6.
The Second Discourse on Worldly Adversities
6.
"These eight worldly adversities, monks, keep revolving around the world, and the world keeps revolving around the eight worldly adversities.
What are the eight?
Material gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, happiness and suffering.
These, monks, are the eight worldly adversities that keep revolving around the world, and the world keeps revolving around these eight worldly adversities.
"For an ignorant worldling, monks, there arises material gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, happiness and suffering. For a learned noble disciple too, monks, there arises material gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, happiness and suffering. Therein, monks, what is the distinction, what is the disparity, what is the difference between a learned noble disciple and an ignorant worldling?" "The teachings have the Blessed One as their root, venerable sir, have the Blessed One as their guide, have the Blessed One as their refuge. It would be good indeed, venerable sir, if the meaning of this statement would occur to the Blessed One himself. Having heard from the Blessed One, the monks will remember it."
"Well then, monks, listen, pay close attention; I will speak." "Yes, venerable sir," those monks assented to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this: "For an ignorant worldling, monks, there arises material gain. He does not consider thus - 'This material gain has arisen in me; and that is impermanent, suffering, subject to change' - he does not understand as it really is. There arises loss... etc. there arises fame... there arises disgrace... there arises blame... there arises praise... there arises happiness... there arises suffering. He does not consider thus - 'This suffering has arisen in me; and that is impermanent, suffering, subject to change' - he does not understand as it really is."
"For him, material gain remains obsessing the mind, loss remains obsessing the mind, fame remains obsessing the mind, disgrace remains obsessing the mind, blame remains obsessing the mind, praise remains obsessing the mind, happiness remains obsessing the mind, suffering remains obsessing the mind. He welcomes arisen material gain, is hostile towards loss; he welcomes arisen fame, is hostile towards disgrace; he welcomes arisen praise, is hostile towards blame; he welcomes arisen happiness, is hostile towards suffering. Thus possessed of compliance and opposition, he is not released from birth, from ageing, from death, from sorrows, from lamentations, from sufferings, from displeasures, from anguishes. 'He is not released from suffering', I say."
"But for a learned noble disciple, monks, material gain arises. He considers thus: 'This material gain has arisen in me; and that is impermanent, suffering, subject to change' - he understands as it really is. There arises loss... etc. there arises fame... there arises disgrace... there arises blame... there arises praise... there arises happiness... there arises suffering. He considers thus: 'This suffering has arisen in me; and that is impermanent, suffering, subject to change' - he understands as it really is."
"For him, material gain does not remain obsessing the mind, loss does not remain obsessing the mind, fame does not remain obsessing the mind, disgrace does not remain obsessing the mind, blame does not remain obsessing the mind, praise does not remain obsessing the mind, happiness does not remain obsessing the mind, suffering does not remain obsessing the mind. He does not comply with arisen material gain, he does not oppose loss; he does not comply with arisen fame, he does not oppose disgrace; he does not comply with arisen praise, he does not oppose blame; he does not comply with arisen happiness, he does not oppose suffering. He, thus having abandoned compliance and opposition, is released from birth, from ageing, from death, from sorrows, from lamentations, from sufferings, from displeasures, from anguishes. 'He is released from suffering', I say. This, monks, is the distinction, this is the disparity, this is the difference between a learned noble disciple and an ignorant worldling."
Blame and praise, happiness and suffering;
These phenomena among humans are impermanent,
Non-eternal, subject to change.
Considers them as subject to change;
Desirable phenomena do not churn the mind,
Nor does he come to repulsion from the undesirable.
Are scattered, passed away, they do not exist;
And having known the state, stainless, sorrowless,
He rightly understands, one gone beyond existence." The sixth.