5.
The Discourse on the Householder
76.
Then the Venerable Ānanda approached the Blessed One;
having approached, he paid respect to the Blessed One and sat down to one side.
To the Venerable Ānanda seated to one side, the Blessed One said this:
"Those, Ānanda, for whom you would have compassion, and who would think it worth hearing - whether friends or colleagues or relatives or blood-relations - they, Ānanda, should be encouraged, settled, and established by you in three states. In which three? They should be encouraged, settled, and established in unwavering confidence in the Buddha: 'Thus indeed is the Blessed One: the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, the Fortunate One, knower of the world, unsurpassed trainer of persons to be tamed, Teacher of gods and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.' They should be encouraged, settled, and established in unwavering confidence in the Teaching: 'Well proclaimed by the Blessed One is the Teaching, visible here and now, immediately effective, inviting one to come and see, leading onward, to be individually experienced by the wise.' They should be encouraged, settled, and established in unwavering confidence in the Community: 'The Community of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing well, the Community of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing uprightly, the Community of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing by the true method, the Community of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing properly, that is, the four pairs of persons, the eight types of individuals; this Community of the Blessed One's disciples is worthy of offerings, worthy of hospitality, worthy of gifts, worthy of reverential salutation, an unsurpassed field of merit for the world.'
"There might be, Ānanda, alteration of the four primary elements - the solid element, the liquid element, the heat element, the air element - but there would not be alteration for a noble disciple endowed with unwavering confidence in the Buddha. Herein this is the alteration: That indeed, Ānanda, a noble disciple endowed with unwavering confidence in the Buddha would be reborn in hell or the animal realm or the sphere of ghosts - this possibility does not exist.
"There might be, Ānanda, alteration of the four primary elements - the solid element, the liquid element, the heat element, the air element - but not in the Teaching, etc. but there would not be alteration for a noble disciple endowed with unwavering confidence in the Community. Herein this is the alteration: That indeed, Ānanda, a noble disciple endowed with unwavering confidence in the Community would be reborn in hell or the animal realm or the sphere of ghosts - this possibility does not exist.
"Those, Ānanda, for whom you would have compassion, and who would think it worth hearing - whether friends or colleagues or relatives or blood-relations - they, Ānanda, should be encouraged, settled, and established by you in these three states." The fifth.