40b: The Last Days 2, In Vajji – 1501
4. Householders, furthermore, a virtuous person who possesses moral
virtue dies without any bewilderment. This is the fourth advantage that
waits on a virtuous person for his being virtuous.
5. Householders, furthermore, a virtuous person, who possesses moral
virtue after death and dissolution of the body is destined to the
fortunate existences of the heavenly worlds (
deva-loka
). This is fifth
advantage that waits on a virtuous person for his being virtuous.
Householders, these are the five advantages that wait on a virtuous person for
his being virtuous.”
Although this discourse was addressed to lay persons it also applies to monastics.
1. With a lay person, lack of moral virtue may lead to committing evil deeds
such as killing. As he indulges in evil, he tends to forget his usual means of
livelihood, such as cultivation or trading, thereby incurring great losses of
property. Worse still, his evil deed might be illegal under the law proclaimed by
the king such as killing of animals, and he is liable to criminal punishment. If he
steals, he also commits a crime equally liable to punishment. Thus, his lack of
moral virtue can bring him great losses of property.
Similarly, a monastic lacking morality, being heedless, loses virtue, loses the
good doctrine, the word of the Buddha, loses absorption (
jhāna
), and loses the
seven noble properties of noble ones (
ariya
). The seven noble properties of the
noble ones (
satta-ariya-dhanāni
) are:
1. Faith in the Three Treasures and productive deeds (
saddhā-dhana
).
2. Wealth of morality (
sīla-dhana
).
3
.
Wealth of conscience about wrong doing (
hiri-dhana
).
4. Wealth of concern about wrong doing (
ottappa-dhana
).
5. Wealth of vast knowledge (
suta-dhana
).
6. Wealth of charity (
cāga-dhana
).
7. Wealth of wisdom through path and fruition attainments (
paññā-dhana
).
2. An immoral man earns a bad repute so that he is written off as an outcaste,
useless for this world and hopeless for future worlds. “This man is so stingy that
he would not even take part in offering alms food by drawing lots,” this is the