an.5.167 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

Criticizing

Venerable Sāriputta addressed the monks: “Venerables, a monk who wishes to criticize another should first establish five resolutions:

“I will speak at a proper time, not an improper time.

“I will speak truthfully, not untruthfully.

“I will speak gently, not harshly.

“I will speak beneficially, not unbeneficially.

“I will speak with a mind of loving-kindness, not with internal hatred.

“A monk who wishes to criticize another should first establish these five resolutions.

“Venerables, here I see a certain person became upset when they were criticized at the wrong time, not the right time; they became upset when they were criticized untruthfully, not truthfully; they became upset when they were criticized harshly, not gently; they became upset when they were criticized unbeneficially, not beneficially; they became upset when they were criticized with internal hatred, not with a mind of loving-kindness.

“Venerables, that monk who was criticized improperly¹ should be provided with non-remorse in five ways: ‘Venerable, you were criticized at the wrong time, not the right time; that is sufficient reason for you to lack remorse. You were criticized untruthfully, not truthfully; that is sufficient reason for you to lack remorse. You were criticized harshly, not gently; that is sufficient reason for you to lack remorse. You were criticized unbeneficially, not beneficially; that is sufficient reason for you to lack remorse. You were criticized with internal hatred, not with a mind of loving-kindness; that is sufficient reason for you to lack remorse.’ Venerables, that monk who was criticized improperly should be provided with non-remorse in these five ways.

“Venerables, the monk who criticized improperly should be provided with remorse in five ways: ‘Venerable, you criticized at the wrong time, not the right time; that is sufficient reason for you to feel remorse. You criticized untruthfully, not truthfully; that is sufficient reason for you to feel remorse. You criticized harshly, not gently; that is sufficient reason for you to feel remorse. You criticized unbeneficially, not beneficially; that is sufficient reason for you to feel remorse. You criticized with internal hatred, not with a mind of loving-kindness; that is sufficient reason for you to feel remorse.’ Venerables, the monk who criticized improperly should be provided with remorse in these five ways. For what reason? So that another monk will not think to untruthfully criticize.

“Venerables, here I see a certain person became upset when they were criticized at the right time, not the wrong time; they became upset when they were criticized truthfully, not untruthfully; they became upset when they were criticized gently, not harshly; they became upset when they were criticized beneficially, not unbeneficially; they became upset when they were criticized with a mind of loving-kindness, not with internal hatred.

“Venerables, that monk who was criticized properly should be provided with remorse in five ways: ‘Venerable, you were criticized at the right time, not the wrong time; that is sufficient reason for you to feel remorse. You were criticized truthfully, not untruthfully; that is sufficient reason for you to feel remorse. You were criticized gently, not harshly; that is sufficient reason for you to feel remorse. You were criticized beneficially, not unbeneficially; that is sufficient reason for you to feel remorse. You were criticized with a mind of loving-kindness, not with internal hatred; that is sufficient reason for you to feel remorse.’ Venerables, that monk who was criticized properly should be provided with remorse in these five ways.

“Venerables, the monk who criticized properly should be provided with non-remorse in five ways: ‘‘Venerable, you criticized at the right time, not the wrong time; that is sufficient reason for you to lack remorse. You criticized truthfully, not untruthfully; that is sufficient reason for you to lack remorse. You criticized gently, not harshly; that is sufficient reason for you to lack remorse. You criticized beneficially, not unbeneficially; that is sufficient reason for you to lack remorse. You criticized with a mind of loving-kindness, not with internal hatred; that is sufficient reason for you to lack remorse.’ Venerables, the monk who criticized properly should be provided with non-remorse in these five ways. For what reason? So that another monk will think to truthfully criticize.

“Venerables, when a person is criticized, they should be established in two things: the truth, and imperturbability. Venerables, whether others criticize me at the right time or the wrong time, truthfully or untruthfully, gently or harshly, beneficially or unbeneficially, with a mind of loving-kindness or with internal hatred, still I will be established in these two things: the truth, and imperturbability. If I know, ‘This is present in me,’ then I say, ‘It is present, it is found in me.’ If I know, ‘That is not present in me,’ then I say, ‘It is not present, it is not found in me.’”

“Sāriputta², although you are saying this, there are still some confused people here who do not acquire respectfulness.”

“Bhante, those people who lack faith, who leave the household life and become a homeless monastic for the sake of a livelihood rather than because of faith, who are deceitful, fraudulent, dishonest, arrogant, insolent, fickle, talkative, babbling, with unguarded senses, immoderate in eating, not devoted to wakefulness, uninterested in contemplation, not reverential of the training, living excessively, sloppy, masters in backsliding, who have given up on seclusion, lazy, unenergetic, unmindful, unaware, unconcentrated, scatter-minded, unwise, and obtuse – those are the ones who, when I am saying this, do not acquire respectfulness.

“However, Bhante, those good people who leave the household life and become a homeless monastic because of faith, who are not deceitful, not fraudulent, honest, not arrogant, not insolent, not fickle, not talkative, not babbling, with guarded senses, moderate in eating, devoted to wakefulness, interested in contemplation, reverential of the training, not living excessively, not sloppy, who have given up on backsliding, are masters of seclusion, energetic, self-directed, mindful, aware, concentrated, with unified minds, wise, not obtuse – those are the ones who, when I am saying this, acquire respectfulness.”

“Sāriputta, those people who lack faith, who leave the household life and become a homeless monastic for the sake of a livelihood rather than because of faith, who are deceitful, fraudulent, dishonest, arrogant, insolent, fickle, talkative, babbling, with unguarded senses, immoderate in eating, not devoted to wakefulness, uninterested in contemplation, not reverential of the training, living excessively, sloppy, masters in backsliding, who have given up on seclusion, lazy, unenergetic, unmindful, unaware, unconcentrated, scatter-minded, unwise, and obtuse – let them be.

