42 (1)
“Bhikkhus, there are these two kinds of assemblies. What two? The shallow assembly and the deep assembly.
“And what is the shallow assembly? The assembly in which the bhikkhus are restless, puffed up, vain, talkative, rambling in their talk, with muddled mindfulness, lacking in clear comprehension, unconcentrated, with wandering minds, with loose sense faculties, is called the shallow assembly.
“And what is the deep assembly? The assembly in which the bhikkhus are not restless, puffed up, vain, talkative, and rambling in their talk but have established mindfulness, clearly comprehend, are concentrated, with one-pointed minds and restrained sense faculties, is called the deep assembly.
“These, bhikkhus, are the two kinds of assemblies. Of these two kinds of assemblies, the deep assembly is foremost.”278
43 (2)
“Bhikkhus, there are these two kinds of assemblies. What two? The divided assembly and the harmonious assembly.
“And what is the divided assembly? The assembly in which the bhikkhus take to arguing and quarreling and fall into disputes, stabbing each other with piercing words, is called the divided assembly.279
“And what is the harmonious assembly? The assembly in which the bhikkhus dwell in concord, harmoniously, without disputes, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with eyes of affection, is called the harmonious assembly.
“These, bhikkhus, are the two kinds of assemblies. Of these two kinds of assemblies, the harmonious assembly is foremost.”
44 (3)
“Bhikkhus, there are these two kinds of assemblies. What two? The assembly of the inferior and the assembly of the foremost. [71]
“And what is the assembly of the inferior? Here, in this kind of assembly the elder bhikkhus are luxurious and lax, leaders in backsliding, discarding the duty of solitude; they do not arouse energy for the attainment of the as-yet-unattained, for the achievement of the as-yet-unachieved, for the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. [Those in] the next generation follow their example.280 They too become luxurious and lax, leaders in backsliding, discarding the duty of solitude; they too do not arouse energy for the attainment of the as-yet-unattained, for the achievement of the as-yet-unachieved, for the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is called the assembly of the inferior.
“And what is the assembly of the foremost? Here, in this kind of assembly the elder bhikkhus are not luxurious and lax but discard backsliding and take the lead in solitude; they arouse energy for the attainment of the as-yet-unattained, for the achievement of the as-yet-unachieved, for the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. [Those in] the next generation follow their example. They too do not become luxurious and lax but discard backsliding and take the lead in solitude; they too arouse energy for the attainment of the as-yet-unattained, for the achievement of the as-yet-unachieved, for the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is called the assembly of the foremost.
“These, bhikkhus, are the two kinds of assemblies. Of these two kinds of assemblies, the assembly of the foremost is foremost.”281
45 (4)
“Bhikkhus, there are these two kinds of assemblies. What two? The assembly of the noble and the assembly of the ignoble.
“And what is the assembly of the ignoble? The assembly in which the bhikkhus do not understand as it really is: ‘This is suffering’; do not understand as it really is: ‘This is the origin of suffering’; do not understand as it really is: ‘This is the cessation of suffering’; do not understand as it really is: ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering’ is called the assembly of the ignoble.
“And what is the assembly of the noble? The assembly in which the bhikkhus understand as it really is: ‘This is suffering’; understand as it really is: ‘This is the origin of suffering’; [72] understand as it really is: ‘This is the cessation of suffering’; understand as it really is: ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering’ is called the assembly of the noble.282
“These, bhikkhus, are the two kinds of assemblies. Of these two kinds of assemblies, the assembly of the noble is foremost.”
46 (5)
“Bhikkhus, there are these two kinds of assemblies. What two? The dregs of an assembly and the cream of an assembly.
“And what is the dregs of an assembly? The assembly in which the bhikkhus enter upon a wrong course on account of desire, hatred, delusion, or fear is called the dregs of an assembly.283
“And what is the cream of an assembly? The assembly in which the bhikkhus do not enter upon a wrong course on account of desire, hatred, delusion, or fear is called the cream of an assembly.
“These, bhikkhus, are the two kinds of assemblies. Of these two kinds of assemblies, the cream of an assembly is foremost.”
