One Who Lives by the Teaching (1st)Paṭhamadhammavihārīsutta

Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:Atha kho aññataro bhikkhu yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho so bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

“Sir, they speak of ‘one who lives by the teaching’.“‘dhammavihārī, dhammavihārī’ti, bhante, vuccati. How is a mendicant who lives by the teaching defined?”Kittāvatā nu kho, bhante, bhikkhu dhammavihārī hotī”ti?

“Mendicant, take a mendicant who memorizes the teaching—“Idha, bhikkhu, bhikkhu dhammaṁ pariyāpuṇāti— statements, mixed prose & verse, discussions, verses, inspired exclamations, legends, stories of past lives, amazing stories, and elaborations.suttaṁ, geyyaṁ, veyyākaraṇaṁ, gāthaṁ, udānaṁ, itivuttakaṁ, jātakaṁ, abbhutadhammaṁ, vedallaṁ. They spend too much time studying that teaching. They neglect retreat, and are not committed to internal serenity of heart.So tāya dhammapariyattiyā divasaṁ atināmeti, riñcati paṭisallānaṁ, nānuyuñjati ajjhattaṁ cetosamathaṁ. That mendicant is called one who studies a lot, not one who lives by the teaching.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhu: ‘bhikkhu pariyattibahulo, no dhammavihārī’.

Furthermore, a mendicant teaches Dhamma in detail to others as they learned and memorized it.Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhu, bhikkhu yathāsutaṁ yathāpariyattaṁ dhammaṁ vitthārena paresaṁ deseti. They spend too much time advocating that teaching. They neglect retreat, and are not committed to internal serenity of heart.So tāya dhammapaññattiyā divasaṁ atināmeti, riñcati paṭisallānaṁ, nānuyuñjati ajjhattaṁ cetosamathaṁ. That mendicant is called one who advocates a lot, not one who lives by the teaching.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhu: ‘bhikkhu paññattibahulo, no dhammavihārī’.

Furthermore, a mendicant rehearses the teaching in detail as they learned and memorized it.Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhu, bhikkhu yathāsutaṁ yathāpariyattaṁ dhammaṁ vitthārena sajjhāyaṁ karoti. They spend too much time reciting that teaching. They neglect retreat, and are not committed to internal serenity of heart.So tena sajjhāyena divasaṁ atināmeti, riñcati paṭisallānaṁ, nānuyuñjati ajjhattaṁ cetosamathaṁ. That mendicant is called one who rehearses a lot, not one who lives by the teaching.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhu: ‘bhikkhu sajjhāyabahulo, no dhammavihārī’.

Furthermore, a mendicant thinks about and considers the teaching in their heart, examining it with the mind as they learned and memorized it.Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhu, bhikkhu yathāsutaṁ yathāpariyattaṁ dhammaṁ cetasā anuvitakketi anuvicāreti manasānupekkhati. They spend too much time thinking about that teaching. They neglect retreat, and are not committed to internal serenity of heart.So tehi dhammavitakkehi divasaṁ atināmeti, riñcati paṭisallānaṁ, nānuyuñjati ajjhattaṁ cetosamathaṁ. That mendicant is called one who thinks a lot, not one who lives by the teaching.Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhu: ‘bhikkhu vitakkabahulo, no dhammavihārī’.

Take a mendicant who memorizes the teaching—Idha, bhikkhu, bhikkhu dhammaṁ pariyāpuṇāti— statements, mixed prose & verse, discussions, verses, inspired exclamations, legends, stories of past lives, amazing stories, and elaborations.suttaṁ, geyyaṁ, veyyākaraṇaṁ, gāthaṁ, udānaṁ, itivuttakaṁ, jātakaṁ, abbhutadhammaṁ, vedallaṁ. They don’t spend too much time studying that teaching. They don’t neglect retreat, and they’re committed to internal serenity of heart.So tāya dhammapariyattiyā na divasaṁ atināmeti, nāpi riñcati paṭisallānaṁ, anuyuñjati ajjhattaṁ cetosamathaṁ. That’s how a mendicant is one who lives by the teaching.Evaṁ kho, bhikkhu, bhikkhu dhammavihārī hoti.

So, mendicant, I’ve taught you the one who studies a lot, the one who advocates a lot, the one who rehearses a lot, the one who thinks a lot, and the one who lives by the teaching.Iti kho, bhikkhu, desito mayā pariyattibahulo, desito paññattibahulo, desito sajjhāyabahulo, desito vitakkabahulo, desito dhammavihārī. Out of sympathy, I’ve done what a teacher should do who wants what’s best for their disciples.Yaṁ kho, bhikkhu, satthārā karaṇīyaṁ sāvakānaṁ hitesinā anukampakena anukampaṁ upādāya, kataṁ vo taṁ mayā. Here are these roots of trees, and here are these empty huts. Practice absorption, mendicant! Don’t be negligent! Don’t regret it later! This is my instruction to you.”Etāni, bhikkhu, rukkhamūlāni, etāni suññāgārāni. Jhāyatha, bhikkhu, mā pamādattha, mā pacchā vippaṭisārino ahuvattha. Ayaṁ vo amhākaṁ anusāsanī”ti.