This discourse was taught by the Blessed One, taught by the Arahant, the fully enlightened Supreme Buddha. This is as I heard:
“Monks, ignorance leads to the accumulation of unwholesome qualities. Lack of shame of wrongdoing and lack fear of wrongdoing follow after.
Monks, true knowledge (realization of the Four Noble Truths) precedes to the accumulation of wholesome qualities. Shame of wrongdoing and fear of wrongdoing follow after.”
This is the meaning of what the Blessed One said. So, with regard to this, it was said:
Whatever planes of misery there are in this world and in the next are all rooted in ignorance. Kamma is accumulated through desire and greed for objects.
Evil desires, lack of shame of wrongdoing, and lack of respect towards wholesomeness lead to the accumulation of evil which will result in rebirth in the plane of misery.
Therefore, the monk who gives rise to true knowledge that discards desire, greed, and ignorance abandons all bad destinations.
This, too, is the meaning of what was said by the Blessed One. This is exactly as I heard.
