SN 3:23 · (Qualities of) the World (Loka Sutta)
Near Sāvatthī. As he was sitting to one side, King Pasenadi Kosala said to the Blessed One: “How many qualities of the world that, when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort?”
“Three qualities of the world, great king, when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort. Which three? Greed, great king, is a quality of the world that, when arising, arises for harm, stress, & discomfort. Aversion… Delusion is a quality of the world that, when arising, arises for harm, stress, & discomfort. These are the three qualities of the world, great king, that when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort.”
That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:
“Greed, aversion, & delusion
—born from oneself—
destroy
the person of evil awareness,
as its own fruit, the reed.”
See also: MN 95; AN 3:66; AN 8:6–8; Dhp 164–165; Dhp 240
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).
