Pāṭalikaṃ-Village Sutta (6)
On the Harm of Broken Precepts and the Fruit of Virtue
[169] Thus have I heard:
At one time the Blessed One was travelling through the Mahiṇḍaka (Magadha) country with a great company of bhikkhus, and he came to Pāṭalika village. The householders of Pāṭalika, hearing that the Blessed One had come with a large Saṅgha, went to pay homage. Having paid homage they invited the Blessed One to stay in their lodging. The Blessed One accepted courteously.
The householders prepared the lodging: they spread mats and cushions, set vessels and water, trimmed lamps and oil. Early in the morning the Blessed One, girt and with bowl and robe, went to the lodging with the bhikkhus. Having washed their feet, the bhikkhus entered and sat around the Blessed One. The householders likewise washed and sat in respectful places.
[170] Then the Blessed One addressed the householders: “Friends, the faults connected with the breaking of the five precepts — what are they for one who is unvirtuous? There are five.
- A person who is unvirtuous and breaks the precepts, through negligence, comes to loss and decay of great possessions. This is the first harm of broken precepts.
- The disreputable fame (shameful reputation) of one who has broken precepts spreads abroad. This is the second harm.
- A person who has broken precepts is ashamed and ill at ease to enter respectable company — whether royal, brahmin, merchant, or religious society. This is the third harm.
- A person who has broken precepts is heedless and falls into blameworthy conduct (kāla—improvident acts). This is the fourth harm.
- At death such a person goes to woeful states — to wretched destinies and lower hellish states. This is the fifth harm.
“Friends, those are the five harms of broken precepts.
“Now, the fruits (anisaṅsa) of one established in the five precepts — what are they? There are five.
- The virtuous person, vigilant and keeping precepts, comes to great accumulation of property through heedfulness. This is the first fruit of good precepts.
- The good reputation of one established in precepts spreads. This is the second fruit.
- One established in precepts goes with confidence into any company — royal, brahmin, merchant, or contemplative — without shame. This is the third fruit.
- One established in precepts does not fall into blameworthy conduct. This is the fourth fruit.
- One established in precepts attains good destination — heavenly or fortunate states. This is the fifth fruit.
“Friends, those are the five fruits of virtuous conduct.”
[171] Having thus explained, the Blessed One heartened the householders, they accepted the teaching, rejoiced in the Dhamma, rose, paid homage, circumambulated, and departed. The Blessed One then retired to solitude (suññakāra).
[172] At that time two chief ministers of Magadha — Sunīta and Vassakāra — planned to found a town at Pāṭalika as a bulwark against the Vajjis. Meanwhile many devas, in divisions of thousands, were guarding the district of Pāṭalika. Where high-ranking devas guard a region, the mind of a great minister inclines to build dwellings there; where middling devas, a middling minister is inclined; where low devas, low-ranked ministers are inclined. The Blessed One, by his divine eye, saw these multitudes of devas protecting the place.
That night, the Blessed One asked Venerable Ānanda, “Who will found a town at Pāṭalika?” Ānanda replied, “Great ministers Sunīta and Vassakāra of Magadha will found it, to guard against the Vajjis.” The Blessed One said, “I see heaven-hosts in thousands protecting Pāṭalika. This town will become a distinguished city of noble population, a trading place and depot. Three dangers threaten a town: fire, water, and mutual strife.”
[173] Thereupon the great ministers Sunīta and Vassakāra came to the Blessed One and invited him and the Saṅgha to their house for the meal. The Blessed One accepted. They provided excellent, abundant food, and served the Saṅgha with their own hands. After the meal the ministers sat respectfully; the Blessed One gave blessings with these verses:
“Where wise men abide in a country, summon those of virtue, restrained and living brahmacariya, to partake there. Offer gifts to the devas dwelling in that place. The devas who are honored by the virtuous will in turn honor and protect them, as a mother tends her child. Those so aided by devas will prosper always.”
[174] When the Blessed One had blessed them thus he departed, and the ministers followed him a little, eager to learn which gate the Blessed One would go out by and where he would cross the river Ganges. At that moment the Blessed One, by a supernatural sign, was seen to appear on the far bank of the Ganges with the Saṅgha, though people on this side sought boats and rafts to cross.
Then the Blessed One cried out: “Those who would cross the flood of saṃsāra and the pool of craving must build a bridge — the Noble Eightfold Path — and avoid the muddy shell of sensuality. Those who only wish to cross by flimsy rafts must lash a raft together; but the Buddhas and their true followers, by wisdom, cross without rafts.”
End of the Pāṭalikaṃ Sutta (6)
Short Pāli Glossary (concise · intensive)
sīla — moral virtue / precepts (here: five precepts). pāpaka / dukkaṭa — unwholesome, blameworthy action. anisaṅsa — result, fruit, beneficial outcome (here: the good fruits of virtue). saṅgha — the community of bhikkhus. brahmacariya — the holy life / celibate practice. suññakāra — solitude, retiring to quiet quarters. deva — celestial being; deity (here: protective devas of a locality). kamma / vipāka — action and its result. saṃsāra — cyclic becoming; world of repeated birth and death. taṇhā — craving; thirst. ariya-magga — the Noble Path (bridge that crosses suffering). kāma / kāmapiṇḍa — sensuality, the “muddy shell” hindering crossing. dāna — giving; offering (here: gifts to devas and for protective merit). kalyāṇa-mitta — virtuous companion (implied in “summon those of virtue”). kāla / kāla-kamma / kāla (as blameworthy doing) — improvident or untimely deed (rendered here as “blameworthy conduct, kāla”).