“Sāriputta, those good people who leave the household life and become a homeless monastic because of faith, who are not deceitful, not fraudulent, honest, not arrogant, not insolent, not fickle, not talkative, not babbling, with guarded senses, moderate in eating, devoted to wakefulness, interested in contemplation, reverential of the training, not living excessively, not sloppy, who have given up on backsliding, are masters of seclusion, energetic, self-directed, mindful, aware, concentrated, with unified minds, wise, not obtuse – Sāriputta, those are the ones you should speak to. Sāriputta, advise your fellow practitioners; Sāriputta, instruct your fellow practitioners; thinking ‘I will help them emerge from bad things and establish them in good things.’ Sāriputta, this is how you are to train yourself.”

- Translator: Suddhāso Bhikkhu

- Editor: Aminah Borg-Luck

Accusation

There Sāriputta addressed the mendicants:
“Reverends, a mendicant who wants to accuse another should first establish five things in themselves.
What five?
I will speak at the right time, not at the wrong time.
I will speak truthfully, not falsely.
I will speak gently, not harshly.
I will speak beneficially, not harmfully.
I will speak lovingly, not from secret hate.
A mendicant who wants to accuse another should first establish these five things in themselves.
Take a case where I see a certain person being accused at the wrong time, not being disturbed at the right time. They’re accused falsely, not disturbed truthfully. They’re accused harshly, not disturbed gently. They’re accused harmfully, not disturbed beneficially. They’re accused with secret hate, not disturbed lovingly.
The mendicant who is accused improperly should be reassured in five ways.
‘Venerable, you were accused at the wrong time, not at the right time. There’s no need for you to feel remorse.
You were accused falsely, not truthfully. …
You were accused harshly, not gently. …
You were accused harmfully, not beneficially. …
You were accused with secret hate, not lovingly. There’s no need for you to feel remorse.’
A mendicant who is accused improperly should be reassured in these five ways.
The mendicant who makes improper accusations should be chastened in five ways.
‘Reverend, you made an accusation at the wrong time, not at the right time. There’s a reason for you to feel remorse.
You made an accusation falsely, not truthfully. …
You made an accusation harshly, not gently. …
You made an accusation harmfully, not beneficially. …
You made an accusation with secret hate, not lovingly. There’s a reason for you to feel remorse.’
The mendicant who makes improper accusations should be chastened in these five ways.
Why is that?
So that another mendicant wouldn’t think to make a false accusation.
Take a case where I see a certain person being accused at the right time, not being disturbed at the wrong time. They’re accused truthfully, not disturbed falsely. They’re accused gently, not disturbed harshly. They’re accused beneficially, not disturbed harmfully. They’re accused lovingly, not disturbed with secret hate.
The mendicant who is accused properly should be chastened in five ways.
‘Venerable, you were accused at the right time, not at the wrong time. There’s a reason for you to feel remorse.
You were accused truthfully, not falsely. …
You were accused gently, not harshly. …
You were accused beneficially, not harmfully. …
You were accused lovingly, not with secret hate. There’s a reason for you to feel remorse.’
The mendicant who is accused properly should be chastened in these five ways.
The mendicant who makes proper accusations should be reassured in five ways.
‘Reverend, you made an accusation at the right time, not at the wrong time. There’s no need for you to feel remorse.
You made an accusation truthfully, not falsely. …
You made an accusation gently, not harshly. …
You made an accusation beneficially, not harmfully. …
You made an accusation lovingly, not with secret hate. There’s no need for you to feel remorse.’
The mendicant who makes proper accusations should be reassured in these five ways.
Why is that?
So that another mendicant would think to make a true accusation.
A person who is accused should ground themselves in two things:
truth and an even temper.
Even if others accuse me—at the right time or the wrong time, truthfully or falsely, gently or harshly, beneficially or harmfully, lovingly or with secret hate—I will still ground myself in two things:
truth and an even temper.
If I know that
that quality is found in me, I will tell them that it is.

If I know that
that quality is not found in me, I will tell them that it is not.”

“Even when you speak like this, Sāriputta, there are still some foolish people here who do not respectfully take it up.”
“Sir, there are those faithless people who went forth from the lay life to homelessness not out of faith but to earn a livelihood. They’re devious, deceitful, and sneaky. They’re restless, insolent, fickle, scurrilous, and loose-tongued. They do not guard their sense doors or eat in moderation, and they are not dedicated to wakefulness. They don’t care about the ascetic life, and don’t keenly respect the training. They’re indulgent and slack, leaders in backsliding, neglecting seclusion, lazy, and lacking energy. They’re unmindful, lacking situational awareness and immersion, with straying minds, witless and stupid. When I speak to them like this, they don’t respectfully take it up.
Sir, there are those gentlemen who went forth from the lay life to homelessness out of faith. They’re not devious, deceitful, and sneaky. They’re not restless, insolent, fickle, scurrilous, and loose-tongued. They guard their sense doors and eat in moderation, and they are dedicated to wakefulness. They care about the ascetic life, and keenly respect the training. They’re not indulgent or slack, nor are they leaders in backsliding, neglecting seclusion. They’re energetic and determined. They’re mindful, with situational awareness, immersion, and unified minds; wise, not stupid. When I speak to them like this, they do respectfully take it up.”
“Sāriputta, those faithless people who went forth from the lay life to homelessness not out of faith but to earn a livelihood … Leave them be.
But those gentlemen who went forth from the lay life to homelessness out of faith … You should speak to them.
Sāriputta, you should advise your spiritual companions!
You should instruct your spiritual companions!
Thinking: ‘I will draw my spiritual companions away from false teachings and ground them in true teachings.’
That’s how you should train.”