Translating Classical Buddhism to Modern English

The Medium Discourses

Chapter 8: Defilement

（九五） 中阿含 穢品 住法經 第九 (第二小土城誦) 95. Abiding in Qualities
我聞如是： 一時，佛遊舍衛國，在勝林、給孤獨園。 1. Thus I have heard:1 One time, the Buddha traveled to the country of Śrāvastī and was staying at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in Jeta’s Grove.
爾時，世尊告諸比丘： 「我說退善法，不住、不增。 我說住善法，不退、不增。 我說增善法，不退、不住。 2. It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “I’ll discuss retreating from skillful qualities and not abiding in or increasing them. I’ll discuss abiding in skillful qualities and not retreating from or increasing them. I’ll also discuss increasing skillful qualities and not retreating from or abiding in them.2
「云何退善法，不住、不增？ 比丘者若有篤信、禁戒、博聞、布施、智慧、辯才、阿含、及其所得。 彼人於此法退，不住、不增。 是謂退善法，不住、不增。 3. “How does one retreat from skillful qualities and not abide in or increase them? Suppose a monk has faith, precepts, learning, generosity, wisdom, eloquence, scriptures, and his attainments.3 That man retreats from these qualities and doesn’t abide in or increase them. This is called retreating from skillful qualities and not abiding in or increasing them.
「云何住善法，不退、不增？ 比丘者若有篤信、禁戒、博聞、布施、智慧、辯才、阿含、及其所得。 彼人於此法住，不退、不增。 是謂住善法，不退、不增。 4. “How does one abide in skillful qualities and not retreat from or increase them? Suppose a monk has faith, precepts, learning, generosity, wisdom, eloquence, scriptures, and his attainments. That man abides in these qualities and doesn’t retreat from or increase them. This is called abiding in skillful qualities and not retreating from or increasing them.
「云何增善法，不退、不住？ 比丘者若有篤信、禁戒、博聞、布施、智慧、辯才、阿含、及其所得。 彼人於此法增，不退、不住。 是謂增善法，不退、不住。 5. “How does one increase skillful qualities and not retreat from or abide in them? Suppose a monk has faith, precepts, learning, generosity, wisdom, eloquence, scriptures, and his attainments. That man increases these qualities and doesn’t retreat from or abide in them. This is called increasing skillful qualities and not retreating from or abiding in them.
「比丘者作如是觀，必多所饒益： 『我為多行增伺，為多行無增伺？ 我為多行瞋恚心，為多行無瞋恚心？ 我為多行睡眠纏，為多行無睡眠纏？ 我為多行調貢高，為多行無調貢高？ 我為多行疑惑，為多行無疑惑？ 我為多行身諍，為多行無身諍？ 我為多行穢污心，為多行無穢污心？ 我為多行信，為多行不信？ 我為多行精進，為多行懈怠？ 我為多行念，為多行無念？ 我為多行定，為多行無定？ 我為多行惡慧，為多行無惡慧？』 6. “A monk who performs this examination will surely gain much from it: ‘Do I often act covetous, or do I often act without covetousness?’ ‘Do I often act hateful, or do I often act without hatefulness?’ ‘Do I often act ensnared in drowiness, or do I often act without drowiness?’ ‘Do I often act haughty, or do I often act without haughtiness?’ ‘Do I often act uncertainly or do I often act without uncertainty?’ ‘Do I often act violent, or do I often act without violence?’ ‘Do I often act with defiled thoughts, or do I often act without defiled thoughts?’ ‘Do I often act faithfully, or do I often act unfaithfully?’ ‘Do I often act energetically, or do I often act lazily?’ ‘Do I often act mindfully, or do I often act unmindfully?’ ‘Do I often act settled, or do I often act unsettled?’ ‘Do I often act with poor wisdom, or do I often act without poor wisdom?’4
「若比丘觀時，則知： 『我多行增伺⋯瞋恚心⋯睡眠纏⋯調貢高⋯疑惑⋯身諍⋯穢污心⋯不信⋯懈怠⋯無念⋯無定⋯多行惡慧者。』 彼比丘欲滅此惡不善法故，便以速求方便。 學極精勤，正念、正智，忍不令退。 猶人為火燒頭、燒衣，急求方便救頭、救衣。 如是，比丘欲滅此惡不善法故，便以速求方便，學極精勤。 正念、正智，忍不令退。 7. “Suppose that when he contemplates this, a monk knows, ‘I often practice with covetousness … with hatefulness … with drowsiness … with haughtiness … with uncertainly … with violence … with defiled thoughts … with unfaithfulness … with laziness … without mindfulness … with unsettledness … often practice with poor wisdom.’ Wanting to cease these bad and unskillful things, that monk will quickly pursue the methods to do that. He trains with utmost diligence, right mindfulness, and right knowledge and patiently doesn’t let himself regress. He’s like a man with his hair or clothes on fire who instantly seeks to put them out. Thus is this monk who wants to cease these bad and unskillful things and quickly pursues the method to do that. He trains with utmost diligence, right mindfulness, and right knowledge and patiently doesn’t let himself regress.
「若比丘觀時，則知： 『我多行無貪伺⋯無瞋恚心⋯無睡眠纏⋯無調貢高⋯無疑惑⋯無身諍⋯無穢污心⋯有信⋯有進⋯有念⋯有定⋯多行無惡慧者。』 彼比丘欲住此善法，不忘、不退修行廣布故，便以速求方便。 學極精勤，正念、正智，忍不令退。 猶人為火燒頭、燒衣，急求方便救頭、救衣。 如是，比丘欲住此善法，不忘、不退修行廣布故，便以速求方便。 學極精勤，正念、正智，忍不令退。」 8. “Suppose that when he contemplates this, a monk knows, ‘I often practice without covetousness … without hatefulness … without drowsiness … without haughtiness … without uncertainty … without violence … without defiled thoughts … with faithfulness … with energy … with mindfulness … with settledness … often practice without poor wisdom.’ Wanting to abide in these skillful qualities and not forget or retreat from cultivating and disseminating them, that monk quickly seeks the method to do that. He trains with utmost diligence, right mindfulness, and right knowledge and patiently doesn’t let himself regress. He’s like a man with his hair or clothes on fire who instantly seeks to put them out. Thus, Venerables, is this monk who wants to abide in these skillful qualities and not forget or retreat from cultivating and disseminating them. He quickly seeks the method to do that. He trains with utmost diligence, right mindfulness, and right knowledge and patiently doesn’t let himself regress.”
佛說如是。 彼諸比丘聞佛所說歡喜，奉行。 9. This is what the Buddha said. Those monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved.
住法經第九竟 (六百三十一字) End of the ninth sūtra, Abiding in Qualities (631 Chinese characters)

