AN 8.39 Puññābhisanda [Abhisanda] Sutta. Streams.

[mikenz66]

AN 8.39 Puññābhisanda [Abhisanda] Sutta. Streams.
Translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi

https://suttacentral.net/en/an8.39

“Bhikkhus, there are these eight streams of merit, streams of the wholesome, nutriments of happiness—heavenly, ripening in happiness, conducive to heaven—that lead to what is wished for, desired, and agreeable, to one’s welfare and happiness. [1712] What eight?

(1) “Here, a noble disciple has gone for refuge to the Buddha. This is the first stream of merit, stream of the wholesome, nutriment of happiness—heavenly, ripening in happiness, conducive to heaven—that leads to what is wished for, desired, and agreeable, to one’s welfare and happiness.

(2) “Again, a noble disciple has gone for refuge to the Dhamma. This is the second stream of merit … that leads to what is wished for, desired, and agreeable, to one’s welfare and happiness.

(3) “Again, a noble disciple has gone for refuge to the Saṅgha. This is the third stream of merit … that leads to what is wished for, desired, and agreeable, to one’s welfare and happiness.

“There are, bhikkhus, these five gifts, great gifts, primal, of long standing, traditional, ancient, unadulterated and never before adulterated, which are not being adulterated and will not be adulterated, not repudiated by wise ascetics and brahmins. What five?

(4) “Here, a noble disciple, having abandoned the destruction of life, abstains from the destruction of life. By abstaining from the destruction of life, the noble disciple gives to an immeasurable number of beings freedom from fear, enmity, and affliction. He himself in turn enjoys immeasurable freedom from fear, enmity, and affliction. This is the first gift, a great gift, primal, of long standing, traditional, ancient, unadulterated and never before adulterated, which is not being adulterated and will not be adulterated, not repudiated by wise ascetics and brahmins. This is the fourth stream of merit … that leads to what is wished for, desired, and agreeable, to one’s welfare and happiness.

(5)–(8) “Again, a noble disciple, having abandoned the taking of what is not given, abstains from taking what is not given … abstains from sexual misconduct … abstains from false speech … abstains from liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness. By abstaining from liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness, the noble disciple gives to an immeasurable number of beings freedom from fear, enmity, and affliction. He himself in turn enjoys immeasurable freedom from fear, enmity, and affliction. This is the fifth gift, a great gift, primal, of long standing, traditional, ancient, unadulterated and never before adulterated, which is not being adulterated and will not be adulterated, not repudiated by wise ascetics and brahmins. This is the eighth stream of merit … that leads to what is wished for, desired, and agreeable, to one’s welfare and happiness.

“These, bhikkhus, are the eight streams of merit, streams of the wholesome, nutriments of happiness—heavenly, ripening in happiness, conducive to heaven—that lead to what is wished for, desired, and agreeable, to one’s welfare and happiness.”

Notes

[1712] See AN4.51, AN4.52, AN4.45.

[mikenz66]

AN 8.39 PTS: A iv 245 Abhisanda Sutta: Rewards
translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

The Buddha tells of eight rewards that can be expected from skillful conduct.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html

"Monks, there are these eight rewards of merit, rewards of skillfulness, nourishments of happiness, celestial, resulting in happiness, leading to heaven, leading to what is desirable, pleasurable, & appealing, to welfare & happiness. Which eight?

"There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones has gone to the Buddha for refuge. This is the first reward of merit, reward of skillfulness, nourishment of happiness, celestial, resulting in happiness, leading to heaven, leading to what is desirable, pleasurable, & appealing; to welfare & to happiness.

"Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones has gone to the Dhamma for refuge. This is the second reward of merit...

"Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones has gone to the Sangha for refuge. This is the third reward of merit...

"Now, there are these five gifts, five great gifts — original, long-standing, traditional, ancient, unadulterated, unadulterated from the beginning — that are not open to suspicion, will never be open to suspicion, and are unfaulted by knowledgeable contemplatives & brahmans. Which five?

"There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones, abandoning the taking of life, abstains from taking life. In doing so, he gives freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings. In giving freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings, he gains a share in limitless freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, and freedom from oppression. This is the first gift, the first great gift — original, long-standing, traditional, ancient, unadulterated, unadulterated from the beginning — that is not open to suspicion, will never be open to suspicion, and is unfaulted by knowledgeable contemplatives & brahmans. And this is the fourth reward of merit...

