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SN 3.23 — Loka Sutta: (Qualities of) the World

translated from the Pāli by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

At Savatthi. As he was sitting to one side, King Pasenadi Kosala said to the Blessed One: "How many qualities of the world that, when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort?"

"Three qualities of the world, great king, when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort. Which three? Greed, great king, is a quality of the world that, when arising, arises for harm, stress, & discomfort. Aversion... Delusion is a quality of the world that, when arising, arises for harm, stress, & discomfort. These are the three qualities of the world, great king, that when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort."

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

Greed, aversion, & delusion — born from oneself — destroy the person of evil awareness, as its own fruit, the reed.
Copyright © 1999 Thanissaro Bhikkhu. The text of this page (“Loka Sutta: (Qualities of) the World”, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. From Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013.