Virtue Lower Than the Stream-Enterer That Does Not Lead to Bad Destinations

One Who Does Not Go to Bad Destinations

(First Discourse)

Here, Mahānāma, some person does not possess confirmed confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community. He is not one of joyous wisdom, nor of swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation.

However, he has these five things: the faculty of confidence, the faculty of energy, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, the faculty of wisdom. And The Teachings proclaimed by The Tathāgata are understood by him after being pondered to a sufficient degree with wisdom. This person too, Mahānāma, is one who does not go to hell, the animal realm, or the realm of afflicted spirits, to the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world.

One Who Does Not Go to Bad Destinations

(Second Discourse)

Here, Mahānāma, some person does not possess confirmed confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community. He is not one of joyous wisdom, nor of swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation.

However, he has these five things: the faculty of confidence, the faculty of energy, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, the faculty of wisdom. And he has sufficient confidence in The Tathāgata, sufficient devotion to him. This person too, Mahānāma, is one who does not go to hell, the animal realm, or the realm of afflicted spirits, to the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world. 

(Reference: SN 55.24)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares in these two (2) discourses that a Practitioner who does not have confirmed confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community “is not one of joyous wisdom, nor swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation”.

In order to progress along The Path to Enlightenment and experience the results of attainments of the Jhānas and the four (4) Stages of Enlightenment, a Practitioner would need to have well developed confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community. Without this confidence, why would a Practitioner choose to learn, reflect, and practice to progress towards the attainments? They would be unable to do so.

As a Practitioner first starts out on this path, they may not have confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community because they have not had the opportunity to learn, reflect, and practice to acquire wisdom which would build one’s confidence.

As a Practitioner learns and develops their life practice, the more truth they discover to acquire wisdom, their confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community should increase.

The Buddha also explains that one who does not have confirmed confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community but has developed the five spiritual faculties of confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom while having sufficient confidence in The Buddha, this Practitioner will not be reborn into the lower realms of “hell, the animal realm, or the realm of afflicted spirits, to the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world”.

Having confirmed confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community is that one has actual confidence. Having “the faculty of confidence” is that one has the ability to cultivate and develop confidence but has not necessarily actually developed confidence.

Similarly, the faculty of energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom would be to have the ability to cultivate and develop these qualities of mind. If a Practitioner is practicing The Enlightenment factor of energy, mindfulness, and concentration while having wisdom, they have acquired these qualities of mind, they possess them, and are practicing them. If one just has the faculty of confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom, this means they have the interest and ability to cultivate these qualities of mind in their life practice but they may not have actually developed them.

In both of these Teachings, The Buddha explains that one does not have “confirmed confidence” but they do have the “faculty”, meaning, they have the interest and ability to cultivate these mental qualities of confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom and, thus, one will not be reborn into the lower realms of “hell, the animal realm, or the realm of afflicted spirits, to the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world”.

Along with this, he explains that “The Teachings proclaimed by The Tathāgata are understood by him after being pondered to a sufficient degree with wisdom” by a Practitioner or one "has sufficient confidence in The Tathāgata, sufficient devotion to him”.

Lacking confirmed confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, and The Community one “is not one of joyous wisdom, nor of swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation”. 

But, with having the interest and ability to cultivate confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom while “The Teachings proclaimed by The Tathāgata are understood by him after being pondered to a sufficient degree with wisdom” or either by a Practitioner having "sufficient confidence in The Tathāgata, sufficient devotion to him” this would ensure one will not be reborn into the lower realms of “hell, the animal realm, or the realm of afflicted spirits, to the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world”.