47 (6)
“Bhikkhus, there are these two kinds of assemblies. What two? The assembly trained in vain talk, not in interrogation, and the assembly trained in interrogation, not in vain talk.284
“And what is the assembly trained in vain talk, not in interrogation? Here, in this kind of assembly, when those discourses spoken by the Tathāgata are being recited that are deep, deep in meaning, world-transcending, connected with emptiness, the bhikkhus do not want to listen to them, do not lend an ear to them, or apply their minds to understand them; they do not think those teachings should be studied and learned. But when those discourses are being recited that are mere poetry composed by poets, beautiful in words and phrases, created by outsiders, spoken by disciples, they want to listen to them, lend an ear to them, and apply their minds to understand them; they think those teachings should be studied and learned.285 And having learned those teachings, they do not interrogate each other about them or examine them thoroughly, [73] [asking]: ‘How is this? What is the meaning of this?’ They do not disclose [to others] what is obscure and elucidate what is unclear, or dispel their perplexity about numerous perplexing points. This is called the assembly trained in vain talk, not in interrogation.
“And what is the assembly trained in interrogation, not in vain talk? Here, in this kind of assembly, when those discourses are being recited that are mere poetry composed by poets, beautiful in words and phrases, created by outsiders, spoken by disciples, the bhikkhus do not want to listen to them, do not lend an ear to them, or apply their minds to understand them; they do not think those teachings should be studied and learned. But when those discourses spoken by the Tathāgata are being recited that are deep, deep in meaning, world-transcending, connected with emptiness, the bhikkhus want to listen to them, lend an ear to them, and apply their minds to understand them; they think those teachings should be studied and learned. And having learned those teachings, they interrogate each other about them and examine them thoroughly, [asking]: ‘How is this? What is the meaning of this?’ [They] disclose to [others] what is obscure and elucidate what is unclear, and dispel their perplexity about numerous perplexing points. This is called the assembly trained in interrogation, not in vain talk.
“These, bhikkhus, are the two kinds of assemblies. Of these two kinds of assemblies, the assembly trained in interrogation, not in vain talk, is foremost.”
48 (7)
“Bhikkhus, there are these two kinds of assemblies. What two? The assembly that values worldly things, not the good Dhamma, and the assembly that values the good Dhamma, not worldly things.286
“And what is the assembly that values worldly things, not the good Dhamma? Here, in this kind of assembly the bhikkhus speak one another’s praises in the presence of householders clad in white, saying: ‘The bhikkhu so-and-so is one liberated in both respects; so-and-so is one liberated by wisdom; [74] so-and-so is a body witness; so-and-so is one attained to view; so-and-so is one liberated by faith; so-and-so is a Dhamma follower; so-and-so is a faith follower; so-and-so is virtuous and of good character; so-and-so is immoral and of bad character.’287 They thereby receive gains, which they use while being tied to them, infatuated with them, blindly absorbed in them, not seeing the danger in them, not understanding the escape. This is called the assembly that values worldly things, not the good Dhamma.
“And what is the assembly that values the good Dhamma, not worldly things? Here, in this kind of assembly the bhikkhus do not speak one another’s praises in the presence of householders clad in white, saying: ‘The bhikkhu so-and-so is one liberated in both respects … so-and-so is immoral and of bad character.’ They thereby receive gains, which they use without being tied to them, uninfatuated with them, not blindly absorbed in them, seeing the danger in them, understanding the escape. This is called the assembly that values the good Dhamma, not worldly things.
“These, bhikkhus, are the two kinds of assemblies. Of these two kinds of assemblies, the assembly that values the good Dhamma, not worldly things, is foremost.”
49 (8)
“Bhikkhus, there are these two kinds of assemblies. What two? The unrighteous assembly and the righteous assembly.
“And what is the unrighteous assembly? Here, in this assembly disciplinary acts contrary to the Dhamma are enacted and disciplinary acts in accordance with the Dhamma are not enacted; disciplinary acts contrary to the discipline are enacted and disciplinary acts in accordance with the discipline are not enacted. Disciplinary acts contrary to the Dhamma are explained and disciplinary acts in accordance with the Dhamma are not explained; disciplinary acts contrary to the discipline are explained and disciplinary acts in accordance with the discipline are not explained. This, bhikkhus, is called the unrighteous assembly. It is because it is unrighteous that in this assembly disciplinary acts contrary to the Dhamma are enacted … [75] … and disciplinary acts in accordance with the discipline are not explained.288
“And what is the righteous assembly? Here, in this assembly disciplinary acts that accord with the Dhamma are enacted and disciplinary acts contrary to the Dhamma are not enacted; disciplinary acts that accord with the discipline are enacted and disciplinary acts contrary to the discipline are not enacted. Disciplinary acts that accord with the Dhamma are explained and disciplinary acts contrary to the Dhamma are not explained; disciplinary acts that accord with the discipline are explained and disciplinary acts contrary to the discipline are not explained. This, bhikkhus, is called the righteous assembly. It is because it is righteous that in this assembly disciplinary acts that accord with the Dhamma are enacted … and disciplinary acts contrary to the discipline are not explained.
