AN 5.80 (A iii 108)
Anāgatabhaya Sutta
— The Discourse on Future Dangers (4) —
[anāgata+bhaya]

The Buddha reminds the monks that the practice of Dhamma should not be put off for a later date, for there are no guarantees that the future will provide any opportunities for practice.



Note: info·bubbles on "underdotted" English words


Pāḷi



“pañcimāni, bhikkhave, anāgatabhayāni etarahi asamuppannāni āyatiṃ samuppajjissanti. tāni vo paṭibujjhitabbāni; paṭibujjhitvā ca tesaṃ pahānāya vāyamitabbaṃ. katamāni pañca?

English



"Monks, these five future dangers, unarisen at present, will arise in the future. Be alert to them and, being alert, work to get rid of them. Which five?

“bhavissanti, bhikkhave, bhikkhū anāgatamaddhānaṃ cīvare kalyāṇakāmā. te cīvare kalyāṇakāmā samānā riñcissanti paṃsukūlikattaṃ, riñcissanti araññavanapatthāni pantāni senāsanāni; gāmanigamarājadhānīsu osaritvā vāsaṃ kappessanti, cīvarahetu ca anekavihitaṃ anesanaṃ appatirūpaṃ āpajjissanti. idaṃ, bhikkhave, paṭhamaṃ anāgatabhayaṃ etarahi asamuppannaṃ āyatiṃ samuppajjissati. taṃ vo paṭibujjhitabbaṃ; paṭibujjhitvā ca tassa pahānāya vāyamitabbaṃ.

"There will be, in the course of the future, monks desirous of fine robes. They, desirous of fine robes, will neglect the practice of wearing cast-off cloth; will neglect isolated forest and wilderness dwellings; will move to towns, cities, and royal capitals, taking up residence there. For the sake of a robe they will do many kinds of unseemly, inappropriate things. This, monks, is the first future danger, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to it and, being alert, work to get rid of it.

“puna caparaṃ, bhikkhave, bhavissanti bhikkhū anāgatamaddhānaṃ piṇḍapāte kalyāṇakāmā. te piṇḍapāte kalyāṇakāmā samānā riñcissanti piṇḍapātikattaṃ, riñcissanti araññavanapatthāni pantāni senāsanāni; gāmanigamarājadhānīsu osaritvā vāsaṃ kappessanti jivhaggena rasaggāni pariyesamānā, piṇḍapātahetu ca anekavihitaṃ anesanaṃ appatirūpaṃ āpajjissanti. idaṃ, bhikkhave, dutiyaṃ anāgatabhayaṃ etarahi asamuppannaṃ āyatiṃ samuppajjissati. taṃ vo paṭibujjhitabbaṃ; paṭibujjhitvā ca tassa pahānāya vāyamitabbaṃ.

"Furthermore, in the course of the future there will be monks desirous of fine food. They, desirous of fine food, will neglect the practice of going for alms; will neglect isolated forest and wilderness dwellings; will move to towns, cities, and royal capitals, taking up residence there and searching out the tip-top tastes with the tip of the tongue. For the sake of food they will do many kinds of unseemly, inappropriate things. This, monks, is the second future danger, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to it and, being alert, work to get rid of it.

“puna caparaṃ, bhikkhave, bhavissanti bhikkhū anāgatamaddhānaṃ senāsane kalyāṇakāmā. te senāsane kalyāṇakāmā samānā riñcissanti rukkhamūlikattaṃ, riñcissanti araññavanapatthāni pantāni senāsanāni; gāmanigamarājadhānīsu osaritvā vāsaṃ kappessanti, senāsanahetu ca anekavihitaṃ anesanaṃ appatirūpaṃ āpajjissanti. idaṃ, bhikkhave, tatiyaṃ anāgatabhayaṃ etarahi asamuppannaṃ āyatiṃ samuppajjissati. taṃ vo paṭibujjhitabbaṃ; paṭibujjhitvā ca tassa pahānāya vāyamitabbaṃ.

"Furthermore, in the course of the future there will be monks desirous of fine lodgings. They, desirous of fine lodgings, will neglect the practice of living in the wilds; will neglect isolated forest and wilderness dwellings; will move to towns, cities, and royal capitals, taking up residence there. For the sake of lodgings they will do many kinds of unseemly, inappropriate things. This, monks, is the third future danger, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to it and, being alert, work to get rid of it.

“puna caparaṃ, bhikkhave, bhavissanti bhikkhū anāgatamaddhānaṃ bhikkhunīsikkhamānāsamaṇuddesehi saṃsaṭṭhā viharissanti. bhikkhunīsikkhamānāsamaṇuddesehi saṃsagge kho pana, bhikkhave, sati etaṃ pāṭikaṅkhaṃ: ‘anabhiratā vā brahmacariyaṃ carissanti, aññataraṃ vā saṃkiliṭṭhaṃ āpattiṃ āpajjissanti, sikkhaṃ vā paccakkhāya hīnāyāvattissanti’. idaṃ, bhikkhave, catutthaṃ anāgatabhayaṃ etarahi asamuppannaṃ āyatiṃ samuppajjissati. taṃ vo paṭibujjhitabbaṃ; paṭibujjhitvā ca tassa pahānāya vāyamitabbaṃ.

"Furthermore, in the course of the future there will be monks who will live in close association with nuns, female probationers, and female novices. As they interact with nuns, female probationers, and female novices, they can be expected either to lead the holy life dissatisfied or to fall into one of the grosser offenses, leaving the training, returning to a lower way of life. This, monks, is the fourth future danger, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to it and, being alert, work to get rid of it.

“puna caparaṃ, bhikkhave, bhavissanti bhikkhū anāgatamaddhānaṃ ārāmikasamaṇuddesehi saṃsaṭṭhā viharissanti. ārāmikasamaṇuddesehi saṃsagge kho pana, bhikkhave, sati etaṃ pāṭikaṅkhaṃ: ‘anekavihitaṃ sannidhikāraparibhogaṃ anuyuttā viharissanti, oḷārikampi nimittaṃ karissanti, pathaviyāpi haritaggepi’. idaṃ, bhikkhave, pañcamaṃ anāgatabhayaṃ etarahi asamuppannaṃ āyatiṃ samuppajjissati. taṃ vo paṭibujjhitabbaṃ; paṭibujjhitvā ca tassa pahānāya vāyamitabbaṃ.

"Furthermore, in the course of the future there will be monks who will live in close association with monastery attendants and novices. As they interact with monastery attendants and novices, they can be expected to live intent on storing up all kinds of possessions and to stake out crops and fields. This, monks, is the fifth future danger, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to it and, being alert, work to get rid of it.

“imāni kho, bhikkhave, pañca anāgatabhayāni etarahi asamuppannāni āyatiṃ samuppajjissanti. tāni vo paṭibujjhitabbāni; paṭibujjhitvā ca tesaṃ pahānāya vāyamitabban”ti.

"These, monks, are the five future dangers, unarisen at present, that will arise in the future. Be alert to them and, being alert, work to get rid of them."





Bodhi leaf


"Anagata-bhayani Sutta: The Discourse on Future Dangers (4)", translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 22 July 2012.

———oOo———
Published as a gift of Dhamma, to be distributed free of charge.

The text of this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of the license, visit this page.