“In a herd of cattle,
whether black, white,
ruddy, brown,
dappled, uniform,
or pigeon gray:
If a bull is born—
tame, enduring,
consummate in strength,
& swift—
people yoke him to burdens,
regardless of his color.
In the same way,
wherever one is born
among human beings—
noble warriors, brahmans,
merchants, workers,
outcastes, or scavengers—
if one is tame, with good practices,
righteous, consummate in virtue,
a speaker of truth, with conscience at heart,
one
who’s abandoned birth & death,
completed the holy life
put down the burden,
done the task
effluent-free,
gone beyond all dhammas,
through lack of clinging unbound:
Offerings to this spotless field
bear an abundance of fruit.
But fools, unknowing,
dull, uninformed,
give gifts outside
and don’t come near the good.
While those who do come near the good
—regarded as enlightened,
discerning—
whose conviction in the One Well-Gone
has taken root,
is established:
They go to the world of the devas
or are reborn here in good family.
Step by step
they reach
unbinding
: they
who are wise.”
Origin URL: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN3_58.html