"Furthermore, abandoning taking what is not given (stealing), the disciple of the noble ones abstains from taking what is not given. In doing so, he gives freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings. In giving freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings, he gains a share in limitless freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, and freedom from oppression. This is the second gift, the second great gift... and this is the fifth reward of merit...

"Furthermore, abandoning illicit sex, the disciple of the noble ones abstains from illicit sex. In doing so, he gives freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings. In giving freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings, he gains a share in limitless freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, and freedom from oppression. This is the third gift, the third great gift... and this is the sixth reward of merit...

"Furthermore, abandoning lying, the disciple of the noble ones abstains from lying. In doing so, he gives freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings. In giving freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings, he gains a share in limitless freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, and freedom from oppression. This is the fourth gift, the fourth great gift... and this is the seventh reward of merit...

"Furthermore, abandoning the use of intoxicants, the disciple of the noble ones abstains from taking intoxicants. In doing so, he gives freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings. In giving freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings, he gains a share in limitless freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, and freedom from oppression. This is the fifth gift, the fifth great gift — original, long-standing, traditional, ancient, unadulterated, unadulterated from the beginning — that is not open to suspicion, will never be open to suspicion, and is unfaulted by knowledgeable contemplatives & brahmans. And this is the eighth reward of merit, reward of skillfulness, nourishment of happiness, celestial, resulting in happiness, leading to heaven, leading to what is desirable, pleasurable, & appealing; to welfare & to happiness.

See also: AN 4.111, as an example of gentle training.

[Cormac Brown]

We need to make sure that we're taking genuine refuge in the Triple Gem, not in other things nor other teachers. Even most "Buddhist" teachers go worryingly off-piste these days, so we need to make sure our practice is first and foremost firmly rooted in what we find in the suttas. If we go for refuge elsewhere, it's like running from our parental home and sleeping in the houses of others unfamiliar to us. Even though there's a welcoming home for us whenever we need it, comfortable and well-furnished and with people inside who care for us, we abandon and neglect it and put ourselves in danger as a result. We're not at our ease, running about in the cold and rain, sleeping on others' floors. We open ourselves up to all sorts of outside influences, as well as leaving our true home vulnerable and untended. If we try to take refuge in our own views and preferences, it's like trying to build our own home from scratch and by ourselves in the middle of a storm, when there's a perfectly good one already built nearby, with a fire blazing in the hearth, just waiting for us to take shelter in. It's sheer stubbornness, and we'll suffer for it.

As for heaven, we keep running around looking for it outside, failing to see that if we only stayed in place and took care of what little we already have, our ordinary home and plot of land would eventually flourish and prosper, gradually turning into a heavenly one. Just five little precepts, which, when we start keeping them, seem so small and insignificant, but if we nurture them over time they grow and blossom into great big ones, protecting us and the whole world, providing limitless beings with happiness and safety. If we're in any doubt as to their vastness, we should consider their position in the scale of meritorious deeds given in the Velama Sutta. The Buddha in a previous life was the brahman, Velama, who gave an enormously lavish material gift, incomprehensible in scale to almost all of us. Nevertheless, the Buddha says that keeping the five precepts:

"...would be more fruitful than the gift, the great gift, that Velāma the brahman gave, and [in addition to that] if one were to feed one person... 100 people consummate in view, and were to feed one once-returner... 100 once-returners, and were to feed one non-returner... 100 non-returners, and were to feed one arahant... 100 arahants, and were to feed one Private Buddha... 100 Private Buddhas, and were to feed a Tathagata — a worthy one, rightly self-awakened — and were to feed a community of monks headed by the Buddha, and were to have a dwelling built and dedicated to the Community of the four directions, and with a confident mind were to go to the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha for refuge."

From Velama Sutta, trans. Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Only unawakened people think of the five precepts as "not a big deal," because they don't see their potential. Times get a little bit tough and they drop a precept or two in order to "get ahead" or "protect themselves." Awakened ones, on the other hand, wouldn't drop a single one, even if you held a knife to their throat, or offered them all the money in the world. They're smart investors, not interested in quick returns, who know how to play the long game. If an ordinary person had their life threatened they'd think their most precious possession was about to be taken away from them, and could react unwisely; whereas a smart person would see it as an opportunity to give up something of little worth in return for something much more valuable, and so keep their cool.

Awakened ones know where their true home is and what their most valuable possessions are. So they stay in place, i.e. in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, and take care of what they've got, i.e. their precepts. Even when they have to leave their material home, i.e. the body, they've still got what they need to get to heaven, and eventually to Nibbana.