Penalties
Vajja Sutta (AN 2:1)

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There he addressed the monks: “Monks!”

“Yes, lord,” the monks responded to him.

The Blessed One said, “Monks, there are these two penalties. Which two? Penalties in the present life and penalties in lives to come.

“And which are penalties in the present life? There is the case where a certain person sees a thief, a criminal, who, when captured by a king, they torture in many ways. They flog him with whips, beat him with canes, beat him with clubs; they cut off his hands, cut off his feet, cut off his hands & feet; they cut off his ears, cut off his nose, cut off his ears & nose; they subject him to the ‘porridge pot,’ the ‘polished-shell shave,’ the ‘Rāhu’s mouth,’ the ‘flaming garland,’ the ‘blazing hand,’ the ‘grass-duty (ascetic),’ the ‘bark-dress (ascetic),’ the ‘burning antelope,’ the ‘meat hooks,’ the ‘coin-gouging,’ the ‘lye pickling,’ the ‘pivot on a stake,’ the ‘rolled-up bed’; they have him splashed with boiling oil, devoured by dogs, impaled alive on stakes; they have his head cut off with a sword.

“The thought occurs to him [the first man], ‘It’s because of these sorts of evil actions that when a thief, a criminal, is captured by a king, they torture him in many ways. They flog him with whips … they have his head cut off with a sword. And if I were to do this sort of evil action and I, too, were captured by a king, they would torture me in many ways. They would flog me with whips … they would have my head cut off with a sword.’

“So, fearing penalties in the present life, he doesn’t go around plundering the belongings of others.

“These, monks, are called penalties in the present life.

“And which are penalties in lives to come?

“There is the case where a certain man considers, ‘Bodily misconduct has an evil result1 in a life to come. Verbal misconduct has an evil result in a life to come. Mental misconduct has an evil result in a life to come. If I were to engage in bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, & mental misconduct, then how could I not—on the break-up of the body, after death—re-appear in a plane of deprivation, a bad destination, a lower realm, in hell?’

“So, fearing penalties in lives to come, he abandons bodily misconduct and develops right bodily conduct. He abandons verbal misconduct and develops right verbal conduct. He abandons mental misconduct and develops right mental conduct. He keeps himself pure.

“These, monks, are called penalties in lives to come.

“Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves: ‘We will fear penalties in the present life. We will fear penalties in lives to come. We will be wary of penalties, seeing danger in penalties.’ That’s how you should train yourselves. It is to be expected of one who is wary of penalties, who sees danger in penalties, that he will be released from all penalties.”

Note

1. The Burmese and Sri Lankan editions of the Canon say, “evil, painful result,” here and in the parallel passages.

Penalties Vajja Sutta (AN 2:1)

Penalties
Vajja Sutta (AN 2:1)