Good EnoughAlaṁsutta

“Mendicants, a mendicant with six qualities is good enough for themselves and others.“Chahi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano alaṁ paresaṁ. What six?Katamehi chahi? A mendicant is quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard.sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized.dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice in line with the teaching.atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno ca hoti; They’re a good speaker who enunciates well. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning.kalyāṇavāco ca hoti kalyāṇavākkaraṇo, poriyā vācāya samannāgato vissaṭṭhāya anelagaḷāya atthassa viññāpaniyā; They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions.sandassako ca hoti samādapako samuttejako sampahaṁsako sabrahmacārīnaṁ. A mendicant with these six qualities is good enough for themselves and others.Imehi kho, bhikkhave, chahi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano alaṁ paresaṁ.

A mendicant with five qualities is good enough for themselves and others.Pañcahi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano alaṁ paresaṁ. What five?Katamehi pañcahi? A mendicant is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu na heva kho khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard.sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized.dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice in line with the teaching.atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno ca hoti; They’re a good speaker. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning.kalyāṇavāco ca hoti …pe… atthassa viññāpaniyā; They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions.sandassako ca hoti samādapako samuttejako sampahaṁsako sabrahmacārīnaṁ. A mendicant with these five qualities is good enough for themselves and others.Imehi kho, bhikkhave, pañcahi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano alaṁ paresaṁ.

A mendicant with four qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.Catūhi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano nālaṁ paresaṁ. What four?Katamehi catūhi? A mendicant is quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard.sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized.dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice in line with the teaching.atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno ca hoti; But they’re not a good speaker and do not enunciate well. Their voice isn’t polished, clear, articulate, and doesn’t express the meaning.no ca kalyāṇavāco hoti kalyāṇavākkaraṇo, poriyā vācāya samannāgato vissaṭṭhāya anelagaḷāya atthassa viññāpaniyā; They don’t educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions.no ca sandassako hoti samādapako samuttejako sampahaṁsako sabrahmacārīnaṁ. A mendicant with these four qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.Imehi kho, bhikkhave, catūhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano nālaṁ paresaṁ.

A mendicant with four qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.Catūhi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ nālaṁ attano. What four?Katamehi catūhi? A mendicant is quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard.sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; But they don’t examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized.no ca dhātānaṁ dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; Not understanding the meaning and the teaching, they don’t practice in line with the teaching.na ca atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno hoti; They’re a good speaker who enunciates well. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning.kalyāṇavāco ca hoti kalyāṇavākkaraṇo …pe… atthassa viññāpaniyā; They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions.sandassako ca hoti …pe… sabrahmacārīnaṁ. A mendicant with these four qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.Imehi kho, bhikkhave, catūhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ, nālaṁ attano.

A mendicant with three qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.Tīhi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano nālaṁ paresaṁ. What three?Katamehi tīhi? A mendicant is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu na heva kho khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard.sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; They examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized.dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice in line with the teaching.atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno ca hoti; But they’re not a good speaker and do not enunciate well. Their voice isn’t polished, clear, articulate, and doesn’t express the meaning.no ca kalyāṇavāco hoti kalyāṇavākkaraṇo, poriyā vācāya samannāgato vissaṭṭhāya anelagaḷāya atthassa viññāpaniyā; They don’t educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions.no ca sandassako hoti samādapako samuttejako sampahaṁsako sabrahmacārīnaṁ. A mendicant with these three qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.Imehi kho, bhikkhave, tīhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, nālaṁ paresaṁ.

A mendicant with three qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.Tīhi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ, nālaṁ attano. What three?Katamehi tīhi? A mendicant is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu na heva kho khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; They readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard.sutānañca dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; But they don’t examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized.no ca dhātānaṁ dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; Not understanding the meaning and the teaching, they don’t practice in line with the teaching.no ca atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno hoti; They’re a good speaker. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning.kalyāṇavāco ca hoti …pe… atthassa viññāpaniyā; They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions.sandassako ca hoti samādapako samuttejako sampahaṁsako sabrahmacārīnaṁ. A mendicant with these three qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.Imehi kho, bhikkhave, tīhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ, nālaṁ attano.

A mendicant with two qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.Dvīhi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, nālaṁ paresaṁ. What two?Katamehi dvīhi? A mendicant is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu na heva kho khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; And they don’t readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard.no ca sutānaṁ dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; But they examine the meaning of teachings they have memorized.dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; Understanding the meaning and the teaching, they practice in line with the teaching.atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno ca hoti; They’re not a good speaker. Their voice isn’t polished, clear, articulate, and doesn’t express the meaning.no ca kalyāṇavāco hoti …pe… atthassa viññāpaniyā; They don’t educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions.no ca sandassako hoti …pe… sabrahmacārīnaṁ. A mendicant with these two qualities is good enough for themselves but not for others.Imehi kho, bhikkhave, dvīhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ attano, nālaṁ paresaṁ.

A mendicant with two qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.Dvīhi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ, nālaṁ attano. What two?Katamehi dvīhi? A mendicant is not quick-witted when it comes to skillful teachings.Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu na heva kho khippanisanti ca hoti kusalesu dhammesu; And they don’t readily memorize the teachings they’ve heard.no ca sutānaṁ dhammānaṁ dhāraṇajātiko hoti; Nor do they examine the meaning of teachings they’ve memorized.no ca dhātānaṁ dhammānaṁ atthūpaparikkhitā hoti; Not understanding the meaning and the teaching, they don’t practice in line with the teaching.no ca atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammappaṭipanno hoti; But they’re a good speaker who enunciates well. Their voice is polished, clear, articulate, and expresses the meaning.kalyāṇavāco ca hoti kalyāṇavākkaraṇo, poriyā vācāya samannāgato vissaṭṭhāya anelagaḷāya atthassa viññāpaniyā; They educate, encourage, fire up, and inspire their spiritual companions.sandassako ca hoti samādapako samuttejako sampahaṁsako sabrahmacārīnaṁ. A mendicant with these two qualities is good enough for others but not for themselves.”Imehi kho, bhikkhave, dvīhi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu alaṁ paresaṁ, nālaṁ attano”ti.