HopesĀsaṁsasutta

“These three individuals are found in the world.“Tayome, bhikkhave, puggalā santo saṁvijjamānā lokasmiṁ. What three?Katame tayo? The hopeless, the hopeful, and the one who has done away with hope.Nirāso, āsaṁso, vigatāso. And what, mendicants, is a hopeless individual?Katamo ca, bhikkhave puggalo nirāso? It’s when an individual is reborn in a low family—a family of corpse-workers, bamboo-workers, hunters, chariot-makers, or scavengers—poor, with little to eat or drink, where life is tough, and food and shelter are hard to find.Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco puggalo nīce kule paccājāto hoti, caṇḍālakule vā venakule vā nesādakule vā rathakārakule vā pukkusakule vā dalidde appannapānabhojane kasiravuttike, yattha kasirena ghāsacchādo labbhati. And they’re ugly, unsightly, deformed, sickly—one-eyed, crippled, lame, or half-paralyzed. They don’t get to have food, drink, clothes, and vehicles; garlands, fragrances, and makeup; or bed, house, and lighting.So ca hoti dubbaṇṇo duddasiko okoṭimako bavhābādho kāṇo vā kuṇī vā khañjo vā pakkhahato vā, na lābhī annassa pānassa vatthassa yānassa mālāgandhavilepanassa seyyāvasathapadīpeyyassa. They hear this:So suṇāti: ‘They say the aristocrats have anointed the aristocrat named so-and-so as king.’‘itthannāmo kira khattiyo khattiyehi khattiyābhisekena abhisitto’ti. It never occurs to them:Tassa na evaṁ hoti: ‘Oh, when will the aristocrats anoint me too as king?’‘kudāssu nāma mampi khattiyā khattiyābhisekena abhisiñcissantī’ti. This is called a hopeless individual.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, puggalo nirāso.

And what, mendicants, is a hopeful individual?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, puggalo āsaṁso? It’s when someone is the eldest son of an anointed aristocratic king. He has not yet been anointed, but is eligible, and has been confirmed in the succession.Idha, bhikkhave, rañño khattiyassa muddhāvasittassa jeṭṭho putto hoti ābhiseko anabhisitto acalappatto. He hears this:So suṇāti: ‘They say that the aristocrats have anointed the aristocrat named so-and-so as king.’‘itthannāmo kira khattiyo khattiyehi khattiyābhisekena abhisitto’ti. It occurs to him:Tassa evaṁ hoti: ‘Oh, when will the aristocrats anoint me too as king?’‘kudāssu nāma mampi khattiyā khattiyābhisekena abhisiñcissantī’ti. This is called a hopeful individual.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, puggalo āsaṁso.

And what, mendicants, is an individual who has done away with hope?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, puggalo vigatāso? It’s when a king has been anointed.Idha, bhikkhave, rājā hoti khattiyo muddhāvasitto. He hears this:So suṇāti: ‘They say that the aristocrats have anointed the aristocrat named so-and-so as king.’‘itthannāmo kira khattiyo khattiyehi khattiyābhisekena abhisitto’ti. It never occurs to him:Tassa na evaṁ hoti: ‘Oh, when will the aristocrats anoint me too as king?’‘kudāssu nāma mampi khattiyā khattiyābhisekena abhisiñcissantī’ti. Why is that?Taṁ kissa hetu? Because the former hope he had to be anointed has now died down.Yā hissa, bhikkhave, pubbe anabhisittassa abhisekāsā sā paṭippassaddhā. This is called an individual who has done away with hope.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, puggalo vigatāso.

These are the three individuals found in the world.Ime kho, bhikkhave, tayo puggalā santo saṁvijjamānā lokasmiṁ.

In the same way, these three individuals are found among the mendicants.Evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, tayo puggalā santo saṁvijjamānā bhikkhūsu. What three?Katame tayo? The hopeless, the hopeful, and the one who has done away with hope.Nirāso, āsaṁso, vigatāso. And what, mendicants, is a hopeless individual?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, puggalo nirāso? It’s when an individual is unethical, of bad qualities, filthy, with suspicious behavior, underhand, no true ascetic or spiritual practitioner—though claiming to be one—rotten inside, festering, and depraved.Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco puggalo dussīlo hoti pāpadhammo asuci saṅkassarasamācāro paṭicchannakammanto assamaṇo samaṇapaṭiñño abrahmacārī brahmacāripaṭiñño antopūti avassuto kasambujāto. They hear this:So suṇāti: ‘They say that the mendicant named so-and-so has realized the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom. And they live having realized it with their own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements.’‘itthannāmo kira bhikkhu āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharatī’ti. It never occurs to them:Tassa na evaṁ hoti: ‘Oh, when will I too realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom, and live having realized it with my own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements.’‘kudāssu nāma ahampi āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharissāmī’ti. This is called a hopeless individual.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, puggalo nirāso.

And what, mendicants, is a hopeful individual?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, puggalo āsaṁso? It’s when a mendicant is ethical, of good character.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sīlavā hoti kalyāṇadhammo. They hear this:So suṇāti: ‘They say that the mendicant named so-and-so has realized the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom. And they live having realized it with their own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements.’‘itthannāmo kira bhikkhu āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharatī’ti. It occurs to them:Tassa evaṁ hoti: ‘Oh, when will I too realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom, and live having realized it with my own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements.’‘kudāssu nāma ahampi āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharissāmī’ti. This is called a hopeful individual.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, puggalo āsaṁso.

And what, mendicants, is an individual who has done away with hope?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, puggalo vigatāso? It’s when a mendicant is a perfected one, who has ended all defilements.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu arahaṁ hoti khīṇāsavo. They hear this:So suṇāti: ‘They say that the mendicant named so-and-so has realized the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom. And they live having realized it with their own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements.’‘itthannāmo kira bhikkhu āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharatī’ti. It never occurs to them:Tassa na evaṁ hoti: ‘Oh, when will I too realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom, and live having realized it with my own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements.’‘kudāssu nāma ahampi āsavānaṁ khayā …pe… sacchikatvā upasampajja viharissāmī’ti. Why is that?Taṁ kissa hetu? Because the former hope they had to be freed has now died down.Yā hissa, bhikkhave, pubbe avimuttassa vimuttāsā sā paṭippassaddhā. This is called an individual who has done away with hope.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, puggalo vigatāso.

These are the three individuals found among the mendicants.”Ime kho, bhikkhave, tayo puggalā santo saṁvijjamānā bhikkhūsū”ti.