Bad Character (3rd)Tatiyapāpadhammasutta

“Mendicants, I will teach you bad character and worse character,“Pāpadhammañca vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi, pāpadhammena pāpadhammatarañca; good character and better character.kalyāṇadhammañca, kalyāṇadhammena kalyāṇadhammatarañca. Taṁ suṇātha …pe….

And who has bad character?“Katamo ca, bhikkhave, pāpadhammo? 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 character.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, pāpadhammo.

And who has worse character?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, pāpadhammena pāpadhammataro? 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 character.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, pāpadhammena pāpadhammataro.

And who has good character?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, kalyāṇadhammo? 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 character.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, kalyāṇadhammo.

And who has better character?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, kalyāṇadhammena kalyāṇadhammataro? 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 character.”Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, kalyāṇadhammena kalyāṇadhammataro”ti.