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- Anguttara Nikaya VIII.80
- Kusita-Arabbhavatthu Sutta
- The Grounds for Laziness & the Arousal of Energy
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
"Monks, there are these eight grounds for laziness. Which
eight?
"There is the case where a monk has some work to do. The thought occurs to him: 'I
will have to do this work. But when I have done this work, my body will be tired. Why
don't I lie down?' So he lies down. He doesn't make an effort for the attaining of the
as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the
as-yet-unrealized. This is the first grounds for laziness.
"Then there is the case where a monk has done some work. The thought occurs to
him: 'I have done some work. Now that I have done work, my body is tired. Why don't I lie
down?' So he lies down. He doesn't make an effort for the attaining of the
as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the
as-yet-unrealized. This is the second grounds for laziness.
"Then there is the case where a monk has to go on a journey. The thought occurs to
him: 'I will have to go on this journey. But when I have gone on the journey, my body will
be tired. Why don't I lie down?' So he lies down. He doesn't make an effort for the
attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization
of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the third grounds for laziness.
"Then there is the case where a monk has gone on a journey. The thought occurs to
him: 'I have gone on a journey. Now that I have gone on a journey, my body is tired. Why
don't I lie down?' So he lies down. He doesn't make an effort for the attaining of the
as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the
as-yet-unrealized. This is the fourth grounds for laziness.
"Then there is the case where a monk, having gone for alms in a village or town,
does not get as much coarse or refined food as he needs to fill himself up. The thought
occurs to him: 'I, having gone for alms in a village or town, have not gotten as much
coarse or refined food as I need to fill myself up. This body of mine is tired &
unsuitable for work. Why don't I lie down?' So he lies down. He doesn't make an effort for
the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the
realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the fifth grounds for laziness.
"Then there is the case where a monk, having gone for alms in a village or town,
does get as much coarse or refined food as he he needs to fill himself up. The thought
occurs to him: 'I, having gone for alms in a village or town, have gotten as much coarse
or refined food as I need to fill myself up. This body of mine is heavy & unsuitable
for work, as if I were many months pregnant. Why don't I lie down?' So he lies down. He
doesn't make an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the
as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the sixth grounds for
laziness.
"Then there is the case where a monk comes down with a slight illness. The thought
occurs to him: 'I have come down with a slight illness. There's a need to lie down.' So he
lies down. He doesn't make an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the
reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the
seventh grounds for laziness.
"Then there is the case where a monk has recovered from his illness, not long
after his recovery. The thought occurs to him: 'I have recovered from my illness. It's not
long after my recovery. This body of mine is weak & unsuitable for work. Why don't I
lie down?' So he lies down. He doesn't make an effort for the attaining of the
as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the
as-yet-unrealized. This is the eighth grounds for laziness.
"These are the eight grounds for laziness.
"There are these eight grounds for the arousal of energy. Which eight?
"There is the case where a monk has some work to do. The thought occurs to him: 'I
will have to do this work. But when I am doing this work, it will not be easy to attend to
the Buddha's message. Why don't I make an effort beforehand for the attaining of the
as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the
as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the
reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the
first grounds for the arousal of energy.
"Then there is the case where a monk has done some work. The thought occurs to
him: 'I have done some work. While I was doing work, I couldn't attend to the Buddha's
message. Why don't I make an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the
reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes
an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the
as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the second grounds for
the arousal of energy.
"Then there is the case where a monk has to go on a journey. The thought occurs to
him: 'I will have to go on this journey. But when I am going on the journey, it will not
be easy to attend to the Buddha's message. Why don't I make an effort beforehand for the
attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization
of the as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes an effort for the attaining of the
as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the
as-yet-unrealized. This is the third grounds for the arousal of energy.
"Then there is the case where a monk has gone on a journey. The thought occurs to
him: 'I have gone on a journey. While I was going on the journey, I couldn't attend to the
Buddha's message. Why don't I make an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained,
the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized?' So he
makes an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the
as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the fourth grounds for
the arousal of energy.
"Then there is the case where a monk, having gone for alms in a village or town,
does not get as much coarse or refined food as he he needs to fill himself up. The thought
occurs to him: 'I, having gone for alms in a village or town, have not gotten as much
coarse or refined food as I need to fill myself up. This body of mine is light &
suitable for work. Why don't I make an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained,
the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized?' So he
makes an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the
as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the fifth grounds for
the arousal of energy.
"Then there is the case where a monk, having gone for alms in a village or town,
does gets as much coarse or refined food as he needs to fill himself up. The thought
occurs to him: 'I, having gone for alms in a village or town, have gotten as much coarse
or refined food as I I need to fill myself up. This body of mine is light & suitable
for work. Why don't I make an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the
reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes
an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the
as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the sixth grounds for
the arousal of energy.
"Then there is the case where a monk comes down with a slight illness. The thought
occurs to him: 'I have come down with a slight illness. Now, there's the possibility that
it could get worse. Why don't I make an effort beforehand for the attaining of the
as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the
as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the
reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the
seventh grounds for the arousal of energy.
"Then there is the case where a monk has recovered from his illness, not long
after his recovery. The thought occurs to him: 'I have recovered from my illness. It's not
long after my recovery. Now, there's the possibility that the illness could come back. Why
don't I make an effort beforehand for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching
of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes an effort
for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the
realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the eighth grounds for the arousal of
energy.
"These are the eight grounds for the arousal of energy."