4 Catukka Nipāta Pāḷi

(a) These four persons are found in the world: he who goes with the stream; he who goes against the stream; he who stands firm; he who has crossed over to the other shore and stands on dry land.

The person who indulges in sense desires and commits wrong deeds is one who goes with the stream. He who does not indulge in sense desires or commit wrong deeds, but lives the pure, chaste life, struggling painfully and with difficulty to do so, is one who goes against the stream. He who stands firm is the person, who having destroyed the five lower fetters is reborn spontaneously in the Brahmā realm, where he realizes nibbāna without ever returning to the sensuous sphere. The one who has gone to the other shore standing on dry land is the person who has destroyed all the mental intoxicants, and who has realized, in this very life, by himself, the liberation of the mind and liberation by knowledge. (para 5)

(b) There are four Right Efforts:

(i) The energetic effort to prevent evil, unwholesome states of mind from arising;

(ii) the energetic effort to get rid of evil, unwholesome states of mind that have already arisen;

(iii) the energetic effort to arouse good, wholesome states of mind that have not yet arisen;

(iv) the energetic effort to develop and bring to perfection the good and wholesome states of mind already arisen. (para 13)

(c) As a tathāgata speaks, so he acts; as he acts, so he speaks. Therefore he is called a tathāgata. (para 23)

(d) There are four highest kinds of faith: the tathāgata, the holiest and fully enlightened, is the highest among all living beings. Among all conditioned things, the Noble Path of Eight Constituents is the highest. Among all conditioned and unconditioned things, nibbāna is the highest. Amongst all groups of men, the order of the tathāgata, the Sangha made up of the four pairs of noble men, the eight ariyas is the highest.

For those who have faith in the highest, namely, the Buddha, the path, the nibbāna and the ariyas, the highest result will be theirs. (para 34)

(e) There are four ways of dealing with questions:

(i) Some should be given direct answers;

(ii) Others should be answered by way of analysing them;

(iii) Some questions should be answered by counter-questions;

(iv) Lastly, some questions should simply be put aside. (para 42)

(f) There are four distortions (vipallāsas) in perception, thought and view. To hold that there is permanence in the impermanent; to hold that there is happiness in suffering; to hold the there is atta where there is no atta; to hold that there is pleasantness (subha) in that which is foul. (para 49)

(g) When Nakulapitā and Nakulamātā express their wish to the Buddha to be in one another’s sight as long as the present life lasts and in the future life as well, the Buddha advises them to try to have the same faith, the same virtue, the same generosity and the same wisdom; then they will have their wish fulfilled. (paras 55-56)

(h) He who gives food gives four things to those who receive it. He gives them long life, beauty, happiness and strength. The donor himself will be endowed with long life, beauty, happiness and strength wherever he is born in the human or the deva world. (para 57)

(i) There are four subjects not fit for speculative thought (acinteyyāni). They are: the specific qualities of a Buddha (buddhavisayo); a person’s jhāna attainment; the results of kamma; and the nature of the world. These imponderables are not to be pondered upon; which, if pondered upon, would lead one to mental distress and insanity. (para 77)

(j) There are four things concerning which no one whether samaṇa, brāhmaṇa, deva, māra or anyone else in the world can give a guarantee:

(i) That which is liable to decay should not decay;

(ii) That which is liable to illness should not fall ill;

(iii) That which is liable to die should not die; and

(iv) That no resultant effect should come forth from those evil deeds done previously. (para 182)

(k) There are four ways by which a person’s character may be judged:

His virtue can be known by a wise and intelligent person paying close attention after living together with him for a very long time. His integrity can be known by a wise and intelligent person by having dealings with him, paying close attention for a period of long time. His fortitude can be known by a wise and intelligent person by observing him in close attention in times of misfortune. His wisdom can be judged by a wise and intelligent person when conversing with him on various subjects over a long period of time. (para 192)

(l) There are four things conducive to the growth of wisdom: associating with a good person; hearing the good Dhamma; maintaining a right attitude of mind and leading a life in accordance with the Dhamma. (para 248)
5 Pañcaka Nipāta Pāḷi

(a) There are five strengths possessed by a person in training for higher knowledge: faith, shame (to do evil), moral dread, energy and insight-knowledge. He believes in the enlightenment of the Buddha; he feels ashamed of wrong conduct in deed, word and thought; he dreads anything evil and unwholesome; he arouses energy to abandon everything unwholesome and to acquire everything that is wholesome; he perceives the phenomenon of constant rising and ceasing and he is thus equipped with insight which will finally lead him to nibbāna, destruction of suffering. (para 2)

(b) There are also five strengths, namely faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and insight-knowledge. The strength of the faith is seen in the four characteristic qualities of a stream-winner; the strength of the energy is seen in the four Right Efforts; the strength of mindfulness is seen in the four methods of steadfast mindfulness and the strength of concentration is seen in the four jhānas; the strength of the insight-knowledge is seen in the perception of the phenomenon of constant arising and ceasing, an insight which will finally lead to nibbāna. (para 14)

(c) Impurities that defile gold are iron, tin, lead, silver and other metals. Impurities that defile mind are sensuous desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, sceptical doubts. (para 23)

(d) A giver of alms surpasses a non-giver in five aspects, namely, in life-span, beauty, happiness, fame and power, whether both be reborn in the deva world or the human world. This difference in five aspects will persist until liberation is achieved. Then there is no distinction between the liberation of one and the other or between one arahat and the other. (para 31)

(e) There are five contemplations which ought to be practised by everyone, bhikkhus or lay folks, men and women:

"I am certain to become old. I cannot avoid ageing."

"I am certain to become ill and diseased. I cannot avoid illness."

"I am certain to die. I cannot avoid death."

"All things dear and beloved will not last. They will be subject to change and separation."

"My kamma (past and present actions) is my only property, kamma is my only heritage, kamma is the only cause of my being, kamma is my only kin, my only protection. Whatever actions I do, good or bad, I shall become their heir." (para 57)

(f) Five standards which should be set up for teaching the Dhamma: the Dhamma should be taught in graduated discourses; the Dhamma should be given as a well-reasoned discourse; the Dhamma should be given out of compassion and sympathy; the Dhamma should not be given for the sake of worldly gain and advantage; the Dhamma should be taught without alluding to oneself or the others. (para 159)

(g) There are five ways of getting rid of a grudge: if a grudge arises towards any person, then one should cultivate loving-kindness, or compassion or equanimity towards him. Or one should pay no attention to him and give no thought to him. Or one may apply the thought: his only property is his actions; whatever he does, good or bad, he will be the heir to that. In these ways all grudges that have arisen can be removed. (para 161)

(h) Wrong occupations which should not be followed by a lay disciple: trading in arms and weapons; trading in living beings; trading in meat; trading in intoxicants; trading in poison. (para 177)