StagnationṬhitisutta

“Mendicants, I don’t praise stagnation in skillful qualities, let alone decline.“Ṭhitimpāhaṁ, bhikkhave, na vaṇṇayāmi kusalesu dhammesu, pageva parihāniṁ. I praise growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline.Vuḍḍhiñca kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, vaṇṇayāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhitiṁ no hāniṁ.

And how is there decline in skillful qualities, not stagnation or growth?Kathañca, bhikkhave, hāni hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no vuḍḍhi? It’s when a mendicant has a certain degree of faith, ethics, generosity, wisdom, and eloquence. Those qualities neither stagnate nor grow in them.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yattako hoti saddhāya sīlena sutena cāgena paññāya paṭibhānena, tassa te dhammā neva tiṭṭhanti no vaḍḍhanti. I call this decline in skillful qualities, not stagnation or growth.Hānimetaṁ, bhikkhave, vadāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhitiṁ no vuḍḍhiṁ. This is how there’s decline in skillful qualities, not stagnation or growth.Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, hāni hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no vuḍḍhi.

And how is there stagnation in skillful qualities, not decline or growth?Kathañca, bhikkhave ṭhiti hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no hāni no vuḍḍhi? It’s when a mendicant has a certain degree of faith, ethics, generosity, wisdom, and eloquence. Those qualities neither decline nor grow in them.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yattako hoti saddhāya sīlena sutena cāgena paññāya paṭibhānena, tassa te dhammā neva hāyanti no vaḍḍhanti. I call this stagnation in skillful qualities, not decline or growth.Ṭhitimetaṁ, bhikkhave, vadāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no hāniṁ no vuḍḍhiṁ. This is how there’s stagnation in skillful qualities, not decline or growth.Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, ṭhiti hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no vuḍḍhi no hāni.

And how is there growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline?Kathañca, bhikkhave, vuḍḍhi hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no hāni? It’s when a mendicant has a certain degree of faith, ethics, generosity, wisdom, and eloquence. Those qualities neither stagnate nor decline in them.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yattako hoti saddhāya sīlena sutena cāgena paññāya paṭibhānena, tassa te dhammā neva tiṭṭhanti no hāyanti. I call this growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline.Vuḍḍhimetaṁ, bhikkhave, vadāmi kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhitiṁ no hāniṁ. This is how there’s growth in skillful qualities, not stagnation or decline.Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, vuḍḍhi hoti kusalesu dhammesu, no ṭhiti no hāni.

If a mendicant isn’t skilled in encompassing another’s mind, then they should train themselves: ‘I will be skilled in encompassing my own mind.’No ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paracittapariyāyakusalo hoti, atha ‘sacittapariyāyakusalo bhavissāmī’ti—

And how is a mendicant skilled in encompassing their own mind?Kathañca, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sacittapariyāyakusalo hoti? Suppose there was a woman or man who was young, youthful, and fond of adornments, and they check their own reflection in a clean bright mirror or a clear bowl of water. If they see any dirt or blemish there, they’d try to remove it.Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, itthī vā puriso vā daharo yuvā maṇḍanakajātiko ādāse vā parisuddhe pariyodāte acche vā udapatte sakaṁ mukhanimittaṁ paccavekkhamāno sace tattha passati rajaṁ vā aṅgaṇaṁ vā, tasseva rajassa vā aṅgaṇassa vā pahānāya vāyamati. But if they don’t see any dirt or blemish there, they’re happy with that, as they’ve got all they wished for:No ce tattha passati rajaṁ vā aṅgaṇaṁ vā, tenevattamano hoti paripuṇṇasaṅkappo: ‘How fortunate that I’m clean!’‘lābhā vata me, parisuddhaṁ vata me’ti. In the same way, checking is very helpful for a mendicant’s skillful qualities.Evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno paccavekkhaṇā bahukārā hoti kusalesu dhammesu: ‘Am I often covetous or not? Am I often malicious or not? Am I often overcome with dullness and drowsiness or not? Am I often restless or not? Am I often doubtful or not? Am I often irritable or not? Am I often corrupted in mind or not? Am I often disturbed in body or not? Am I often energetic or not? Am I often immersed in samādhi or not?’‘abhijjhālu nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, anabhijjhālu nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, byāpannacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, abyāpannacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, thinamiddhapariyuṭṭhito nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, vigatathinamiddho nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, uddhato nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, anuddhato nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, vicikiccho nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, tiṇṇavicikiccho nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, kodhano nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, akkodhano nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, saṅkiliṭṭhacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, asaṅkiliṭṭhacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, sāraddhakāyo nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, asāraddhakāyo nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, kusīto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, āraddhavīriyo nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, samāhito nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, asamāhito nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmī’ti.

Suppose that, upon checking, a mendicant knows this:Sace, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paccavekkhamāno evaṁ jānāti: ‘I am often covetous, malicious, overcome with dullness and drowsiness, restless, doubtful, irritable, corrupted in mind, disturbed in body, lazy, and not immersed in samādhi.’ In order to give up those bad, unskillful qualities, they should apply extraordinary enthusiasm, effort, zeal, vigor, perseverance, mindfulness, and situational awareness.‘abhijjhālu bahulaṁ viharāmi, byāpannacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, thinamiddhapariyuṭṭhito bahulaṁ viharāmi, uddhato bahulaṁ viharāmi, vicikiccho bahulaṁ viharāmi, kodhano bahulaṁ viharāmi, saṅkiliṭṭhacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, sāraddhakāyo bahulaṁ viharāmi, kusīto bahulaṁ viharāmi, asamāhito bahulaṁ viharāmī’ti, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesaṁyeva pāpakānaṁ akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya adhimatto chando ca vāyāmo ca ussāho ca ussoḷhī ca appaṭivānī ca sati ca sampajaññañca karaṇīyaṁ. Suppose your clothes or head were on fire. In order to extinguish it, you’d apply extraordinary enthusiasm, effort, zeal, vigor, perseverance, mindfulness, and situational awareness.Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, ādittacelo vā ādittasīso vā. In the same way, in order to give up those bad, unskillful qualities, that mendicant should apply extraordinary enthusiasm …evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, tena bhikkhunā tesaṁyeva pāpakānaṁ akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya adhimatto chando ca vāyāmo ca ussāho ca ussoḷhī ca appaṭivānī ca sati ca sampajaññañca karaṇīyaṁ.

But suppose that, upon checking, a mendicant knows this:Sace pana, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paccavekkhamāno evaṁ jānāti: ‘I am often content, kind-hearted, rid of dullness and drowsiness, calm, confident, loving, pure in mind, undisturbed in body, energetic, and immersed in samādhi.’ Grounded on those skillful qualities, they should practice meditation further to end the defilements.”‘anabhijjhālu bahulaṁ viharāmi, abyāpannacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, vigatathinamiddho bahulaṁ viharāmi, anuddhato bahulaṁ viharāmi, tiṇṇavicikiccho bahulaṁ viharāmi, akkodhano bahulaṁ viharāmi, asaṅkiliṭṭhacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, asāraddhakāyo bahulaṁ viharāmi, āraddhavīriyo bahulaṁ viharāmi, samāhito bahulaṁ viharāmī’ti, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesuyeva kusalesu dhammesu patiṭṭhāya uttari āsavānaṁ khayāya yogo karaṇīyo”ti.