Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c38.s8.1

v2.c38.s8.1

In delivering discourses to the householders, Buddha and his disciples uniformly observed an order (*anupubbikatham*). They first expiated on the merits of giving gifts (*dānakatham*), and of observing moral precepts (*sīlakatham*), and of the reward obtained thereby, viz., a heavenly existence (saggakathaṃ). Then they dilated on the evils of enjoying worldly pleasures (kāmānaṃ ādīnavaṃ) and the merit of retirement from the world (nekkhamme ānisaṃsaṃ). When they found that the teaching had made a good impression on the mind of a householder, they passed on to the next higher teaching, the exposition of the four truths, dukkha, samudaya, nirodha and magga, and made them realise that whatever has origin must have decay (yaṃ kiñci samudayadhammaṃ sabbaṃ taṃ nirodhadhammaṃ ti).¹