Notes

  1. For the source text, cf. T26.1.577b2-c13. It’s parallel with AN 10.53. These two texts are quite similar to MĀ 96 and AN 10.55. [back]

  2. discuss. C. 說, P. vaṇṇayāmi. In AN 10.53, the Buddha says he doesn’t praise abiding or retreating, but only growth in skillful qualities, whereas here he simply announces three topics that he’ll discuss for the monks. The C. could well translate the same word as the P. because vaṇṇayāmi can mean “comment on, interpret, explain” or “praise, extol.” AN 10.53 indicates the latter reading by negating the verb for the undesireable topics. This looks like an example of a single word being interpreted differently by separate traditions or dialects and the context being shaped to accomodate the chosen reading.

    in skillful qualities. While the C. could be read as “good Dharma,” AN 10.53 reads kusalesu dhammesu, which is in the plural locative case. The list of character traits that will follows also confirms that this is the correct reading. [back]

  3. faith, precepts, learning, generosity, wisdom, and eloquence, scriptures, and his attainments. C. 篤信、禁戒、博聞、布施、智慧、辯才、阿含、及其所得, P. saddhā sīla suta cāga paññā paṭibhāna. This C. list is the same set of skillful qualities given in the definition of “knowing oneself” in MĀ 1. The list found in AN 10.53 is “faith, ethics, generosity, wisdom, and eloquence,” and AN 7.68 is the same except for the addition of “learning.” In general, the MĀ parallels have added two items: “scriptures” (āgama) and “attainments.” [back]

  4. Cf. the corresponding passage in AN 10.53: “abhijjhālu bahulaṁ viharāmi, byāpannacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, thinamiddhapariyuṭṭhito bahulaṁ viharāmi, uddhato bahulaṁ viharāmi, vicikiccho bahulaṁ viharāmi, kodhano bahulaṁ viharāmi, saṅkiliṭṭhacitto bahulaṁ viharāmi, sāraddhakāyo bahulaṁ viharāmi, kusīto bahulaṁ viharāmi, asamāhito bahulaṁ viharāmī’ti, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesaṁyeva pāpakānaṁ akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya adhimatto chando ca vāyāmo ca ussāho ca ussoḷhī ca appaṭivānī ca sati ca sampajaññañca karaṇīyaṁ.” This same list is also found in AN 10.51. This version of the list here in MĀ 95 is repeated in MĀ 96 and 110. Similar lists are also found in MĀ 91 and 104. Below are my notes for each term in the list:

    covetous. C. 增伺, G. avhij̄a?, P. abhijjhālu, S. abhidhyālu. The C. translates S. abhi- (增) and -dhyā (伺) separately. The resulting expression means something like “increasing search.” The P. (and S.) word means “covetous.” The S. root dhyā had the basic meaning of “thinking,” hence the derivation of dhyāna for “meditation.” Here, it refers to thinking often of something desired.

