Numbered Discourses 3.1

1. Fools

Perils

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the bhikkhus, “Bhikkhus!”

“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Whatever dangers there are, all come from the foolish, not from the astute. Whatever perils there are, all come from the foolish, not from the astute. Whatever hazards there are, all come from the foolish, not from the astute. It’s like a fire that spreads from a hut made of reeds or grass, and burns down even a bungalow, plastered inside and out, draft-free, with latches fastened and windows shuttered. In the same way, whatever dangers there are, all come from the foolish, not from the astute. Whatever perils there are, all come from the foolish, not from the astute. Whatever hazards there are, all come from the foolish, not from the astute.

So, the fool is dangerous, but the astute person is safe. The fool is perilous, but the astute person is not. The fool is hazardous, but the astute person is not. There’s no danger, peril, or hazard that comes from the astute.

So you should train like this: ‘We will reject the three things by which a fool is known, and we will undertake and follow the three things by which an astute person is known.’ That’s how you should train.”