Khuddaka Nikaya - Itivuttaka I

Khuddaka Nikaya - Itivuttaka

Iti 1-27
The Group of Ones
Translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Alternate translation:IrelandThanissaro
PTS: Iti 1-19 (page)
Iti 1.1-27 (vagga.sutta)



Source: Transcribed from a file provided by the translator.



Copyright © 2001 Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Access to Insight edition © 2001
For free distribution. This work may be republished, reformatted,
reprinted, and redistributed in any medium. It is the author's wish,
however, that any such republication and redistribution be made available
to the public on a free and unrestricted basis and that translations and
other derivative works be clearly marked as such.



§ 1. {Iti 1.1; Iti 1}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Abandon
one quality, monks, and I guarantee you non-return. Which one quality? Abandon
greed as the one quality, and I guarantee you non-return."1 This is the meaning
of what the Blessed One said. So with regard to this it was said:2
The greed with which
beings go to a bad destination,3
coveting:
from rightly discerning that greed,
those who see clearly
let go.
Letting go,
they never come to this world
again.
This, too, was the meaning of what was said by the Blessed One, so I have
heard.4



Notes
1. Non-return: The third of the four levels of Awakening. On reaching this
level, one will never be reborn in this world. A non-returner who does not go on
to attain arahantship in this lifetime will be reborn in the Brahma worlds
called the Pure Abodes and will attain nibbana there.
2, 4. These two statements are repeated in each discourse. To avoid monotony,
they are given here only in the first and last discourses.
3. The bad destinations rebirth in hell, as a hungry shade, as an angry demon,
or as a common animal. As with the good destinations — rebirth as a human being,
in heaven, or in the Brahma worlds — these states are impermanent and dependent
on kamma.



§ 2. {Iti 1.2; Iti 1}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Abandon
one quality, monks, and I guarantee you non-return. Which one quality? Abandon
aversion as the one quality, and I guarantee you non-return."
The aversion with which
beings go to a bad destination,
upset:
from rightly discerning that aversion,
those who see clearly
let go.
Letting go,
they never come to this world
again.



§ 3. {Iti 1.3; Iti 2}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Abandon
one quality, monks, and I guarantee you non-return. Which one quality? Abandon
delusion as the one quality, and I guarantee you non-return."
The delusion with which
beings go to a bad destination,
confused:
from rightly discerning that delusion,
those who see clearly
let go.
Letting go,
they never come to this world
again.



§ 4. {Iti 1.4; Iti 2}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Abandon
one quality, monks, and I guarantee you non-return. Which one quality? Abandon
anger as the one quality, and I guarantee you non-return."
The anger with which
beings go to a bad destination,
enraged:
from rightly discerning that anger,
those who see clearly
let go.
Letting go,
they never come to this world
again.



§ 5. {Iti 1.5; Iti 3}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Abandon
one quality, monks, and I guarantee you non-return. Which one quality? Abandon
contempt as the one quality, and I guarantee you non-return."
The contempt with which
beings go to a bad destination,
disdainful:
from rightly discerning that contempt,
those who see clearly
let go.
Letting go,
they never come to this world
again.



§ 6. {Iti 1.6; Iti 3}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Abandon
one quality, monks, and I guarantee you non-return. Which one quality? Abandon
conceit as the one quality, and I guarantee you non-return."
The conceit with which
beings go to a bad destination,
proud:
from rightly discerning that conceit,
those who see clearly
let go.
Letting go,
they never come to this world
again.



§ 7. {Iti 1.7; Iti 3}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Monks,
one who has not fully known & fully understood the All,1 whose mind has not been
cleansed of passion for it, has not abandoned it, is incapable of putting an end
to stress. But one who has fully known & fully understood the All, whose mind
has been cleansed of passion for it, has abandoned it, is capable of putting an
end to stress."
Knowing the All
from all around,
not stirred by passion
for anything at all:
he, having comprehended
the All,
has gone beyond
all stress.



Note
1. "The All" = the six senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, & ideation)
and their respective objects. This covers every aspect of experience that can be
described, but does not include nibbana. For a full discussion of this point,
see The Mind Like Fire Unbound, pp. 30-32.



§ 8. {Iti 1.8; Iti 4}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Monks,
one who has not fully known & fully understood conceit, whose mind has not been
cleansed of it, has not abandoned it, is incapable of putting an end to stress.
But one who has fully known & fully understood conceit, whose mind has been
cleansed of it, has abandoned it, is capable of putting an end to stress."
People are
possessed by conceit
tied up with conceit
delighted with becoming.
Not comprehending conceit,
they come to becoming again.
But those who, letting go of conceit,
are, in its destruction, released,
conquering the bond of conceit,
go beyond
all bonds.



