Who should faithful disciples aspire to emulate, and how do wise people differ from the immature in praise, confidence, and conduct toward parents and the Buddha?

PTS 1.88–1.91

AN 2.130–140 Āyācana vagga - The Chapter on Aspiration

2.130

“Saddho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu evaṁ sammā āyācamāno āyāceyya: ‘tādiso homi yādisā sāriputtamoggallānā’ti. Esā, bhikkhave, tulā etaṁ pamāṇaṁ mama sāvakānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ yadidaṁ sāriputtamoggallānā”ti.

“A faithful bhikkhu, aspiring rightly, should aspire thus: ‘May I become like Sāriputta and Moggallāna!’ For this is the measure and standard for my bhikkhu disciples, namely, Sāriputta and Moggallāna.”

2.131

“Saddhā, bhikkhave, bhikkhunī evaṁ sammā āyācamānā āyāceyya: ‘tādisī homi yādisī khemā ca bhikkhunī uppalavaṇṇā cā’ti. Esā, bhikkhave, tulā etaṁ pamāṇaṁ mama sāvikānaṁ bhikkhunīnaṁ yadidaṁ khemā ca bhikkhunī uppalavaṇṇā cā”ti.

“A faithful bhikkhunī, aspiring rightly, should aspire thus: ‘May I become like the bhikkhunīs Khemā and Uppalavaṇṇā!’ For this is the measure and standard for my bhikkhunī disciples, namely, the bhikkhunīs Khemā and Uppalavaṇṇā.”

2.132

“Saddho, bhikkhave, upāsako evaṁ sammā āyācamāno āyāceyya: ‘tādiso homi yādiso citto ca gahapati hatthako ca āḷavako’ti. Esā, bhikkhave, tulā etaṁ pamāṇaṁ mama sāvakānaṁ upāsakānaṁ yadidaṁ citto ca gahapati hatthako ca āḷavako”ti.

“A faithful layman, aspiring rightly, should aspire thus: ‘May I become like Citta the householder and Hatthaka of Āḷavi!’ For this is the measure and standard for my male lay disciples, namely, Citta the householder and Hatthaka of Āḷavi.”

2.133

“Saddhā, bhikkhave, upāsikā evaṁ sammā āyācamānā āyāceyya: ‘tādisī homi yādisī khujjuttarā ca upāsikā veḷukaṇḍakiyā ca nandamātā’ti. Esā, bhikkhave, tulā etaṁ pamāṇaṁ mama sāvikānaṁ upāsikānaṁ yadidaṁ khujjuttarā ca upāsikā veḷukaṇḍakiyā ca nandamātā”ti.

“A faithful laywoman, aspiring rightly, should aspire thus: ‘May I become like the laywoman Khujjuttarā and Nandamātā from Veḷukaṇḍaka!’ For this is the measure and standard for my female lay disciples, namely, the laywoman Khujjuttarā and Nandamātā from Veḷukaṇḍaka.”

2.134

“Dvīhi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bālo abyatto asappuriso khataṁ upahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, sāvajjo ca hoti sānuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca apuññaṁ pasavati. Katamehi dvīhi? Ananuvicca apariyogāhetvā avaṇṇārahassa vaṇṇaṁ bhāsati, ananuvicca apariyogāhetvā vaṇṇārahassa avaṇṇaṁ bhāsati. Imehi kho, bhikkhave, dvīhi dhammehi samannāgato bālo abyatto asappuriso khataṁ upahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, sāvajjo ca hoti sānuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca apuññaṁ pasavatīti.

“Endowed with two qualities, an immature, incompetent person lacking in integrity maintains themselves in a maimed and damaged state, is blameworthy and subject to reproach by the wise, and accumulates much demerit. What two? Without examining or scrutinizing, they speak praise of one who deserves dispraise; and without examining or scrutinizing, they speak dispraise of one who deserves praise. Endowed with these two qualities an immature, incompetent person lacking in integrity maintains themselves in a maimed and damaged state, is blameworthy and subject to reproach by the wise, and accumulates much demerit.

