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of this sutta
- Anguttara Nikaya IV.95
- Chavalata Sutta
- The Firebrand
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
"Monks, these four types of individuals are to be found existing in the world.
Which four? The one who practices neither for his/her own benefit nor for that of others.
The one who practices for the benefit of others but not for his/her own. The one who
practices for his/her own benefit but not for that of others. The one who practices for
his/her own benefit and for that of others.
"Just as a firebrand from a funeral pyre -- burning at
both ends, covered with excrement in the middle -- is used as fuel neither in a village
nor in the wilderness: I tell you that this is a simile for the individual who practices
neither for his/her own benefit nor for that of others. The individual who practices for
the benefit of others but not for his/her own is the higher & more refined of these
two. The individual who practices for his/her own benefit but not for that of others is
the highest & most refined of these three. The individual who practices for his/her
own benefit and for that of others is, of these four, the foremost, the chief, the most
outstanding, the highest, & supreme. Just as from a cow comes milk;
from milk, curds; from curds, butter; from butter, ghee; from ghee, the skimmings of ghee;
and of these, the skimmings of ghee are reckoned the foremost -- in the same way, of these
four, the individual who practices for his/her own benefit and for that of other is the
foremost, the chief, the most outstanding, the highest, & supreme.
"These are the four types of individuals to be found existing in the world."
See also: AN V.20; AN IV.96.