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Anguttara Nikaya

Aṅguttara NikāyaAN 5.235 Anukampa
 A Monk with Compassion

The Supreme Buddha designed the monk life so they could be of benefit to themselves as well as others. This sutta shows the ways that monks can help lay people.

“Monks, a resident monk with five qualities shows compassion to the lay people. What five?

  1. They encourage them in higher ethics.
  2. They equip them to see the truth of the teachings.
  3. When they are sick, they go to them and prompt their mindfulness, saying: ‘Establish your mindfulness, good sirs, in what is worthy.’
  4. When a large monk Saṅgha is arriving with monks from abroad, they go to the lay people and announce: ‘A large monk Saṅgha is arriving with monks from abroad. Make merit! Now is the time to make merit!’
  5. And they eat whatever food they give them, coarse or fine, not wasting a gift given in faith.

A resident monk with these five qualities shows compassion to the lay people.”

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Aṅguttara Nikāya 5.235 Anukampa: A Monk with Compassion

Explore other suttas with these topics:

Questions for Reflection:

  • Can you remember a time when a monk encouraged you to practice virtue? What did they tell you?
  • Have you ever seen monks visit someone who was sick? What kinds of things did the monk teach them?

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