three reasons. 1) ‘When the teacher lives in seclusion, the disciples do not practice seclusion’—this is the first reason the middle bhikkhus are blameworthy. 2) ‘They do not abandon the mental qualites that the teacher tells them to abandon’—this is the second reason the middle bhikkhus are blameworthy. 3) ‘They are indulgent and careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion’—this is the third reason the middle bhikkhus are blameworthy. In this situation, the novice bhikkhus are blameworthy for three reasons. 1) ‘When the teacher lives in seclusion, the disciples do not practice seclusion’—this is the first reason the novice bhikkhus are blameworthy. 2) ‘They do not abandon the mental qualites that the teacher tells them to abandon’—this is the second reason the novice bhikkhus are blameworthy. 3) ‘They are indulgent and careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion’—this is the third reason the novice bhikkhus are blameworthy. It is in this way, friends, that the disciples of a teacher who lives in seclusion do not practice seclusion.
Friends, in what way do disciples of the Teacher who lives in seclusion practice seclusion? Here, friends, disciples of the teacher who lives in seclusion do practice seclusion; they abandon the mental qualities that the teacher tells them to abandon; they are not indulgent and careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion. In this situation, the elder bhikkhus are praiseworthy for three reasons. 1) ‘When the teacher lives in seclusion, the disciples practice seclusion’—this is the first reason the senior bhikkhus are praiseworthy. 2) ‘They abandon the mental qualites that the teacher tells them to abandon’—this is the second reason the senior bhikkhus are praiseworthy. 3) ‘They are not indulgent and careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion’—this is the third reason the senior bhikkhus are praiseworthy. In this situation, the middle bhikkhus are praiseworthy for three reasons. 1) ‘When the teacher lives in seclusion, the disciples practice seclusion’—this is the first reason the middle bhikkhus are praiseworthy. 2) ‘They abandon the mental qualites that the teacher tells them to abandon’—this is the second reason the middle bhikkhus are praiseworthy. 3) ‘They are not indulgent and careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion’—this is the third reason the middle bhikkhus are praiseworthy. In this situation, the novice bhikkhus are praiseworthy for three reasons. 1) ‘When the teacher lives in seclusion, the disciples practice seclusion’—this is the first reason the novice bhikkhus are praiseworthy. 2) ‘They abandon the mental qualites that the teacher tells them to abandon’—this is the second reason the novice bhikkhus are praiseworthy. 3) ‘They are not indulgent and careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion’—this is the third reason the novice bhikkhus are praiseworthy. It is in this way, friends, that the disciples of a teacher who lives in seclusion practice seclusion.
In this case, friends, |greed::lust, wanting, desire [lobha]| is |harmful::injurious, destructive, bad, or evil [pāpaka]|, |aversion::ill-will, hate, hatred, fault, resentment [dosa]| is harmful. There is a Middle Way for the abandoning of greed and aversion, which produces clarity in vision, which produces |wisdom::insight, knowing [ñāṇa]|, which leads to |tranquility::calmness, serenity, stillness, peace [upasama]|, to |direct knowing::experiential understanding [abhiññāya]|, to |full awakening::perfect understanding, enlightenment [sambodha]|, to |Nibbāna::complete cooling, letting go of everything, deathless, freedom from calamity, the non-disintegrating [nibbāna]|. What, friends, is the middle way that produces clarity in vision, wisdom, and that leads to tranquility, direct knowing, full awakening, and Nibbāna? It is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right |collectedness::stability of mind, stillness of mind, mental composure [samādhi]|. This, friends, is the Middle Way that produces clarity in vision, wisdom, and that leads to tranquility, direct knowing, full awakening, and Nibbāna.
In this case, friends, |anger::rage, wrath, fury, indignation [kodha]| is harmful, |resentment::bearing a grudge, harboring enmity [upanāha]| is harmful ... |contempt::ungratefulness, depreciation, denigration, disrespect, belittlement, disparagement [makkha]| is harmful, |feuding::quarreling, rivalry, opposition, struggle, conflict [paḷāsa]| is harmful, |jealousy::envy [issā]| is harmful, |stinginess::selfishness, meanness, tight-fistedness [macchera]| is harmful, |deceit::trick, illusion, hypocrisy [māya]| is harmful, |treachery::conning, deviousness, scamming [sāṭheyya]| is harmful, |stubbornness::bullheadedness, inflexibility [thambha]| is harmful, |aggressiveness::hostile or violent behavior towards living beings [sārambha]| is harmful, |pride::conceit, egotism, superiority, comparing oneself [māna]| is harmful, |arrogance::haughtiness, self-importance [atimāna]| is harmful, |vanity::indulgence, excess, pleasure, intoxication [mada]| is harmful, |negligence::carelessness, heedlessness [pamāda]| is harmful. There is a Middle Way for the abandoning of these harmful qualities, which produces clarity in vision, which produces wisdom, which leads to tranquility, to direct knowing, to full awakening, to Nibbāna. What, friends, is the Middle Way that produces clarity in vision, wisdom, and that leads to tranquility, direct knowing, full awakening, and Nibbāna? It is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right collectedness. This, friends, is the Middle Way that produces clarity in vision, wisdom, and that leads to tranquility, direct knowing, full awakening, and Nibbāna.”
Venerable Sāriputta said this. The bhikkhus were satisfied and rejoiced in the venerable Sāriputta’s words.