AN 6.49 - 6.54 With Dhammika Part 2

AN 6.49 Two monks separately come to the Buddha and speak of awakening in terms of letting go conceit. The Buddha affirms that they are, in fact, awakened, and that such indirect means are the proper way to make such declarations.AN 6.50 Just as a tree without leaves cannot grow, sense restraint is the foundation for spiritual growth.AN 6.51 Venerables Ānanda and Sāriputta discuss how a mendicants gets to further their learning and understanding.AN 6.52 The Buddha explains to the brahmin Jāṇussoṇī the ambition, quest, commitment, insistence, and ultimate goal of aristocrats, brahmins, householders, women, bandits, and ascetics.AN 6.53 With a series of vivid similes, the Buddha shows how diligence leads to benefits in both this life and the next.AN 6.54 The monk Dhammika annoys both the monks and the layfolk so badly that they banish him. He comes to the Buddha, who consoles him and raises his spirits with a story, while at the same time showing him the error of his ways.