Dvīhi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato paṇḍito viyatto sappuriso akkhataṁ anupahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, anavajjo ca hoti ananuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca puññaṁ pasavati. Katamehi dvīhi? Anuvicca pariyogāhetvā avaṇṇārahassa avaṇṇaṁ bhāsati, anuvicca pariyogāhetvā vaṇṇārahassa vaṇṇaṁ bhāsati. Imehi kho, bhikkhave, dvīhi dhammehi samannāgato paṇḍito viyatto sappuriso akkhataṁ anupahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, anavajjo ca hoti ananuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca puññaṁ pasavatī”ti.

Endowed with two qualities, a wise, competent person of integrity maintains themselves in an unmaimed and undamaged state, is blameless and beyond reproach by the wise, and accumulates much merit. What two? After examining and scrutinizing, they speak dispraise of one who deserves dispraise; and after examining and scrutinizing, they speak praise of one who deserves praise. Endowed with these two qualities a wise, competent person of integrity maintains themselves in an unmaimed and undamaged state, is blameless and beyond reproach by the wise, and accumulates much merit.”

2.135

“Dvīhi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bālo abyatto asappuriso khataṁ upahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, sāvajjo ca hoti sānuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca apuññaṁ pasavati. Katamehi dvīhi? Ananuvicca apariyogāhetvā appasādanīye ṭhāne pasādaṁ upadaṁseti, ananuvicca apariyogāhetvā pasādanīye ṭhāne appasādaṁ upadaṁseti. Imehi kho, bhikkhave, dvīhi dhammehi samannāgato bālo abyatto asappuriso khataṁ upahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, sāvajjo ca hoti sānuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca apuññaṁ pasavatīti.

“Endowed with two qualities, an immature, incompetent person lacking in integrity maintains themselves in a maimed and damaged state, is blameworthy and subject to reproach by the wise, and accumulates much demerit. What two? Without examining or scrutinizing, they manifest serene confidence in what is uninspiring; and without examining or scrutinizing, they manifest lack of confidence in what is inspiring. Endowed with these two qualities an immature, incompetent person lacking in integrity maintains themselves in a maimed and damaged state, is blameworthy and subject to reproach by the wise, and accumulates much demerit.

Dvīhi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato paṇḍito viyatto sappuriso akkhataṁ anupahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, anavajjo ca hoti ananuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca puññaṁ pasavati. Katamehi dvīhi? Anuvicca pariyogāhetvā appasādanīye ṭhāne appasādaṁ upadaṁseti, anuvicca pariyogāhetvā pasādanīye ṭhāne pasādaṁ upadaṁseti. Imehi kho, bhikkhave, dvīhi dhammehi samannāgato paṇḍito viyatto sappuriso akkhataṁ anupahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, anavajjo ca hoti ananuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca puññaṁ pasavatī”ti.

Endowed with two qualities, a wise, competent person of integrity maintains themselves in an unmaimed and undamaged state, is blameless and beyond reproach by the wise, and accumulates much merit. What two? After examining and scrutinizing, they manifest lack of confidence in what is uninspiring; and after examining and scrutinizing, they manifest serene confidence in what is inspiring. Endowed with these two qualities a wise, competent person of integrity maintains themselves in an unmaimed and undamaged state, is blameless and beyond reproach by the wise, and accumulates much merit.”

2.136

“Dvīsu, bhikkhave, micchāpaṭipajjamāno bālo abyatto asappuriso khataṁ upahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, sāvajjo ca hoti sānuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca apuññaṁ pasavati. Katamesu dvīsu? Mātari ca pitari ca. Imesu kho, bhikkhave, dvīsu micchāpaṭipajjamāno bālo abyatto asappuriso khataṁ upahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, sāvajjo ca hoti sānuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca apuññaṁ pasavatīti.

“Acting wrongly toward two individuals, an immature, incompetent person lacking in integrity maintains themselves in a maimed and damaged state, is blameworthy and subject to reproach by the wise, and accumulates much demerit. Toward what two? Toward one’s mother and father. Acting wrongly toward these two individuals an immature, incompetent person lacking in integrity maintains themselves in a maimed and damaged state, is blameworthy and subject to reproach by the wise, and accumulates much demerit.

