1On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus: "Bhikkhus!"

"Venerable sir!" those bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:

2"Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu who is not skilled in the ways of others’ minds should train: ‘I will be skilled in the ways of my own mind.’ It is in this way that you should train yourselves.

3"And how is a bhikkhu skilled in the ways of his own mind? It is just as if a woman or a man—young, youthful, and fond of ornaments—would look at her or his own facial reflection in a clean bright mirror or in a bowl of clear water. If they see any dust or blemish there, they will make an effort to remove it. But if they do not see any dust or blemish there, they will be glad about it; and their wish fulfilled, they will think, ‘How fortunate that I’m clean!’ [n.2060] Ce paripuṇṇaṁ should be corrected to parisuddhaṁ as in Be and Ee. Ce reads parisuddhaṁ in the parallel passage occurring in the later suttas of the chapter, so it is clear that paripuṇṇaṁ is a typographical error. So too, self-examination is very helpful for a bhikkhu to grow in wholesome qualities.

"One should ask oneself: (1) ‘Am I often given to longing or without longing? (2) Am I often given to ill will or without ill will? (3) Am I often overcome by dullness and drowsiness or free from dullness and drowsiness? (4) Am I often restless or calm? (5) Am I often plagued by doubt or free from doubt? (6) Am I often angry or without anger? (7) Is my mind often defiled or undefiled? (8) Is my body often agitated or unagitated? (9) Am I often lazy or energetic? (10) Am I often unconcentrated or concentrated?’ [n.2061] A Chinese parallel, MĀ 110 (T I 598c21 –599b7), differs slightly from the Pāli in its list of defilements and their wholesome opposites. It includes lack of faith and faith, muddle-mindedness and mindfulness, and foolishness and wisdom. Faith, mindfulness, and wisdom—together with energy and concentration (overlapping with the Pāli list)—constitute the five spiritual faculties, considered as absent or present.

4"If, by such self-examination, a bhikkhu knows: ‘I am often given to longing, given to ill will, overcome by dullness and drowsiness, restless, plagued by doubt, angry, defiled in mind, agitated in body, lazy, and unconcentrated,’ he should put forth extraordinary desire, effort, zeal, enthusiasm, indefatigability, mindfulness, and clear comprehension to abandon those same bad unwholesome qualities. Just as one whose clothes or head had caught fire would put forth extraordinary desire, effort, zeal, enthusiasm, indefatigability, mindfulness, and clear comprehension to extinguish the fire on his clothes or head, so too that bhikkhu should put forth extraordinary desire, effort, zeal, enthusiasm, indefatigability, mindfulness, and clear comprehension to abandon those same bad unwholesome qualities.

5"But if, by such self-examination, a bhikkhu knows: ‘I am often without longing, without ill will, free from dullness and drowsiness, calm, free from doubt, without anger, undefiled in mind, unagitated in body, energetic, and concentrated,’ he should base himself on those same wholesome qualities and make a further effort to reach the destruction of the taints."

1Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: "bhikkhavo"ti.

"Bhadante"ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. Bhagavā etadavoca:

2"No ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paracittapariyāyakusalo hoti, atha ‘sacittapariyāyakusalo bhavissāmī’ti – evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabbaṁ.

3Kathañca, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sacittapariyāyakusalo hoti? Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, itthī vā puriso vā daharo yuvā maṇḍanakajātiko ādāse vā parisuddhe pariyodāte acche vā udakapatte sakaṁ mukhanimittaṁ paccavekkhamāno sace tattha passati rajaṁ vā aṅgaṇaṁ vā, tasseva rajassa vā aṅgaṇassa vā pahānāya vāyamati. No ce tattha passati rajaṁ vā aṅgaṇaṁ vā, tenevattamano hoti paripuṇṇasaṅkappo: ‘lābhā vata me, parisuddhaṁ vata me’ti. Evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno paccavekkhaṇā bahukārā hoti kusalesu dhammesu:

‘Abhijjhālu nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, anabhijjhālu nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, byāpannacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, abyāpannacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, thinamiddhapariyuṭṭhito nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, vigatathinamiddho nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, uddhato nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, anuddhato nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, vicikiccho nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, tiṇṇavicikiccho nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, kodhano nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, akkodhano nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, saṅkiliṭṭhacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, asaṅkiliṭṭhacitto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, sāraddhakāyo nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, asāraddhakāyo nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, kusīto nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, āraddhavīriyo nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, asamāhito nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmi, samāhito nu kho bahulaṁ viharāmī’ti.

4Sace, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paccavekkhamāno evaṁ jānāti: ‘abhijjhālu bahulaṁ viharāmi, byāpannacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, thinamiddhapariyuṭṭhito bahulaṁ viharāmi, uddhato bahulaṁ viharāmi, vicikiccho bahulaṁ viharāmi, kodhano bahulaṁ viharāmi, saṅkiliṭṭhacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, sāraddhakāyo bahulaṁ viharāmi, kusīto bahulaṁ viharāmi, asamāhito bahulaṁ viharāmī’ti, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesaṁyeva pāpakānaṁ akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya adhimatto chando ca vāyāmo ca ussāho ca ussoḷhī ca appaṭivānī ca sati ca sampajaññañca karaṇīyaṁ. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, ādittacelo vā ādittasīso vā. Tasseva celassa vā sīsassa vā nibbāpanāya adhimattaṁ chandañca vāyāmañca ussāhañca ussoḷhiñca appaṭivāniñca satiñca sampajaññañca kareyya. Evamevaṁ kho tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesaṁyeva pāpakānaṁ akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya adhimatto chando ca vāyāmo ca ussāho ca ussoḷhī ca appaṭivānī ca sati ca sampajaññañca karaṇīyaṁ.

5Sace pana, bhikkhave, bhikkhu paccavekkhamāno evaṁ jānāti: ‘anabhijjhālu bahulaṁ viharāmi, abyāpannacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, vigatathinamiddho bahulaṁ viharāmi, anuddhato bahulaṁ viharāmi, tiṇṇavicikiccho bahulaṁ viharāmi, akkodhano bahulaṁ viharāmi, asaṅkiliṭṭhacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, asāraddhakāyo bahulaṁ viharāmi, āraddhavīriyo bahulaṁ viharāmi, samāhito bahulaṁ viharāmī’ti, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesuyeva kusalesu dhammesu patiṭṭhāya uttari āsavānaṁ khayāya yogo karaṇīyo"ti.

Paṭhamaṁ.