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an.10.10 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

True Knowledges

(1) “Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu may be endowed with faith but he is not virtuous … … (2) … endowed with faith and virtuous, but he is not learned … (3) … learned, but not a speaker on the Dhamma … (4) … a speaker on the Dhamma, but not one who frequents assemblies … (5) … one who frequents assemblies, but not one who confidently teaches the Dhamma to an assembly … (6) … one who confidently teaches the Dhamma to an assembly, but not an expert on the discipline … (7) … an expert on the discipline, but not one who recollects his manifold past abodes, that is, one birth, two births … as in 6:2 §4 … thus he does not recollect his manifold past abodes with their aspects and details … (8) … one who recollects his manifold past abodes … but not one who, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human … as in 6:2 §5 … understands how beings fare in accordance with their kamma … (9) … one who, with the divine eye … understands how beings fare in accordance with their kamma, but not one who, with the destruction of the taints, has realized for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life, the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, and having entered upon it, dwells in it.

“Thus he is incomplete with respect to that factor. He should fulfill that factor, thinking: ‘How can I be endowed with faith … … and also be one who, with the destruction of the taints, has realized for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life, the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, and having entered upon it, dwells in it?’

(10) “But when a bhikkhu is i endowed with faith, ii virtuous, and iii learned; iv a speaker on the Dhamma; v one who frequents assemblies; vi one who confidently teaches the Dhamma to an assembly; vii an expert on the discipline; viii one who recollects his manifold past abodes … with their aspects and details; ix one who, with the divine eye … understands how beings fare in accordance with their kamma; and x one who, with the destruction of the taints, has realized for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life, the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, and having entered upon it, dwells in it, then he is complete with respect to that factor.

“A bhikkhu who possesses these ten qualities is one who inspires confidence in all respects and who is complete in all aspects.”

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh


Inspiring All Around: the Three Knowledges

“A mendicant is faithful, but not ethical.
So they’re incomplete in that respect,
and should fulfill it, thinking:
‘How can I become faithful and ethical?’
When the mendicant is faithful and ethical, they’re complete in that respect.
A mendicant is faithful and ethical, but not learned …
they’re not a Dhamma speaker …
they don’t frequent assemblies …
they don’t teach Dhamma to the assembly with assurance …
they’re not an expert in the monastic law …
they don’t recollect their many kinds of past lives …
they don’t, with clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, see sentient beings passing away and being reborn …
they don’t realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom in this very life, and live having realized it with their own insight due to the ending of defilements.
So they’re incomplete in that respect,
and should fulfill it, thinking:
‘How can I become faithful, ethical, and learned, a Dhamma speaker, one who frequents assemblies, one who teaches Dhamma to the assembly with assurance, an expert in the training, one who recollects their many kinds of past lives, one who with clairvoyance that surpasses the human sees sentient beings passing away and being reborn, and one who lives having realized the ending of defilements?’
When they are faithful, ethical, and learned, a Dhamma speaker, one who frequents assemblies, one who teaches Dhamma to the assembly with assurance, an expert in the training, one who recollects their many kinds of past lives, one who with clairvoyance that surpasses the human sees sentient beings passing away and being reborn, and one who lives having realized the ending of defilements,
they’re complete in that respect.
A mendicant who has these ten qualities is inspiring all around, and is complete in every respect.”