This is how I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living in the city of Rājagaha on the mountain Gijjhakuta.
One day the wanderer Sutavā went up to the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and asked the Blessed One: “Bhante, on one occasion the Blessed One was living right here in the city of Rājagaha, at Giribbaja. At that time, in the presence of the Blessed One, I heard and learned this: ‘Sutavā, a monk who is an arahant—
one whose taints are destroyed,
who has lived the spiritual life,
done what had to be done,
laid down the burden of defilements,
reached his own goal,
utterly destroyed the fetters of existence,
one completely liberated through final knowledge
—is incapable of doing these five things. He is incapable of intentionally killing a being; he is incapable of stealing; he is incapable of engaging in sexual intercourse; he is incapable of deliberately lying; he is incapable of storing things up in order to enjoy worldly pleasures as he did in the past when a layman.’ Bhante, did I hear that correctly from the Blessed One, grasp it correctly, attend to it correctly, and remember it correctly?”
“Yes, Sutavā, you heard that correctly, grasped it correctly, attended to it correctly, remembered it correctly. In the past, Sutavā, and also now I say this: A monk who is an arahant—one whose taints are destroyed … one completely liberated through final knowledge—is incapable of doing these nine things:
1. He is incapable of intentionally killing a being.
2. He is incapable of stealing.
3. He is incapable of engaging in sexual intercourse.
4. He is incapable of deliberately lying.
5. He is incapable of storing things up in order to enjoy worldly pleasures as he did in the past when a layman.
6. He is incapable of rejecting the Buddha.
7. He is incapable of rejecting the Dhamma.
8. He is incapable of rejecting the Saṅgha.
9. He is incapable of rejecting the training.
“In the past, Sutavā, and also now I say this: ‘A monk who is an arahant—one whose taints are destroyed … one completely liberated through final knowledge—is incapable of doing these nine things.”
