Immaturity View in explorer

29 discourses
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
Supported by
Ignorance

Ignorance

A fundamental blindness to the true nature of reality. It is not merely a lack of information, but an active misperception that views the transient as permanent and the unsatisfactory as a source of happiness, thereby fueling the cycle of suffering.

Also known as: illusion of knowing, fundamental unawareness of the true nature of reality, misunderstanding of how things have come to be, not knowing the four noble truths
Pāli: avijjā
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Leads to
Bad friendship

Bad friendship

Association with those who are unprincipled, faithless, or unwise. Such companionship leads one away from the Dhamma, fostering negligence and wrong view.

Also known as: friendship with unwholesome persons
Pāli: pāpamittatā
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Opposite
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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Discourses

MN 66 Laṭukikopama sutta - Simile of the Quail

The Buddha explains how even small attachments can be strong fetters if not relinquished, using similes of a quail and an elephant, and contrasts between the poor and wealthy. He describes four types of practitioners based on their response to attachment and mindfulness. The discourse also presents gradual refinement of meditative attainments from the first jhāna to the cessation of perception and what is felt.

PTS 1.447–1.455

MN 128 Upakkilesa sutta - Impurity

When the Buddha fails to achieve reconciliation among quarrelsome bhikkhus at Kosambi, he withdraws into solitude and later encounters an inspiring community of monks devoted to liberation. He teaches them the path of inner purification based on his own practice prior to full awakening—discerning and abandoning eleven subtle impurities of mind, developing collectedness in three ways, and realizing unshakable liberation.

PTS 3.152–3.162

SNP 1.11 Vijaya sutta - Victory

The Buddha offers a stark contemplation of the human body, detailing its internal parts, secretions, and ultimate decay. Recognizing this reality dismantles the illusion of physical beauty constructed by ignorance, leading the wise practitioner to the deathless peace of Nibbāna.

PTS 34

AN 10.61 Avijjā sutta - Ignorance

While a first point of ignorance is not discerned, it can be discerned that ignorance has a supporting condition. The Buddha explains the nutriments for ignorance and the nutriments for true knowledge and liberation, along with how they are fulfilled.

PTS 5.113–5.115

MN 43 Mahāvedalla sutta - The Greater Series Of Questions And Answers

A series of questions and answers between venerable Sāriputta and venerable Mahākoṭṭhita that clarify subtle yet important aspects of the teachings. Topics covered include wisdom, consciousness, felt experience, perception, purified mind-consciousness, right view, existence, first jhāna, the five faculties, vital formations, and the release of the mind.

PTS 1.292–1.298

MN 78 Samaṇamuṇḍika sutta - With Uggāhamāna, son of the ascetic Muṇḍikā

The Buddha refutes the idea that merely refraining from bad deeds makes one a supreme ascetic, pointing out this would make infants enlightened. True awakening requires actively abandoning unwholesome states and cultivating the ten qualities of an adept.

PTS 2.22–2.28

MN 65 Bhaddāli sutta - To Bhaddāli

The monk Bhaddāli spends months in remorse after refusing to follow the Buddha’s rule to eat only one meal a day. The Buddha explains that training rules are established only to curb the arising of taints in a growing Saṅgha. He then compares a monk's gradual training to the taming of a wild, fine thoroughbred colt.

PTS 1.437–1.446

MN 110 Cūḷapuṇṇama sutta - The Lesser Discourse on the Full Moon Night

The Buddha explains that one lacking integrity cannot discern the true nature of others, while a person of integrity discerns both the good and the bad. The discourse contrasts their ethics, views, and associations, revealing their vastly different karmic destinations.

PTS 3.20–3.24

SN 1.32 Macchari sutta - Stinginess

The Buddha and deities discuss the true value of giving. Practicing the Dhamma and offering a peaceful gift, however small, generates far more merit than massive, grand sacrifices brought about by cruelty, tears, and violence.

PTS 1.18–1.19

SN 47.7 Makkaṭa sutta - Monkey

The Buddha uses the simile of a monkey caught in a sticky trap to illustrate the dangers of wandering in unsuitable places and the importance of mindfulness.

PTS 5.148

MN 33 Mahāgopālaka sutta - The Greater Discourse on the Cowherd

Using the analogy of a capable cowherd, the Buddha outlines eleven qualities for spiritual growth, including understanding, diligent inquiry, self-restraint, and loving-kindness. As a good herdsman tends his cattle, so a wise bhikkhu tends the mind, cultivating the care and discernment that lead to growth, fulfillment, and mastery in the Dhamma and Vinaya.

PTS 1.220–1.224

ITI 41 Paññāparihīna sutta - Lacking in Wisdom

The Buddha describes the sentient beings who lack in wisdom as truly deprived, dwelling in suffering, annoyance, hardship, and distress.