§ 9. {Iti 1.9; Iti 4}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Monks,
one who has not fully known & fully understood greed, who has not detached his
mind from it and let go of it, is incapable of putting an end to stress. But one
who has fully known & fully understood greed, who has detached his mind from it
and let go of it, is capable of putting an end to stress."
The greed with which
beings go to a bad destination,
coveting:
from rightly discerning that greed,
those who see clearly
let go.
Letting go,
they never come to this world
again.



§ 10-13. {Iti 1.10; Iti 1}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Monks,
one who has not fully known & fully understood aversion... delusion... anger...
contempt, who has not detached his mind from it and let go of it, is incapable
of putting an end to stress. But one who has fully known & fully understood
aversion... delusion... anger... contempt, who has detached his mind from it and
let go of it, is capable of putting an end to stress."
[The verses for these discourses = those for discourses 2-5.]



§ 14. {Iti 1.14; Iti 7}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Monks,
I don't envision even one other obstruction — obstructed by which people go
wandering & transmigrating on for a long, long time — like the obstruction of
ignorance. Obstructed with the obstruction of ignorance, people go wandering &
transmigrating on for a long, long time."
No one other thing
so obstructs people
that they wander on, day & night,
as when they're ensnared
with delusion.
But those who, letting go of delusion,
shatter the mass of darkness,
wander no further.
Their cause isn't found.



§ 15. {Iti 1.15; Iti 8}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Monks,
I don't envision even one other fetter — fettered by which beings conjoined go
wandering & transmigrating on for a long, long time — like the fetter of
craving. Fettered with the fetter of craving, beings conjoined go wandering &
transmigrating on for a long, long time."
With craving his companion, a man
wanders on a long, long time.
Neither in this state here
nor anywhere else
does he go beyond
the wandering- on.
Knowing this drawback —
that craving brings stress into play —
free from craving,
devoid of clinging,
mindful, the monk
lives the mendicant life.



§ 16. {Iti 1.16; Iti 9}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "With
regard to internal factors, I don't envision any other single factor like
appropriate attention1 as doing so much for a monk in training,2 who has not
attained the heart's goal but remains intent on the unsurpassed safety from
bondage.3 A monk who attends appropriately abandons what is unskillful and
develops what is skillful.
Appropriate attention
as a quality
of a monk in training:
nothing else
does so much
for attaining the superlative goal.
A monk, striving appropriately,
attains the ending of stress.



Notes
1. Appropriate attention (yoniso manasikara) is the ability to focus attention
on questions that lead to the end of suffering. MN 2 lists the following
questions as not fit for attention: "Was I in the past? Was I not in the past?
What was I in the past? How was I in the past?... Shall I be in the future?
Shall I not be in the future? What shall I be in the future? How shall I be in
the future?... Am I? Am I not? What am I? How am I? Where has this being come
from? Where is it bound?" The discourse also lists the following issues as fit
for attention: "This is stress. This is the origination of stress. This is the
cessation of stress. This is the way leading to the cessation of stress."
2. A person "in training" is one who has attained at least the first level of
Awakening, but not yet the final level.
3. Bondage = the four yokes: sensual passion, becoming, views, & ignorance.



§ 17. {Iti 1.17; Iti 10}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "With
regard to external factors, I don't envision any other single factor like
admirable friendship1 as doing so much for a monk in training, who has not
attained the heart's goal but remains intent on the unsurpassed safety from
bondage. A monk who is a friend with admirable people abandons what is
unskillful and develops what is skillful."
A monk with admirable people
as friends
— who's reverential, respectful,
doing what his friends advise —
mindful, alert,
attains step by step
the ending of all fetters.



Note
1. In SN 45.2 the Buddha says, "Admirable friendship... is actually the whole of
the holy life... It is in dependence on me as an admirable friend that beings
subject to birth have gained release from birth... aging... death... sorrow,
lamentation, pain, distress, & despair." As AN 8.54 points out, admirable
friendship means not only associating with good people, but also learning from
them and emulating their good qualities.



