Once, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesāli, in the Great Wood, in the Hall with the Peaked Roof. Then Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī approached the Blessed One; having approached, she paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side. Standing to one side, Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī said to the Blessed One:
“Please, venerable sir, teach me the Dhamma in brief, so that having heard the Dhamma from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone, diligent, ardent, and resolute.”
Dhamma To Be Abandoned
“Gotamī, you should know the Dhamma to be abandoned if you find:
1 ‘These teachings lead to |passion::intense desire, strong emotion, infatuation, obsession, lust [rāga]|, not to dispassion;
2 to |being bound::bondage, fetter, association, attachment, involvement [saṁyoga]|, not to being unbound;
3 to |accumulation::increase, growth [ācaya]|, not to reduction;
4 to |wanting more::having many desires, greediness [mahicchatā]|, not to wanting less;
5 to |discontentment::dissatisfaction [asantuṭṭhi]|, not to contentment;
6 to |company::socializing, society, association [saṅgaṇikā]|, not to seclusion;
7 to |procrastination::laziness, inactivity, idleness [kosajja]|, not to rousing of energy;
8 to |being difficult to support::being burdensome [dubbharatā]|, not to being easy to support.’
In this way, Gotamī, you should conclude: ‘This is not the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]|, this is not the |Vinaya::training, discipline [vinaya]|, this is not the Teacher’s instruction.‘
Dhamma To Be Embraced
And, Gotamī, you should know the Dhamma to be embraced if you find:
1 ’These teachings lead to dispassion, not to passion;
2 to |being unbound::release, liberation [visaṁyoga]|, not to being bound;
3 to |reduction::decrease, dispersal, discarding, less [apacaya]|, not to accumulation;
4 to |wanting less::having few wishes [appicchatā]|, not to wanting more;
5 to |contentment::satisfaction [santuṭṭhi]|, not to discontentment;
6 to |seclusion::solitude [paviveka]|, not to company;
7 to |rousing of energy::taking initiative, making a mental decision to act [vīriyārambha]|, not to procrastination;
8 to |being easy to support::being unburdensome, being low maintenance [subharatā]|, not to being difficult to support.‘
In this way, Gotamī, you should conclude: ’This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Teacher‘s instruction.’”