Dvīsu, bhikkhave, sammāpaṭipajjamāno paṇḍito viyatto sappuriso akkhataṁ anupahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, anavajjo ca hoti ananuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca puññaṁ pasavati. Katamesu dvīsu? Mātari ca pitari ca. Imesu kho, bhikkhave, dvīsu sammāpaṭipajjamāno paṇḍito viyatto sappuriso akkhataṁ anupahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, anavajjo ca hoti ananuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca puññaṁ pasavatī”ti.

Acting rightly toward two individuals, a wise, competent person of integrity maintains themselves in an unmaimed and undamaged state, is blameless and beyond reproach by the wise, and accumulates much merit. Toward what two? Toward one’s mother and father. Acting rightly toward these two individuals a wise, competent person of integrity maintains themselves in an unmaimed and undamaged state, is blameless and beyond reproach by the wise, and accumulates much merit.”

2.137

“Dvīsu, bhikkhave, micchāpaṭipajjamāno bālo abyatto asappuriso khataṁ upahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, sāvajjo ca hoti sānuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca apuññaṁ pasavati. Katamesu dvīsu? Tathāgate ca tathāgatasāvake ca. Imesu kho, bhikkhave, micchāpaṭipajjamāno bālo abyatto asappuriso khataṁ upahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, sāvajjo ca hoti sānuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca apuññaṁ pasavatīti.

“Acting wrongly toward two individuals, an immature, incompetent person lacking in integrity maintains themselves in a maimed and damaged state, is blameworthy and subject to reproach by the wise, and accumulates much demerit. Toward what two? Toward the Tathāgata and a disciple of the Tathāgata. Acting wrongly toward these two individuals an immature, incompetent person lacking in integrity maintains themselves in a maimed and damaged state, is blameworthy and subject to reproach by the wise, and accumulates much demerit.

Dvīsu, bhikkhave, sammāpaṭipajjamāno paṇḍito viyatto sappuriso akkhataṁ anupahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, anavajjo ca hoti ananuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca puññaṁ pasavati. Katamesu dvīsu? Tathāgate ca tathāgatasāvake ca. Imesu kho, bhikkhave, dvīsu sammāpaṭipajjamāno paṇḍito viyatto sappuriso akkhataṁ anupahataṁ attānaṁ pariharati, anavajjo ca hoti ananuvajjo ca viññūnaṁ, bahuñca puññaṁ pasavatī”ti.

Acting rightly toward two individuals, a wise, competent person of integrity maintains themselves in an unmaimed and undamaged state, is blameless and beyond reproach by the wise, and accumulates much merit. Toward what two? Toward the Tathāgata and a disciple of the Tathāgata. Acting rightly toward these two individuals a wise, competent person of integrity maintains themselves in an unmaimed and undamaged state, is blameless and beyond reproach by the wise, and accumulates much merit.”

2.138

“Dveme, bhikkhave, dhammā. Katame dve? Sacittavodānañca na ca kiñci loke upādiyati. Ime kho, bhikkhave, dve dhammā”ti.

“There are these two things. What two? Purification of one’s own mind and not clinging to anything in the world. These are the two things.”

2.139

“Dveme, bhikkhave, dhammā. Katame dve? Kodho ca upanāho ca. Ime kho, bhikkhave, dve dhammā”ti.

“There are these two things. What two? Anger and resentment. These are the two things.”

2.140

“Dveme, bhikkhave, dhammā. Katame dve? Kodhavinayo ca upanāhavinayo ca. Ime kho, bhikkhave, dve dhammā”ti.

“There are these two things. What two? Removing anger and removing resentment. These are the two things.”

Topics & Qualities:

Anger

Anger

A burning surge of aversion that erupts against people or situations, scorching clarity and kindness. It distorts perception and drives speech and action toward harm.

Also known as: rage, wrath, fury, indignation
Pāli: kodha, kopa
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Discernment

Discernment

Clear seeing that distinguishes what is wholesome from unwholesome, true from false.

Also known as: ability to make out distinctions, ability to discriminate, distinguish, clear seeing, penetrating internal vision
Pāli: viveka, nipaka, niccheyya
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Faith

Faith

Confidence in the Buddha's awakening and the efficacy of the path. It brightens and steadies the mind, removing doubt and inspiring energy toward wholesome practice. True faith rests on clarity and direct experience rather than mere belief.

