AN 8.6: Lokadhamma Sutta – Worldly Conditions

Translated by Bhante Suddhāso

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“Monks, these eight worldly conditions revolve around the world, and the world revolves around these eight worldly conditions. What eight? Gain, loss, fame, obscurity, blame, praise, pleasure, and pain. Monks, these eight worldly conditions revolve around the world, and the world revolves around these eight worldly conditions.

“Monks – gain, loss, fame, obscurity, blame, praise, pleasure, and pain can arise for an uneducated commoner. Monks – gain, loss, fame, obscurity, blame, praise, pleasure, and pain can also arise for an educated disciple of the noble ones. Monks, what is the distinction, what is the difference, what is the variance, between the educated disciple of the noble ones and the uneducated commoner?”

“Bhante, our teachings are rooted in the Fortunate One, guided by the Fortunate One, based on the Fortunate One. Bhante, it would be good for the Fortunate One to reveal the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from the Fortunate One, the monks will maintain it.”

“Therefore, monks, listen and carefully pay attention; I will speak.”

“Yes, Bhante,” those monks replied to the Fortunate One. The Fortunate One said this:

“Monks, when gain arises for an uneducated commoner, they do not consider, ‘This gain has arisen for me; it is impermanent, unsatisfying, and subject to change’; they do not accurately understand it.

“Monks, when loss… fame… obscurity… blame… praise… pleasure… pain arises for an uneducated commoner, they do not consider, ‘This pain has arisen for me; it is impermanent, unsatisfying, and subject to change’; they do not accurately understand it.

“Their mind is obsessed with gain, obsessed with loss, obsessed with fame, obsessed with obscurity, obsessed with blame, obsessed with praise, obsessed with pleasure, obsessed with pain. When gain arises, they approve of it, and disapprove of loss; when fame arises, they approve of it, and disapprove of obscurity; when praise arises, they approve of it, and disapprove of blame; when pleasure arises, they approve of it, and disapprove of pain. Since they are so involved in approval and disapproval, they are not freed from birth, decay, dying, sorrow, grief, pain, depression, and anguish; they are not freed from suffering, I say.

“Monks, when gain… loss… fame… obscurity… blame… praise… pleasure… pain arises for an educated disciple of the noble ones, they consider, ‘This pain has arisen for me; it is impermanent, unsatisfying, and subject to change’; they accurately understand it.

“Their mind is not obsessed with gain, not obsessed with loss, not obsessed with fame, not obsessed with obscurity, not obsessed with blame, not obsessed with praise, not obsessed with pleasure, not obsessed with pain. When gain arises, they do not approve of it, and they do not disapprove of loss; when fame arises, they do not approve of it, and they do not disapprove of obscurity; when praise arises, they do not approve of it, and they do not disapprove of blame; when pleasure arises, they do not approve of it, and they do not disapprove of pain. Since they have abandoned approval and disapproval, they are freed from birth, decay, dying, sorrow, grief, pain, depression, and anguish; they are freed from suffering, I say.

“Monks, this is the distinction, this is the difference, this is the variance, between the educated disciple of the noble ones and the uneducated commoner.”

“Gain, loss, fame, and obscurity,
Blame, praise, pleasure, and pain,
Among humans, these things are impermanent, not eternal,
They are subject to change.
One who is mindful and wise knows this,
And sees that they are subject to change.
The mind is not disturbed by desirable things,
Nor is it repelled by the undesirable.
One for whom approval and disapproval
Have dissipated, vanished, and do not exist,
Who has known the path, stainless and sorrowless,
Rightly understands, for they have transcended existence.”