HeartDhamma

SN 55.17 Friends and Relatives: Stream-Entry (2)

Dutiyamittāmacca Sutta

 

To those for who you have compassion,

 

To those you think could listen and understand–

 

Bhikkhus,

to your friends and family,

Acquaintances and relatives,

They should be encouraged, explained and helped

In [acquiring] the four qualities of stream-entry

 

What four?

 

[1. Buddha]

 

They should be encouraged, explained and helped

In [acquiring] confident understanding in the Awakened One [as it is]:

 

 

The Exalted One is an Arahant, Perfectly All-Awakened

Endowed with knowledge and conduct,

Blissful, Knower of the worlds

Unsurpassed guide for those who seek self-mastery

Teacher of Devas and humans, Awakened and Blessed.

 

 

Bhikkhus, there could be change and alteration in the four great elements–

In the earth element,

the water element,

the fire element

and the wind element

But there cannot be change in the [mind of the] Ariyan meditator

who has confident understanding in the Buddha.

 

And if there were alteration,

That this Ariyan meditator

who has confident understanding about the Buddha

could be reborn in

the plane of the fallen,

the plane of the deviants,

or the plane of the ancestors,

This cannot stand.

 

[2. Dhamma]

They should be encouraged, explained and helped

In [acquiring] confident understanding in the Dhamma [as it is]:

 

‘Well explained is the Blessed One’s Teaching,

Directly visible, Immediate,

Inviting, Leading upwards,

To be experienced by the wise for oneself.

 

 

Bhikkhus, there could be change and alteration in the four great elements–

In the earth element,

the water element,

the fire element

and the wind element

But there cannot be change in the [mind of the] Ariyan meditator

who has confident understanding in the Dhamma.

 

And if there were alteration,

That this Ariyan meditator

who has confident understanding

about the Dhamma, could be reborn in

the plane of the fallen,

the plane of the deviants,

or the plane of the ancestors,

This cannot stand.

 

[3. Saṅgha]

One should be encouraged, explained and helped

In [acquiring] confident understanding in the Saṅgha

 

Good is the practice of the Awakened One’s disciples,

Straight is the practice of the Awakened One’s saṅgha,

Wise is the practice of the Awakened One’s saṅgha,

Meaningful is the practice of the Awakened One’s saṅgha.

That is, the four pairs of people,

The eight kinds of persons.

 

The saṅgha of the Awakened One is

Worthy support, worthy of hospitality,

Worthy of generosity, worthy of respect,

An unsurpassed field of goodness for the universe.

 

Bhikkhus, there could be change and alteration in the four great elements–

In the earth element,

the water element,

the fire element

and the wind element

But there cannot be change in the [mind of the] Ariyan meditator

who has confident understanding in the Saṅgha.

 

And if there should be alteration,

That this Ariyan meditator

who has confident understanding

about the Saṅgha, could be reborn in

the plane of the fallen,

the plane of the deviants,

the plane of the ancestors,

This cannot stand.

 

[4. Virtue of the Ariyas]

One should be encouraged, explained and helped

In the good nature of the Ariyans

 

That is unbroken, unflawed

Spotless, unsullied

Liberating, taught by the wise

Appeasing and turn into mental clarity [Samādhi]

 

 

Bhikkhus, there could be change and alteration in the four great elements–

In the earth element,

the water element,

the fire element

and the wind element

But there cannot be change in the Ariyan meditator

who has confident understanding in the virtue of the Ariyans.

 

And if there were alteration,

That this Ariyan meditator

who has confident understanding

about the virtue of the Ariyans could be reborn in

the plane of the fallen,

the plane of the deviants,

the plane of the ancestors,

This cannot stand.

 

image

To those you have compassion for,

To those you think could listen and understand–

 

Bhikkhus,

to your friends and family,

 acquaintances and relatives,

They should be encouraged, explained why and helped

in [acquiring] the four qualities of stream-entry

 

 

 

 

This is a gift of Dhamma

All Sutta Translations by Ānanda are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.