Also known as: confidence, trust, belief, conviction, self-assurance
Pāli: saddha, pasanna
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Faithlessness

Faithlessness

An absence of confidence in the path and its fruits. The mind remains unconvinced, unable to commit energy or trust to practice. This inner hesitancy stalls progress and leaves one adrift without direction.

Also known as: lack of confidence, lack of conviction, disbelief, cynicism
Pāli: assadha
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Free from attachment

Free from attachment

Release from grasping, not taking anything as “me” or “mine,” ceasing to appropriate or identify with people, things, views, or experiences.

Also known as: free from grasping, not appropriating, not taking as mine, without acquisitions, not clinging, not grasping, not holding onto
Pāli: nirūpadhi, nānupādāya, asita, anuggaha
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Immaturity

Immaturity

A childish lack of discernment that fails to see the results of actions clearly. It delights in surface pleasure and ignores consequence. Immaturity leads to poor choices and association with unwise companions.

Also known as: lacking in discernment, lacking in good sense, child-like in understanding, lack of wisdom, lack of experience, foolishness
Pāli: bāla
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Investigation

Investigation

Investigation involves the process of a careful inquiry of mental states, qualities, and phenomena, examining their arising, persisting, and ceasing in order to understand their true nature and support the cultivation of wisdom and awakening.

Also known as: inquiry, contemplation, examination, analysis, exploration
Pāli: vicaya, vīmaṃsā, parikkhati
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Merit

Merit

Wholesome result of good conduct, generosity, and right intention. Merit brightens the mind and supports happiness and favorable conditions for practice.

Also known as: good deeds, spiritual wealth
Pāli: puñña, kalyāṇa
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Person of Integrity

Person of Integrity

One whose inner character aligns with their outer conduct—honest about their own faults, appreciative of others' virtues, and grounded in principles that guide action toward what is beneficial.

Also known as: virtuous person, true person
Pāli: sappurisa
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Resentment

Resentment

Holding a grudge and keeping anger alive in memory. Unlike a sudden flash of anger, resentment ties a knot of hostility, holding onto past grievances and refusing to forgive.

Also known as: bearing a grudge, harboring enmity
Pāli: upanāha
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Respect

Respect

A mental attitude of reverent attentiveness that values goodness and wisdom in oneself and others. It steadies conduct and opens the mind to learning and humility.

Also known as: reverence, veneration, regard, admiration, appreciation, deference, honour, attentiveness
Pāli: gārava, pūjā, sakkāra
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Wisdom

Wisdom

Lived understanding and sound judgment that steers the mind away from suffering, distinct from mere accumulation of facts.

Also known as: (of a person) wise, astute, intelligent, learned, skilled, firm, stable, steadfast, an experiential understanding of the four noble truths
Pāli: paññā, medhā, dhīra, paṇḍita, asammūḷha
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Persons:

Venerable Sāriputta

Foremost among the Buddha's disciples in wisdom, Sāriputta realized the four analytical knowledges just half a month after his full ordination (AN 4.172) and spent his life turning the Buddha's summaries into Dhamma the Saṅgha could live by. His expositions became classics: the unfolding of right view (MN 9), all wholesome states gathered into the four truths like an elephant's footprint into its track (MN 28), his exchange with Puṇṇa Mantāṇiputta on the relay of purifications (MN 24), and the unraveling of consciousness, feeling, and cessation with Mahākoṭṭhika (MN 43). When the Buddha's back was sore at Naḷakapāna he simply asked Sāriputta to speak in his place (AN 10.67), and it was Sāriputta who recited the doctrinal sets of the Saṅgīti for the assembled Saṅgha (DN 34).

