Bhikkhu-aparihāniya-dhamma Sutta
The Causes of Non-decline for Monks
[Evaṁ me sutaṁ,] Ekaṁ samayaṁ Bhagavā, Rājagahe viharati, Gijjhakūṭe pabbate. Tatra kho Bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi, “Satta vo bhikkhave aparihāniye dhamme desessāmi. Taṁ suṇātha sādhukaṁ manasi-karotha bhāsissāmīti.”
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying in Rājagaha, on Vulture Peak Mountain. There he addressed the monks: “Monks, I will teach you the seven conditions that lead to no decline. Listen & pay close attention. I will speak.”
“Evaṁ bhante” ti kho te bhikkhū Bhagavato paccassosuṁ.
“As you say, lord,” the monks responded to the Blessed One.
Bhagavā etad-avoca, “Katame ca bhikkhave satta aparihāniyā dhammā?
The Blessed One said: “And which seven are the conditions that lead to no decline?
[1] Yāvakīvañ-ca bhikkhave bhikkhū, abhiṇha-sannipātā bhavissanti sannipāta-bahulā, vuḍḍhiyeva bhikkhave bhikkhūnaṁ pāṭikaṅkhā no parihāni.
“As long as the monks meet often, meet a great deal, their growth can be expected, not their decline.
[2] Yāvakīvañ-ca bhikkhave bhikkhū, samaggā sannipatissanti, samaggā vuṭṭhahissanti, samaggā saṅgha-karaṇīyāni karissanti, vuḍḍhiyeva bhikkhave bhikkhūnaṁ pāṭikaṅkhā no parihāni.
“As long as the monks meet in harmony, adjourn from their meetings in harmony, and conduct Saṅgha business in harmony, their growth can be expected, not their decline.
[3] Yāvakīvañ-ca bhikkhave bhikkhū, apaññattaṁ na paññāpessanti, paññattaṁ na samucchindissanti, yathā-paññattesu sikkhāpadesu samādāya vattissanti, vuḍḍhiyeva bhikkhave bhikkhūnaṁ pāṭikaṅkhā no parihāni.
“As long as the monks neither decree what has been undecreed nor repeal what has been decreed, but practice undertaking the training rules as they have been decreed, their growth can be expected, not their decline.
[4] Yāvakīvañ-ca bhikkhave bhikkhū, ye te bhikkhū therā rattaññū cira-pabbajitā, saṅgha-pitaro saṅgha-pariṇāyakā, te sakkarissanti garu-karissanti mānessanti pūjessanti, tesañ-ca sotabbaṁ maññissanti, vuḍḍhiyeva bhikkhave bhikkhūnaṁ pāṭikaṅkhā no parihāni.
“As long as the monks honor, respect, venerate, and do homage to the elder monks—those with seniority who have long been ordained, the fathers of the Saṅgha, leaders of the Saṅgha—regarding them as worth listening to, their growth can be expected, not their decline.
[5] Yāvakīvañ-ca bhikkhave bhikkhū, uppannāya taṇhāya ponobhavikāya na vasaṁ gacchissanti, vuḍḍhiyeva bhikkhave bhikkhūnaṁ pāṭikaṅkhā no parihāni.
“As long as the monks do not submit to the power of any arisen craving that leads to further becoming, their growth can be expected, not their decline.
[6] Yāvakīvañ-ca bhikkhave bhikkhū, āraññakesu senāsanesu sāpekkhā bhavissanti, vuḍḍhiyeva bhikkhave bhikkhūnaṁ pāṭikaṅkhā no parihāni.
“As long as the monks see their own benefit in wilderness dwellings, their growth can be expected, not their decline.
[7] Yāvakīvañ-ca bhikkhave bhikkhū, paccattaññeva satiṁ upaṭṭhāpessanti, ‘Kinti anāgatā ca pesalā sabrahmacārī āgaccheyyuṁ, āgatā ca pesalā sabrahmacārī phāsuṁ vihareyyunti,’ vuḍḍhiyeva bhikkhave bhikkhūnaṁ pāṭikaṅkhā no parihāni.
“As long as the monks each keep firmly in mind: ‘If there are any well-behaved companions in the holy life who have yet to come, may they come; and may the well-behaved companions in the holy life who have come live in comfort,’ their growth can be expected, not their decline.
Yāvakīvañ-ca bhikkhave ime satta aparihāniyā dhammā bhikkhūsu ṭhassanti, imesu ca sattasu aparihāniyesu dhammesu bhikkhū sandississanti, vuḍḍhiyeva bhikkhave bhikkhūnaṁ pāṭikaṅkhā no parihānīti.”
“As long as the monks remain steadfast in these seven conditions, and as long as these seven conditions endure among the monks, the monks’ growth can be expected, not their decline.”
Idam-avoca Bhagavā. Attamanā te bhikkhū Bhagavato bhāsitaṁ, abhinandunti.
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
