Conscience and PrudenceHirīottappasutta

“Mendicants, when there is no conscience and prudence, one who lacks conscience and prudence has destroyed a vital condition for sense restraint.“Hirottappe, bhikkhave, asati hirottappavipannassa hatūpaniso hoti indriyasaṁvaro; When there is no sense restraint, one who lacks sense restraint has destroyed a vital condition for ethical conduct.indriyasaṁvare asati indriyasaṁvaravipannassa hatūpanisaṁ hoti sīlaṁ; When there is no ethical conduct, one who lacks ethics has destroyed a vital condition for right immersion.sīle asati sīlavipannassa hatūpaniso hoti sammāsamādhi; When there is no right immersion, one who lacks right immersion has destroyed a vital condition for true knowledge and vision.sammāsamādhimhi asati sammāsamādhivipannassa hatūpanisaṁ hoti yathābhūtañāṇadassanaṁ; When there is no true knowledge and vision, one who lacks true knowledge and vision has destroyed a vital condition for disillusionment and dispassion.yathābhūtañāṇadassane asati yathābhūtañāṇadassanavipannassa hatūpaniso hoti nibbidāvirāgo; When there is no disillusionment and dispassion, one who lacks disillusionment and dispassion has destroyed a vital condition for knowledge and vision of freedom.nibbidāvirāge asati nibbidāvirāgavipannassa hatūpanisaṁ hoti vimuttiñāṇadassanaṁ.

Suppose there was a tree that lacked branches and foliage.Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, rukkho sākhāpalāsavipanno. Its shoots, bark, softwood, and heartwood would not grow to fullness.Tassa papaṭikāpi na pāripūriṁ gacchati, tacopi pheggupi sāropi na pāripūriṁ gacchati.

In the same way, when there is no conscience and prudence, a person who lacks conscience and prudence has destroyed a vital condition for sense restraint.Evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, hirottappe asati hirottappavipannassa hatūpaniso hoti indriyasaṁvaro; When there is no sense restraint, one who lacks sense restraint has destroyed a vital condition for ethical conduct.indriyasaṁvare asati indriyasaṁvaravipannassa hatūpanisaṁ hoti sīlaṁ; When there is no ethical conduct, one who lacks ethics has destroyed a vital condition for right immersion.sīle asati sīlavipannassa hatūpaniso hoti sammāsamādhi; When there is no right immersion, one who lacks right immersion has destroyed a vital condition for true knowledge and vision.sammāsamādhimhi asati sammāsamādhivipannassa hatūpanisaṁ hoti yathābhūtañāṇadassanaṁ; When there is no true knowledge and vision, one who lacks true knowledge and vision has destroyed a vital condition for disillusionment and dispassion.yathābhūtañāṇadassane asati yathābhūtañāṇadassanavipannassa hatūpaniso hoti nibbidāvirāgo; When there is no disillusionment and dispassion, one who lacks disillusionment and dispassion has destroyed a vital condition for knowledge and vision of freedom.nibbidāvirāge asati nibbidāvirāgavipannassa hatūpanisaṁ hoti vimuttiñāṇadassanaṁ.

When there is conscience and prudence, a person who has fulfilled conscience and prudence has fulfilled a vital condition for sense restraint.Hirottappe, bhikkhave, sati hirottappasampannassa upanisasampanno hoti indriyasaṁvaro; When there is sense restraint, one who has fulfilled sense restraint has fulfilled a vital condition for ethical conduct.indriyasaṁvare sati indriyasaṁvarasampannassa upanisasampannaṁ hoti sīlaṁ; When there is ethical conduct, one who has fulfilled ethical conduct has fulfilled a vital condition for right immersion.sīle sati sīlasampannassa upanisasampanno hoti sammāsamādhi; When there is right immersion, one who has fulfilled right immersion has fulfilled a vital condition for true knowledge and vision.sammāsamādhimhi sati sammāsamādhisampannassa upanisasampannaṁ hoti yathābhūtañāṇadassanaṁ; When there is true knowledge and vision, one who has fulfilled true knowledge and vision has fulfilled a vital condition for disillusionment and dispassion.yathābhūtañāṇadassane sati yathābhūtañāṇadassanasampannassa upanisasampanno hoti nibbidāvirāgo; When there is disillusionment and dispassion, one who has fulfilled disillusionment and dispassion has fulfilled a vital condition for knowledge and vision of freedom.nibbidāvirāge sati nibbidāvirāgasampannassa upanisasampannaṁ hoti vimuttiñāṇadassanaṁ.

Suppose there was a tree that was complete with branches and foliage. Its shoots, bark, softwood, and heartwood would grow to fullness.Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, rukkho sākhāpalāsasampanno. Tassa papaṭikāpi pāripūriṁ gacchati, tacopi pheggupi sāropi pāripūriṁ gacchati.

In the same way, when there is conscience and prudence, one who has fulfilled conscience and prudence has fulfilled a vital condition for sense restraint. …Evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, hirottappe sati hirottappasampannassa upanisasampanno hoti …pe… One who has fulfilled disillusionment and dispassion has fulfilled a vital condition for knowledge and vision of freedom.”vimuttiñāṇadassanan”ti.