Unprincipled

11 discourses
Also known as: lacking in moral principles, lacking in ethics, immoral
Pāli: dussīlya

In The Path of Dhamma (Dhammapada)

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.

Dhammapada verses 235-255 emphasize on the urgency of striving swiftly, not being negligent, discerning gradually, stains of various qualities. A contrast is drawn on the lives of one who is shameless and one with a sense of right and wrong, on finding the faults of others and one’s own, and on the path of the Tathāgatas.

In As It Was Said (Itivuttaka)

Endowed with the mental qualities of harmful conduct and views, one is reborn in hell.

The Buddha describes the two behaviors that lead to suffering and rebirth in hell if not abandoned.

The Buddha describes the three kinds of misconduct - by body, speech and mind.

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.

The Buddha explains how the livelihood of subsisting on alms, although an extreme of livelihoods, is a sensible choice for those who hope to discern a complete end to the entire mass of suffering.

In Middle Length Discourses (Majjhima Nikāya)

The Buddha expounds the noble right collectedness complete with its supporting conditions, clarifying how the factors of the noble eightfold path give rise to either mundane or supramundane fruits. He shows how right view leads to the sequential development of the path, culminating in right knowledge and right liberation.

In Linked Discourses (Saṃyutta Nikāya)

The Buddha uses the simile of a log of wood carried by a river to explain the eight obstacles to reaching Nibbāna.

In Numerical Discourses (Aṅguttara Nikāya)

The Buddha describes the three divine messengers that appear among human beings and what happens to those who do not heed their message.

In Inspired Utterances (Udāna)

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.

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