Praise (EA18.10)

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī…

Then the Exalted One said to the bhikṣus: ‘There are these two persons who acquire inestimable merit. Which two? He who admires and praises what is praiseworthy, and he who by no means admires what does not deserve [praise]. Furthermore, there are [these] two persons who acquire inestimable demerit. Which are the two? He who strongly opposes and denigrates what admittedly deserves admiration, and he who enthusiastically admires what is by no means admirable. O bhikṣus, do not imitate such behavior.’

Having heard the Buddha’s words, the bhikṣus were pleased and respectfully applied themselves to practice.

Translated from Sanskrit to Chinese by Dharmanandi.

CBETA, T02, no. 125, p. 593, a9–16. This translation originally published as Ekottaragama XXI, Buddhist Studies Review 13.2, 1996, p. 151. Translated from the Chinese version by Thích Huyên-Vi in collaboration with Sara Boin-Webb and Bhikkhu Pāsādika. Used with kind permission of the Buddhist Studies Review and Bhikkhu Pāsādika.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.