Communal Living
Sannivāsa Sutta (AN 2:61)
“Monks, I will teach you the communal living of the bad & the communal living of the good. Listen to that & pay careful attention. I will speak.”
“As you say, lord,” the monks responded to the Blessed One.
The Blessed One said, “And how is there the communal living of the bad? And how do the bad live together?
“There is the case where the thought occurs to an elder monk, ‘I should not correct an elder monk, nor should I correct a monk of middling standing, nor should I correct a newcoming monk.
“‘If an elder monk were to correct me, he would correct me unsympathetic for my welfare, and not sympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “No,” and that would annoy him. Even seeing (my offense), I wouldn’t make amends.
“‘If a monk of middle standing were to correct me, he would correct me unsympathetic for my welfare, and not sympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “No,” and that would annoy him. Even seeing (my offense), I wouldn’t make amends.
“‘If a newcoming monk were to correct me, he would correct me unsympathetic for my welfare, and not sympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “No,” and that would annoy him. Even seeing (my offense), I wouldn’t make amends.’
“The thought occurs to a monk of middle standing…
“The thought occurs to a newcoming monk, ‘I should not correct an elder monk, nor should I correct a monk of middling standing, nor should I correct a newcoming monk.
“‘If an elder monk were to correct me, he would correct me unsympathetic for my welfare, and not sympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “No,” and that would annoy him. Even seeing (my offense), I wouldn’t make amends.
“‘If a monk of middle standing were to correct me, he would correct me unsympathetic for my welfare, and not sympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “No,” and that would annoy him. Even seeing (my offense), I wouldn’t make amends.
“‘If a newcoming monk were to correct me, he would correct me unsympathetic for my welfare, and not sympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “No,” and that would annoy him. Even seeing (my offense), I wouldn’t make amends.’
“This, monks, is how there is the communal living of the bad, and this is how the bad live together.
“And how is there the communal living of the good? And how do the good live together?
“There is the case where the thought occurs to an elder monk, ‘I should correct an elder monk, I should correct a monk of middling standing, and I should correct a newcoming monk.
“‘If an elder monk were to correct me, he would correct me sympathetic for my welfare, and not unsympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “Good,” and that would not annoy him. Seeing (my offense), I would make amends.
“‘If a monk of middle standing were to correct me, he would correct me sympathetic for my welfare, and not unsympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “Good,” and that would not annoy him. Seeing (my offense), I would make amends.
“‘If a newcoming monk were to correct me, he would correct me sympathetic for my welfare, and not unsympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “Good,” and that would not annoy him. Seeing (my offense), I would make amends.’
“The thought occurs to a monk of middle standing…
“The thought occurs to a newcoming monk, ‘I should correct an elder monk, I should correct a monk of middling standing, and I should correct a newcoming monk.
“‘If an elder monk were to correct me, he would correct me sympathetic for my welfare, and not unsympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “Good,” and that would not annoy him. Seeing (my offense), I would make amends.
“‘If a monk of middle standing were to correct me, he would correct me sympathetic for my welfare, and not unsympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “Good,” and that would not annoy him. Seeing (my offense), I would make amends.
“‘If a newcoming monk were to correct me, he would correct me sympathetic for my welfare, and not unsympathetic for my welfare. I would say, “Good,” and that would not annoy him. Seeing (my offense), I would make amends.’
“This, monks, is how there is the communal living of the good, and this is how the good live together.”