    hateful. C. 瞋恚心, G. ?, P. byāpannacitta, S. vyāpannacitta. The C. lit. means “hateful thought,” which matches the reading of P. byāpanna better than S. vyāpanna, though S. vyāpannacitta was used to mean “maliciousness.”

    ensnared by drowsiness. C. 睡眠纏, G. stinamidha, P. thinamiddhapariyuṭṭhita, S. styānamiddhaparyavasthita. The C. translation lit. means “wrapped up” or “fettered by sleepiness.” The reading of S. paryavasthāna (syn. with paryavasthita) was apparently sometimes trans. to Tibetan as “complete wrapping up, ensnaring,” which agrees with 纏.

    haughty. C. 調貢高, G. udhida, P. uddhata, S. uddhata. This term occurs in five other MĀ sūtras (15, 16, 91, 95, and 96), making it unlikely to be a typo. There is an alternate reading that changes 調 to 掉, which is a case of amending an older translation with a later one. 掉 has the meaning of “shaking, swinging, rocking,” which probably was intended to describe physical restlessness.

    調 is a term that occurs in parallel to P. uddhacca or uddhata in MĀ, but it doesn’t mean agitation. Its usual meaning is “to even out, harmonize, check over, tune.” A lesser known meaning was “to ridicule, make fun of” (cf. Gakken 1227). In MĀ, this term often occurs in tandem with 貢高, which means “haughty, arrogant,” and this is indeed a reading of S. uddhata. It’s treated by P. references and translators as a variant spelling of uddhacca and translated as “agitated,” but here we see that it was interpreted as arrogance. This may well be a case of excessive leveling in P. sources, which served to eliminate variant readings by forcing standard meanings onto them.

    uncertain. C. 疑惑, G. vicigitsa, P. vicikiccha, S. vicikitsā. The C. translation lit. means “doubt and confusion, perplexity.”

    violent. C. 身諍, G. krosana, P. kodhana, S. krodhana. The C. translation lit. means “physical” or “personal quarrel,” which doesn’t match P. kodhana. However, P. sāraddhakāya occurs below in the place of “faith” in the P. list, which does mean physical violence or anger. I think that is likely the term that was translated here as 身諍.

    defiled thoughts. C. 穢污心, G. , P. saṅkiliṭṭhacitta, S. saṃkliṣṭacitta. The C. translation means “defiled thought.” Lit. 穢污 refers to heavy soiling or filthiness, involving disgusting substances such as dirt, excrement, or rotten food.

    faithful. C. 信, G. ?, P. sāraddhakāya, S. saṃrabdhakāya. The C. here translates a different word than that found in AN 10.51, probably P. saddhā, S. śraddhā. It’s of interest to note the phonetic similarity between P. saddhā and sāraddha. There might have been some sort of corruption that took place, but the P. word appears to occur earlier in the C. list as 身諍.

    energetically … lazily. C. 精進⋯懈怠, G. kusida … aradhaviriya, P. kusīta … āraddhavīriya, S. kusīda … ārabdhavīrya. The C. translation reverses the order of these two items, putting the positive one first. This will continue for a couple more items before the list returns to defiled states.

    mindful. C. 念. This item is not in the AN 10.51 list.

    settled. C. 定, G. samahida, P. samāhita, S. samāhita. The C. translation is the same as the standard one for P/S. samādhi, indicating that the terms were considered equivalent. It’s probably significant, though, that samādhi is not the word chosen here, given the setting here is outside of meditation. My translation is along the lines of “composed, settled, stablized” that is common to both 定 and samāhita. Another possibility would be “decided” and “undecided.”

    poor wisdom. C. 惡慧. This term does not occur in AN 10.51’s list. It might translate a word like S. dusprajñā, which lit. means “bad wisdom.” In practice, it referred to someone lacking the intellect to become wise (i.e., “stupid” or “dull-witted”). [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 12 October 2025

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