His lion's roar was humility, not power: falsely accused of striking a monk, he likened his mind to the earth and the open road: how could it be soiled? (AN 9.11) And he declared that nothing in the world, not even the Buddha's passing, could raise sorrow in him (SN 21.2). He reported the absorptions, formless attainments, and cessation to Ānanda from his private retreats (SN 28.1–10), guided the dying Anāthapiṇḍika into non-clinging (MN 143), comforted the ailing Channa (MN 144), and gently dismantled Yamaka's annihilationism (SN 22.85). The one rebuke he carried came from compassion: he had taught the corrupt brahmin Dhanañjāni only the path to the brahmā worlds (MN 97). Not long before the Buddha's own passing, Sāriputta attained final Nibbāna; Ānanda's grief drew from the Buddha the truth that no meeting ends without parting (SN 47.13), and the Saṅgha was left to dwell with the Dhamma as its island and refuge (SN 47.14).

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Venerable Mahāmoggallāna

Sāriputta's inseparable friend and the Buddha's foremost disciple in psychic power, Moggallāna reached the goal by the harder road, the painful practice rather than the pleasant, and just as swiftly (AN 4.167, AN 4.168). His signature is the saṃyutta of noble stillness: distraction after distraction in each absorption and formless attainment, met each time by the Buddha appearing psychically to set him straight (SN 40.1–9). With Sāriputta he could measure himself as a pinch of gravel beside the Himalayas (SN 21.3), and he laid out the sixteen qualities that make a mendicant hard to admonish (MN 15).

His journeys through the sky made the Dhamma credible. He saw the skeleton spirit drifting overhead and had the Buddha confirm its cause (SN 19.1); he humbled a conceited Brahmā alongside the Buddha and Sāriputta (SN 6.5); and finding Sakka drifting in divine comfort, he gave the heavenly palace a shake with his toe until the king of gods confessed his negligence and recalled the Teacher's words that nothing is worth holding on to (MN 37). When Māra slipped into his belly, Moggallāna simply told the Evil One what his stay would cost (MN 50); when restless monks would not listen, he shook Migāra's Mother's longhouse (SN 51.14); and at the uposatha he scanned the assembly's minds and ejected the one the Buddha knew was impure (AN 8.20). With Sāriputta he bore the slander of Kokālika and saw it answered (AN 10.89); when both elders passed at Ukkacelā, the Buddha urged the Saṅgha to live with the Dhamma as their island (SN 47.14).

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Citta the Householder

Citta the householder of Macchikāsaṇḍa is the layman monks came to question. When elders debate the meaning of 'fetter,' his simile of two yoked oxen settles it: the fetter is the desire that arises in dependence on the senses (SN 41.1). Monks debate him and rival ascetics question him in turn, and his answers show the wisdom and direct knowledge of an exemplary lay follower (SN 41.2–9). Gravely ill, he refuses when deities urge him to wish for a wheel-turning monarchy ('that too is impermanent'), establishes his family in the Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, and generosity, and passes away (SN 41.10).

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Householder Hatthaka of Āḷavi

Hatthaka of Āḷavi met the Buddha with a question from the world's comforts: how could anyone sleep at ease in such cold? The answer, that the mind free from the fevers of lust, hate, and delusion sleeps at ease anywhere, stayed with him (AN 3.35). He gathered a following of some five hundred householders by the four ways of being inclusive, giving, kind speech, and helpfulness (AN 8.24), and the Buddha held up his seven wondrous qualities (faith, ethics, generosity, learning, and the rest), only for Hatthaka to worry who else had heard the praise, so the Buddha added contentment as the eighth (AN 8.23). After death he reappeared as a godling among gods, sending the godlings flocking to hear the Dhamma, and confessed he had passed without getting enough of seeing the Buddha, hearing the true teaching, and serving the Saṅgha (AN 3.127).

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Laywoman Khujjuttarā

Appears in 2 discourses in this library. Who should faithful disciples aspire to emulate, and how do wise people differ from the immature in praise, confidence, and conduct toward parents and the Buddha?

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Laywoman Nandamātā

The devout laywoman Nandamātā played host to heaven: the great king Vessavaṇa himself visited her home, and she retold the meeting to Sāriputta, listing her seven wondrous qualities of generous faith (AN 7.53). The Buddha, seeing her prepare a six-factored gift for the Saṅgha headed by Sāriputta and Moggallāna, used her giving to define the perfect donor: cheerful, confident, and sustained in the good mood of the gift (AN 6.37).

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Last updated on October 20, 2026

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