The Sublime Attitudes
Brahmavihāra Sutta (AN 10:196)
“Monks, I don’t speak of the wiping out of intentional acts that have been done & accumulated without (their results) having been experienced, either in the here & now or in a further state hereafter. Nor do I speak of the act of putting an end to suffering and stress without having experienced (the results of) intentional acts that have been done & accumulated.1
“That disciple of the noble ones—thus devoid of covetousness, devoid of ill will, unbewildered, alert, mindful—keeps pervading the first direction [the east] with an awareness imbued with goodwill, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth. Thus above, below, & all around, everywhere, in its entirety, he keeps pervading the all-encompassing cosmos with an awareness imbued with goodwill—abundant, expansive, immeasurable, without hostility, without ill will. He discerns, ‘Before, this mind of mine was limited & undeveloped. But now this mind of mine is immeasurable & well developed. And whatever action that was done in a measurable way does not remain there, does not linger there.’
“What do you think, monks? If that youth, from childhood, were to develop the awareness-release through goodwill, would he do any evil action?”
“No, lord.”
“Not doing any evil action, would he touch suffering?”
“No, lord, for when one does no evil action, from where would he touch suffering?”
“This awareness-release through goodwill should be developed whether one is a woman or a man. Neither a woman nor a man can go taking this body along. Death, monks, is but a gap of a thought away. One (who practices this release of awareness) discerns, ‘Whatever evil action has been done by this body born of action, that will all be experienced here [in this life]. It will not come to be hereafter.’ Thus developed, the release of awareness through goodwill leads to non-returning for the monk who has gained gnosis here and has penetrated to no higher release.
“That disciple of the noble ones—thus devoid of covetousness, devoid of ill will, unbewildered, alert, mindful—keeps pervading the first direction [the east] with an awareness imbued with compassion.…
“That disciple of the noble ones—thus devoid of covetousness, devoid of ill will, unbewildered, alert, mindful—keeps pervading the first direction [the east] with an awareness imbued with empathetic joy.…
“That disciple of the noble ones—thus devoid of covetousness, devoid of ill will, unbewildered, alert, mindful—keeps pervading the first direction [the east] with an awareness imbued with equanimity, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth. Thus above, below, & all around, everywhere, in its entirety, he keeps pervading the all-encompassing cosmos with an awareness imbued with equanimity—abundant, expansive, immeasurable, without hostility, without ill will. He discerns, ‘Before, this mind of mine was limited & undeveloped. But now this mind of mine is immeasurable & well developed. And whatever action that was done in a measurable way does not remain there, does not linger there.’
“What do you think, monks? If that youth, from childhood, were to develop the awareness-release through equanimity, would he do any evil action?”
“No, lord.”
“Not doing any evil action, would he touch suffering?”
“No, lord, for when one does no evil action, from where would he touch suffering?”
“This awareness-release through equanimity should be developed whether one is a woman or a man. Neither a woman nor a man can go taking this body along. Death, monks, is but a gap of a thought away. One (who practices this release of awareness) discerns, ‘Whatever evil action has been done by this body born of action, that will all be experienced here [in this life]. It will not come to be hereafter.’ Thus developed, the awareness-release through equanimity leads to non-returning for the monk who has gained gnosis here and has penetrated to no higher release.”
Note
1. F. L. Woodward—the translator of the Aṅguttara Tens and Elevens in GSB—notes that this sutta seems patched together from various sources. As proof, he cites the abrupt breaks between this paragraph and the next, and between the next and the one following it.