PTS 35

ITI 76 Sukhapatthanā sutta - Aspiring for Happiness

The Buddha teaches that a wise person aspiring for the three kinds of happiness - of 1.) praise, 2.) wealth, and 3.) good rebirth - should safeguard their virtue.

PTS 67–68

ITI 102 Āsavakkhaya sutta - Wearing Away of the Taints

When one knows and sees the four noble truths, there is the wearing away of the taints.

PTS 103

SN 1.10 Arañña sutta - Wilderness

A deity asks the Buddha how the complexion of those dwelling in the wilderness and living the spiritual life becomes serene.

PTS 1.5

SNP 4.7 Tissametteyya sutta - To Tissa Metteyya

The Buddha advises Tissa Metteyya on the dangers of engaging in sexual activity and the benefits of solitary conduct.

PTS 160

SNP 4.12 Cūḷabyūha sutta - The Lesser Discourse on the Array of Views

The Buddha describes that disputes arise not from many truths, but from people clinging to their own views out of conceit. By labeling others "fools" to affirm their own skill, they create conflict. The path to peace lies not in proving one's view, but in abandoning all judgments.

PTS 171–173

AN 2.21-31 Bāla vagga - The Chapter Beginning With The Immature

The Buddha contrasts the immature and wise persons, shares on who misrepresents the Buddha, virtuous and unprincipled behavior, wrong and right view, why he dwells in forests and remote lodgings, and the importance of tranquility and penetrative vision.

PTS 1.59–1.61

AN 2.98-117 Bāla vagga - Immature Persons

The Buddha explains the difference between immature and wise persons, and how taints increase or decrease based on how one perceives.

PTS 1.84

AN 3.2 Lakkhaṇa sutta - Characteristics

The Buddha explains the characteristics of an immature and wise person.

PTS 1.102

AN 3.107 Ruṇṇa sutta - Wailing

Singing, dancing, and excessive laughter are all considered inappropriate expressions for the Noble Ones. The appropriate expression of joy for one who delights in the Dhamma is simply a gentle smile, reflecting dignified restraint.

PTS 1.261

UD 5.5 Uposatha sutta - Uposatha

The Buddha sits silently among the Saṅgha of bhikkhus on an Uposatha night when the assembly wasn’t pure. Afterwards, the Buddha explains the eight wonderful and marvelous qualities of the Dhamma and Vinaya, likening them to similarly wonderful qualities of the great ocean.

PTS 51–56

UD 7.10 Utena sutta - Utena

After King Udena's palace burns down and five hundred women headed by Sāmāvatī die, the Buddha confirms their spiritual attainments and expresses an inspired verse about the world in bondage to delusion.

PTS 79

DHP 60–75 Bāla vagga - Chapter 5 - Immature

DhammaPada verses 60-75 describe the traits and consequences for an immature person. They suffer from delusion, cling to false views of self and possessions, perform harmful actions, seek status without wisdom, and long for recognition. In contrast, the wise avoid their company and pursue seclusion and true understanding of the Dhamma.

PTS 17–20

DHP 116–128 Pāpa vagga - Chapter 9 - Harm

Dhammapada verses 116-128 share the importance of hastening to do good, restraining the mind from harm, the consequences of harm and good, the accumulation of evil and good, the importance of avoiding harmful actions, the consequences of harming a blameless person, the results of evil and good, and the inevitability of death.

PTS 33–36

DHP 157–166 Atta vagga - Chapter 12 - Self

Dhammapada verses 157-166 emphasize self-discipline, personal responsibility, and inner mastery. A wise person must first establish themselves properly before guiding others, as self-mastery is difficult but essential. Purity and impurity are personal matters, and one should prioritize their own spiritual welfare over external concerns, for no one can purify another.

PTS 45–47

DHP 273–289 Magga vagga - Chapter 20 - The Path

Dhammapada verses 273–289 emphasize the eightfold path as the foremost way to liberation, seeing the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not-self nature of all things. Further, the verses mention the relation of meditation and wisdom, They mention restraint, how wisdom through meditation, on cutting off the forest as well as the undergrowth, and making swift effort to purify by the way of practice leading to Nibbāna.

PTS 77–81

DHP 320–333 Nāga vagga - Chapter 23 - The Elephant

Dhammapada verses 320–333 highlight self-discipline, wisdom, and perseverance through the imagery of elephants. They highlight inner mastery over strength, the value of solitude over company of immature persons, and the importance of taming one’s mind. Honoring parents, cultivating virtue, and letting go of suffering lead to true ease.

PTS 90–93

DHP 360–382 Bhikkhu vagga - Chapter 25 - Bhikkhu

Dhammapada verses 360–382 depict the ideal bhikkhu as one who restrains the senses, body, speech, and mind, leading to freedom from suffering. Emphasis is placed on mindfulness, inner joy, collectedness, and self-reliance. Through discipline and reflection, the bhikkhu advances towards the peace of Nibbāna, shining like the moon freed from clouds.

PTS 101–106

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