SN 45.146-148 (SN45.146-148)

45.146. The Moon

“Bhikkhus, just as the radiance of all the stars does not amount to a sixteenth part of the radiance of the moon, and the radiance of the moon is declared to be their chief, so too …”

45.147. The Sun

“Bhikkhus, just as in the autumn, when the sky is clear and cloudless, the sun, ascending in the sky, dispels all darkness from space as it shines and beams and radiates, so too …”

45.148. The Cloth

“Bhikkhus, just as, of all woven cloths, Kasian cloth is declared to be their chief, so too whatever wholesome states there are, they are all rooted in diligence, converge upon diligence, and diligence is declared to be the chief among them. When a bhikkhu is diligent, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.

“And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu who is diligent develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops right view … right concentration, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release. It is in this way, bhikkhus, that a bhikkhu who is diligent develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path.”

Each sutta is to be elaborated in accordance with the same fourfold method.

© Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Wisdom Publications, 2000)

This excerpt from The Connected Discourses of the Buddha by Bhikkhu Bodhi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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