17.1 Of an Arahant having Accumulating Merit (KV17.1)

Controverted Point: That there is accumulation of merit in the case of an Arahant.

Theravādin: If the Arahant have accumulation of merit, you must allow he may also have accumulation of demerit … And you must equally allow that he achieves meritorious karma, and karma leading to the imperturbable, that he does actions conducing to this or that destiny, or plane of rebirth, actions conducing to authority, influence, riches, adherents and retainers, celestial or human prosperity … .

You must further admit that, in his karma, he is heaping up or unloading, putting away or grasping, scattering or binding, dispersing or collecting. If he does none of these things, but having unloaded, put away, scattered, dispersed, so abides, your proposition is untenable.

Andhaka: But may not an Arahant give gifts—clothing, alms, food, lodging, medicaments for sickness, food, drink? May he not salute shrines, hang garlands on them, and perfumes and unguents? May he not make consummate oblations before them? You admit this. But these are all merit-accumulating acts … .

The Points of Controversy, an English translation of the Pali Abhidhamma Kathāvatthu. Translated by Shwe Zan Aung and C.A.F. Rhys Davids. First published by Pali Text Society, 1915.

This SuttaCentral edition was prepared by Manfred Wierich and Ven. Vimala and proofread by Josephine Tobin. Some changes were introduced:

Abbreviations, i.e., those of cited works and the participants in the controversies, were expanded.

Cross-references were linked.

Some typographic changes were introduced, among others, i.e.: the phonetic symbol “ŋ” was changed to the Pāli diacritical letter “ṃ”, “ô” to “o”, single quotes to double quotes, and “:—” to “:”.

Letter-spacing with fixed spaces was replaced with bold font.

The corrigenda were merged into the text. Some could not be resolved, though.

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