At Sāvatthi.

"Bhikkhus, have you heard the jackal howling during the early hours of the night, at the break of dawn?"

"Yes, venerable sir."

"Bhikkhus, that jackal might possess some measure of gratitude or acknowledgement of what has been done for it. But some here, pretending to be followers of the Sakyan son, might not possess even a small measure of gratitude or acknowledgement for what has been done for them.

Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves thus: 'We will be grateful and acknowledge what has been done for us; we will not be ungrateful and fail to acknowledge what has been done for us.' Thus, bhikkhus, you should train yourselves."