Dharma
"Train in acts of merit; that yield the foremost profit
of bliss: develop generosity, a life in tune, a mind of good will... that bring
about bliss..."
(Iti22)
Suttas in full.
Itivuttaka: the buddha’s sayings, the section of the ones
22. Meritorious Deeds
This was said by the Lord…
“Bhikkhus, do not fear meritorious deeds. This is an
expression denoting happiness, what is desirable, wished for, dear and
agreeable, that is, ‘meritorious deeds.’ For I know full well, bhikkhus, that
for a long time I experienced desirable, wished for, dear and agreeable results
from often performing meritorious deeds.
“Having cultivated for seven years a mind of
loving-kindness, for seven aeons of contraction and expansion I did not return
to this world. Whenever the aeon contracted I reached the plane of Streaming
Radiance, and when the aeon expanded I arose in an empty Brahma-mansion. And
there I was a Brahmā, the Great Brahmā, the Unvanquished Victor, the
All-seeing, the All-powerful. Thirty-six times I was Sakka, the ruler of the
devas. And many hundreds of times I was a Wheel-turning Monarch, righteous, a
king of righteousness, conqueror of the four quarters of the earth, maintaining
stability in the land, in possession of the seven jewels. What need is there to
speak of mere local kingship?
“It occurred to me, bhikkhus, to wonder: ‘Of what kind of
deed of mine is this the fruit? Of what deed’s ripening is it that I am now of
such great accomplishment and power?’ And then it occurred to me: ‘It is the
fruit of three kinds of deeds of mine, the ripening of three kinds of deeds
that I am now of such great accomplishment and power: deeds of giving, of
self-mastery, and of refraining.’”
One should train in deeds of merit
That yield long-lasting happiness:
Generosity, a balanced life,
Developing a loving mind.
By cultivating these three things,
Deeds yielding happiness,
The wise person is reborn in bliss
In an untroubled happy world.
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