Bad Character (1st)Paṭhamapāpadhammasutta

“Mendicants, I will teach you who’s bad and who’s worse,“Pāpañca vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi, pāpena pāpatarañca; who’s good and who’s better.kalyāṇañca, kalyāṇena kalyāṇatarañca. Taṁ suṇātha …pe….

And who’s bad?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, pāpo? It’s someone who kills living creatures, steals, and commits sexual misconduct. They use speech that’s false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical. And they’re covetous, malicious, with wrong view.Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco pāṇātipātī hoti …pe… micchādiṭṭhiko hoti. This is called bad.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, pāpo.

And who’s worse?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, pāpena pāpataro? It’s someone who kills living creatures, steals, and commits sexual misconduct. They use speech that’s false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical. They’re covetous, malicious, with wrong view. And they encourage others to do these things.Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco attanā ca pāṇātipātī hoti, parañca pāṇātipāte samādapeti …pe… attanā ca micchādiṭṭhiko hoti, parañca micchādiṭṭhiyā samādapeti. This is called worse.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, pāpena pāpataro.

And who’s good?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, kalyāṇo? It’s someone who doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, or commit sexual misconduct. They don’t use speech that’s false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical. And they’re contented, kind-hearted, with right view.Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco pāṇātipātā paṭivirato hoti …pe… sammādiṭṭhiko hoti. This is called good.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, kalyāṇo.

And who’s better?“Katamo ca, bhikkhave, kalyāṇena kalyāṇataro? It’s someone who doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, or commit sexual misconduct. They don’t use speech that’s false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical. They’re contented, kind-hearted, with right view. And they encourage others to do these things.Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco attanā ca pāṇātipātā paṭivirato hoti, parañca pāṇātipātā veramaṇiyā samādapeti …pe… attanā ca sammādiṭṭhiko hoti, parañca sammādiṭṭhiyā samādapeti. This is called better.”Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, kalyāṇena kalyāṇataro”ti.