§ 18. {Iti 1.18; Iti 10}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "One
thing, when arising in the world, arises for the detriment of many, for the
unhappiness of many, for the detriment & unhappiness of many beings, both human
& divine. Which one thing? Schism in the Sangha. When the Sangha is split, there
are arguments with one another, there is abuse of one another, ganging up on one
another, abandoning of one another. Then those with little confidence [in the
teaching] lose all confidence, while some of those who are confident become
otherwise."
Doomed for an aeon
to deprivation,
to hell:
one who has split the Sangha.
Delighting in factions,
unjudicious —
he's barred
from safety from bondage.
Having split a Sangha in concord,
he cooks for an aeon
in hell.



§ 19. {Iti 1.19; Iti 11}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "One
thing, when arising in the world, arises for the welfare of many, for the
happiness of many, for the welfare & happiness of many beings, both human &
divine. Which one thing? Concord in the Sangha. When the Sangha is in concord,
there are no arguments with one another, no abuse of one another, no ganging up
on one another, no abandoning of one another. Then those with little confidence
[in the teaching] become confident, while those already confident become even
more so."
Blissful is concord in the Sangha.
One who assists in concord —
delighting in concord,
judicious —
isn't barred from safety from bondage.
Having brought concord to the Sangha,
he rejoices for an aeon
in heaven.



§ 20. {Iti 1.20; Iti 12}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "There
is the case where a certain person is a corrupt-minded. Having encompassed that
mind with [my] awareness, I discern, 'If this person were to die at this
instant, then as if he were to be carried off, he would thus be placed in hell.'
Why is that? Because his mind is corrupt. It's because of corrupt-mindedness
that there are cases where beings — at the break-up of the body, after death —
reappear in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, in
hell."
Knowing the case
of a corrupt-minded person,
the One Awakened explained its meaning
in the presence of the monks.
If that person
were to die at this instant,
he'd reappear in hell
because his mind is corrupt —
as if he were carried off
and placed there.
It's because of corrupt-mindedness
that beings go
to a bad destination.



§ 21. {Iti 1.21; Iti 13}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "There
is the case where a certain person is a clear-minded. Having encompassed that
mind with [my] awareness, I discern, 'If this person were to die at this
instant, then as if he were to be carried off, he would thus be placed in
heaven.' Why is that? Because his mind is clear. It's because of
clear-mindedness that there are cases where beings — at the break-up of the
body, after death — reappear in the heavenly world."
Knowing the case
of a clear-minded person,
the One Awakened explained its meaning
in the presence of the monks.
If that person
were to die at this instant,
he'd reappear in heaven
because his mind is clear —
as if he were carried off
and placed there.
It's because of clear-mindedness
that beings go
to a good destination.



§ 22. {Iti 1.22; Iti 14}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "Monks,
don't be afraid of acts of merit. This is another way of saying what is
blissful, desirable, pleasing, endearing, charming — i.e., acts of merit. I am
cognizant that, having long performed meritorious deeds, I long experienced
desirable, pleasing, endearing, charming results. Having developed a mind of
good will for seven years, then for seven aeons of contraction & expansion I
didn't return to this world. Whenever the aeon was contracting, I went to the
realm of Streaming Radiance. Whenever the aeon was expanding, I reappeared in an
empty Brahma-abode. There I was the Great Brahman, the Unconquered Conqueror,
All-seeing, & Wielder of Power. Then for thirty-six times I was Sakka, ruler of
the gods. For many hundreds of times I was a king, a wheel-turning emperor, a
righteous king of Dhamma, conqueror of the four corners of the earth,
maintaining stable control over the countryside, endowed with the seven
treasures1 — to say nothing of the times I was a local king. The thought
occurred to me: 'Of what action of mine is this the fruit, of what action the
result, that I now have such great power & might?' Then the thought occurred to
me: 'This is the fruit of my three [types of] action, the result of three types
of action, that I now have such great power & might: i.e., giving, self-control,
& restraint.'"
Train in acts of merit
that bring long-lasting bliss —
develop giving,
a life in tune,
a mind of good-will.
Developing these
three things
that bring about bliss,
the wise reappear
in a world of bliss
unalloyed.



Note
1. The seven treasures are a divine wheel, an ideal jewel, an ideal elephant, an
ideal horse, an ideal wife, an ideal treasurer, an ideal counselor.



§ 23. {Iti 1.23; Iti 16}
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "This
one quality, if developed & pursued, keeps both kinds of benefit secure:
benefits in this life & benefits in lives to come. Which one quality?
Heedfulness with regard to skillful qualities. This the one quality that, if
developed & pursued, keeps both kinds of benefit secure: benefits in this life &
benefits in lives to come."
They praise heedfulness, the wise,
in doing acts of merit.
When heedful, wise,
you achieve both kinds of benefit:
benefits in this life,
& benefits in lives to come.

