ThingsṬhānasutta

“Mendicants, there are these four things.“Cattārimāni, bhikkhave, ṭhānāni. What four?Katamāni cattāri?

1. There is a thing that’s unpleasant to do,Atthi, bhikkhave, ṭhānaṁ amanāpaṁ kātuṁ; and doing it proves harmful.tañca kayiramānaṁ anatthāya saṁvattati.
2. There is a thing that’s unpleasant to do,Atthi, bhikkhave, ṭhānaṁ amanāpaṁ kātuṁ; but doing it proves beneficial.tañca kayiramānaṁ atthāya saṁvattati.
3. There is a thing that’s pleasant to do,Atthi, bhikkhave, ṭhānaṁ manāpaṁ kātuṁ; but doing it proves harmful.tañca kayiramānaṁ anatthāya saṁvattati.
4. There is a thing that’s pleasant to do,Atthi, bhikkhave, ṭhānaṁ manāpaṁ kātuṁ; and doing it proves beneficial.tañca kayiramānaṁ atthāya saṁvattati.

Take the thing that’s unpleasant to do,Tatra, bhikkhave, yamidaṁ ṭhānaṁ amanāpaṁ kātuṁ; and doing it proves harmful.tañca kayiramānaṁ anatthāya saṁvattati— This is regarded as a thing that shouldn’t be done on both grounds:idaṁ, bhikkhave, ṭhānaṁ ubhayeneva na kattabbaṁ maññati. because it’s unpleasant,Yampidaṁ ṭhānaṁ amanāpaṁ kātuṁ; and because doing it proves harmful.Yampidaṁ ṭhānaṁ kayiramānaṁ anatthāya saṁvattati; This is regarded as a thing that shouldn’t be done on both grounds.Idaṁ, bhikkhave, ṭhānaṁ ubhayeneva na kattabbaṁ maññati.

Next, take the thing that’s unpleasant to do,Tatra, bhikkhave, yamidaṁ ṭhānaṁ amanāpaṁ kātuṁ; but doing it proves beneficial.tañca kayiramānaṁ atthāya saṁvattati— It is here that you can tell who is foolish and who is astute in regard to human strength, energy, and vigor.imasmiṁ, bhikkhave, ṭhāne bālo ca paṇḍito ca veditabbo purisathāme purisavīriye purisaparakkame. A fool doesn’t reflect:Na, bhikkhave, bālo iti paṭisañcikkhati: ‘Despite the fact that this thing is unpleasant to do,‘kiñcāpi kho idaṁ ṭhānaṁ amanāpaṁ kātuṁ; doing it still proves beneficial.’atha carahidaṁ ṭhānaṁ kayiramānaṁ atthāya saṁvattatī’ti. They don’t do that thing,So taṁ ṭhānaṁ na karoti. so that proves harmful.Tassa taṁ ṭhānaṁ akayiramānaṁ anatthāya saṁvattati. An astute person does reflect:Paṇḍito ca kho, bhikkhave, iti paṭisañcikkhati: ‘Even though this thing is unpleasant to do,‘kiñcāpi kho idaṁ ṭhānaṁ amanāpaṁ kātuṁ; doing it still proves beneficial.’atha carahidaṁ ṭhānaṁ kayiramānaṁ atthāya saṁvattatī’ti. They do that thing,So taṁ ṭhānaṁ karoti. so that proves beneficial.Tassa taṁ ṭhānaṁ kayiramānaṁ atthāya saṁvattati.

Next, take the thing that’s pleasant to do,Tatra, bhikkhave, yamidaṁ ṭhānaṁ manāpaṁ kātuṁ; but doing it proves harmful.tañca kayiramānaṁ anatthāya saṁvattati— It is here that you can tell who is foolish and who is astute in regard to human strength, energy, and vigor.imasmimpi, bhikkhave, ṭhāne bālo ca paṇḍito ca veditabbo purisathāme purisavīriye purisaparakkame. A fool doesn’t reflect:Na, bhikkhave, bālo iti paṭisañcikkhati: ‘Even though this thing is pleasant to do,‘kiñcāpi kho idaṁ ṭhānaṁ manāpaṁ kātuṁ; doing it still proves harmful.’atha carahidaṁ ṭhānaṁ kayiramānaṁ anatthāya saṁvattatī’ti. They do that thing,So taṁ ṭhānaṁ karoti. and so that proves harmful.Tassa taṁ ṭhānaṁ kayiramānaṁ anatthāya saṁvattati. An astute person does reflect:Paṇḍito ca kho, bhikkhave, iti paṭisañcikkhati: ‘Despite the fact that this thing is pleasant to do,‘kiñcāpi kho idaṁ ṭhānaṁ manāpaṁ kātuṁ; doing it still proves harmful.’atha carahidaṁ ṭhānaṁ kayiramānaṁ anatthāya saṁvattatī’ti. They don’t do that thing,So taṁ ṭhānaṁ na karoti. so that proves beneficial.Tassa taṁ ṭhānaṁ akayiramānaṁ atthāya saṁvattati.

Next, take the thing that’s pleasant to do, and doing it proves beneficial.Tatra, bhikkhave, yamidaṁ ṭhānaṁ manāpaṁ kātuṁ, tañca kayiramānaṁ atthāya saṁvattati— This is regarded as a thing that should be done on both grounds:idaṁ, bhikkhave, ṭhānaṁ ubhayeneva kattabbaṁ maññati. because it’s pleasant,Yampidaṁ ṭhānaṁ manāpaṁ kātuṁ, imināpi naṁ kattabbaṁ maññati; and because doing it proves beneficial.yampidaṁ ṭhānaṁ kayiramānaṁ atthāya saṁvattati, imināpi naṁ kattabbaṁ maññati. This is regarded as a thing that should be done on both grounds.Idaṁ, bhikkhave, ṭhānaṁ ubhayeneva kattabbaṁ maññati.

These are the four things.”Imāni kho, bhikkhave, cattāri ṭhānānī”ti.