“These, bhikkhus, are the two kinds of assemblies. Of these two kinds of assemblies, the righteous assembly is foremost.”
50 (9)
“Bhikkhus, there are these two kinds of assemblies. What two? The assembly that acts contrary to the Dhamma and the assembly that acts in accordance with the Dhamma…. [as in 2:49] …
“These, bhikkhus, are the two kinds of assemblies. Of these two kinds of assemblies, the assembly that acts in accordance with the Dhamma is foremost.”
51 (10)
“Bhikkhus, there are these two kinds of assemblies. What two? The assembly that speaks non-Dhamma and the assembly that speaks Dhamma.
“And what is the assembly that speaks non-Dhamma? Here, in this kind of assembly the bhikkhus take up a disciplinary issue,289 one that may accord with the Dhamma or be contrary to the Dhamma. Having taken up the issue, they do not persuade one another and do not allow themselves to be persuaded; they do not deliberate and do not welcome deliberation. Lacking the power of persuasion and the power of deliberation, [76] unwilling to relinquish their opinion, they wrongly grasp that disciplinary issue even more tightly, and adhering to their position, they declare: ‘This alone is true; anything else is wrong.’ This is called the assembly that speaks non-Dhamma.
“And what is the assembly that speaks Dhamma? Here, in this kind of assembly the bhikkhus take up a disciplinary issue, one that may accord with the Dhamma or be contrary to the Dhamma. Having taken up the issue, they persuade one another and allow themselves to be persuaded; they deliberate and welcome deliberation. Possessing the power of persuasion and the power of deliberation, willing to relinquish their opinion, they do not wrongly grasp that disciplinary issue even more tightly, nor, adhering to their position, do they declare: ‘This alone is true; anything else is wrong.’ This is called the assembly that speaks Dhamma.
“These, bhikkhus, are the two kinds of assemblies. Of these two kinds of assemblies, the assembly that speaks Dhamma is foremost.”
278 Here and in the following the text uses etadaggaṃ.
279 As PED notes, Pāli vagga represents two distinct Skt words: varga, meaning “group,” such as a group of suttas; and vyagra, the opposite of samagra, “divided” as opposed to “harmonious.” Here, the latter vagga is evidently meant.
280 Diṭṭhānugatiṃ āpajjati. Lit., “follow in accord with what is seen (diṭṭha).” This does not mean “follow in accord with their view (diṭṭhi).” Mp: “Doing what was done by their preceptors and teachers, they follow in accord with the practice they have seen.”
281 In Pāli the foremost of these (etadaggaṃ) is the assembly of the foremost (aggavatī parisā).
282 Mp: “The four paths and four fruits are discussed by means of the four truths.”
283 These are the four wrong motives, mentioned as such at 4:17–20.
284 For the meaning of ukkācita I follow DOP, p. 387, which defines it as “boasting, emptytalk,” and ukkācitavinīta as “trained in empty talk.” I use “vain talk” rather than “empty talk,” since the talk considered worthy here is precisely talk about emptiness. Vibh 352 (Be §862) includes ukkācanā in a definition of lapanā, which suggests that ukkācanā is a tool of persuasion. See too Vism 27,19– 22, Ppn 1.74. In the present sutta ukkācita seems to have a different nuance, perhaps elegant but hollow talk.
285 Also at SN 20:7, II 267,6–15. For “connected with emptiness” (suññatāpaṭisaṃyuttā), Mp says: “Like the Connected Discourses on the Unconditioned, disclosing mere phenomena empty of a sentient being” (sattasuññaṃ dhammamattameva pakāsakā asaṅkhatasaṃyuttasadisā). Since the Asaṅkhatasaṃyutta (SN chap. 43) does not speak of “mere phenomena,” perhaps Mp actually means the Saḷāyatanasaṃyutta (esp. SN 35:85, IV 54).
286 Mp: “That values worldly things (āmisagaru): one that values the four requisites and regards the world-transcending Dhamma as inferior. That values the good Dhamma (saddhammagaru): one that values the nine world-transcending dhammas (the four paths, four fruits, and nibbāna), and regards the four requisites as inferior.”
287 The first seven are disciples who have reached the world-transcending paths and fruits. For formal explanations, see MN 70.14–21, I 477–79. The latter two are respectively the good person and the bad person who have not reached the path.
288 Be lacks the two sentences beginning respectively, “It is because it is unrighteous” and (below) “It is because it is righteous.” They occur in Ce and Ee.
289 Adhikaraṇaṃ. Mp: “The four kinds of disciplinary issues, disputes and so forth.” See p. 1623, note 231 above.