By breaking through to your benefit,
you're called enlightened,
wise.



§ 24. {Iti 1.24; Iti 17}

[Alternate translation: Ireland]
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "If a
single person were to wander & transmigrate on for an aeon, he/she would leave
behind a chain of bones, a pile of bones, a heap of bones, as large as this
Mount Vepulla, if there were someone to collect them and the collection were not
destroyed."
The accumulation
of a single person's
bones for an aeon
would be a heap
on a par with the mountain,
so said the Great Seer.
(He declared this to be
the great Mount Vepulla
to the north of Vulture's Peak
in the mountain-ring
of the Magadhans.)1
But when that person sees
with right discernment
the four Noble Truths —
stress,
the cause of stress,
the transcending of stress,
& the Noble Eightfold Path,
the way to the stilling of stress —
having wandered on
seven times at most, then,
with the ending of all fetters,
he puts a stop
to stress.



Note
1. Magadha was a kingdom in the time of the Buddha, corresponding roughly to the
present day state of Bihar. Its capital city, Rajagaha, was surrounded by a ring
of five mountains. Vulture's Peak, a secluded rock outcrop in the middle of the
ring, was a spot frequented by the Buddha.



§ 25. {Iti 1.25; Iti 18}

[Alternate translation: Ireland]
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "For the
person who transgresses in one thing, I tell you, there is no evil deed that is
not to be done. Which one thing? This: telling a deliberate lie."
The person who lies,
who transgress in this one thing,
transcending concern for the world beyond:
there's no evil
he might not do.



§ 26. {Iti 1.26; Iti 18}

[Alternate translation: Ireland]
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "If
beings knew, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they would not eat
without having given, nor would the stain of selfishness overcome their minds.
Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would not eat without
having shared, if there were someone to receive their gift. But because beings
do not know, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they eat without having
given. The stain of selfishness overcomes their minds."
If beings knew
what the Great Seer said,
how the result of sharing
has such great fruit,
then, subduing the stain of selfishness
with brightened awareness,
they'd give in season
to the noble ones,
where a gift bears great fruit.
Having given food
as an offering
to those worthy of offerings,
many donors,
when they pass away from here,
the human state,
go
to heaven.
They, having gone there
to heaven,
rejoice,
enjoying sensual pleasures.
Unselfish, they
partake of the result
of sharing.



§ 27. {Iti 1.27; Iti 19}

[Alternate translation: Ireland]
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "All the
grounds for making merit leading to spontaneously arising (in heaven) do not
equal one-sixteenth of the awareness-release through good will. Good will —
surpassing them — shines, blazes, & dazzles.
"Just as the radiance of all the stars does not equal one-sixteenth of the
radiance of the moon, as the moon — surpassing them — shines, blazes, & dazzles,
even so, all the grounds for making merit leading to spontaneously arising in
heaven do not equal one-sixteenth of the awareness-release through good will.
Good will — surpassing them — shines, blazes, & dazzles.
"Just as in the last month of the rains, in autumn, when the sky is clear &
cloudless, the sun, on ascending the sky, overpowers the space immersed in
darkness, shines, blazes, & dazzles, even so, all the grounds for making merit
leading to spontaneously arising in heaven do not equal one-sixteenth of the
awareness-release through good will. Good will — surpassing them — shines,
blazes, & dazzles.
"Just as in the pre-dawn darkness the morning star shines, blazes, & dazzles,
even so, all the grounds for making merit leading to spontaneously arising in
heaven do not equal one-sixteenth of the awareness-release through good will.
Good will — surpassing them — shines, blazes, & dazzles."
When one develops — mindful —
good will without limit,
fetters are worn through,
on seeing the ending
of acquisitions.

If with uncorrupted mind
you feel good will
for even one being,
you become skilled from that.
But a Noble One produces
a mind of sympathy
for all beings,
an abundance of merit.

Kingly seers, who conquered the earth
swarming with beings,
went about making sacrifices:
the horse sacrifice, human sacrifice,
water rites, soma rites,
& the "Unobstructed,"
but these don't equal
one sixteenth
of a well-developed mind of good will —
as all the constellations don't,
one sixteenth
of the radiance of the moon.

One who neither kills
nor gets others to kill,
neither conquers,
nor gets others to conquer,
with good will for all beings,
has no hostility with anyone
at all.



See also: AN 11.16; Sn 1.8.