AN 4:96 · The Subduing of Passion (Rāga-vinaya Sutta)
“Monks, these four types of individuals are to be found existing in the world. Which four? The one who practices for his/her own benefit but not for that of others. The one who practices for the benefit of others but not for his/her own. The one who practices neither for his/her own benefit nor for that of others. The one who practices for his/her own benefit and for that of others.
“And how is one an individual who practices for his/her own benefit but not for that of others? There is the case where a certain individual practices for the subduing of passion within him/herself but doesn’t encourage others in the subduing of passion; practices for the subduing of aversion within him/herself but doesn’t encourage others in the subduing of aversion; practices for the subduing of delusion within him/herself but doesn’t encourage others in the subduing of delusion. Such is the individual who practices for his/her own benefit but not for that of others.
“And how is one an individual who practices for the benefit of others but not for his/her own? There is the case where a certain individual doesn’t practice for the subduing of passion within him/herself but encourages others in the subduing of passion; he/she doesn’t practice for the subduing of aversion within him/herself but encourages others in the subduing of aversion; he/she doesn’t practice for the subduing of delusion within him/herself but encourages others in the subduing of delusion. Such is the individual who practices for the benefit of others but not for his/her own.
“And how is one an individual who practices neither for his/her own benefit nor for that of others? There is the case where a certain individual doesn’t practice for the subduing of passion within him/herself and doesn’t encourage others in the subduing of passion; he/she doesn’t practice for the subduing of aversion within him/herself and doesn’t encourage others in the subduing of aversion; he/she doesn’t practice for the subduing of delusion within him/herself and doesn’t encourage others in the subduing of delusion. Such is the individual who practices neither for his/her own benefit nor for that of others.
“And how is one an individual who practices for his/her own benefit and for that of others? There is the case where a certain individual practices for the subduing of passion within him/herself and encourages others in the subduing of passion; practices for the subduing of aversion within him/herself and encourages others in the subduing of aversion; practices for the subduing of delusion within him/herself and encourages others in the subduing of delusion. Such is the individual who practices for his/her own benefit and for that of others.
“These are the four types of individuals to be found existing in the world.”
See also: SN 10:4; SN 22:2; SN 47:19; AN 5:20
Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 licence, for free distribution only. Source: dhammatalks.org (Metta Forest Monastery).
