Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Sāriputta gives the mendicants the same instruction just heard from the Buddha: a mendicant unable to read another's mind should check their own, the way one checks a mirror for blemishes, against the same ten paired qualities.
Nearly word for word, with small variants
The content is substantially identical to AN 10.51, down to the fire simile for urgency — but a few words shift in translation (“irritable” becomes “angry” in one restatement, “overcome with” becomes “rid of” in another), the kind of small lexical drift natural to an independently transmitted repetition rather than a mechanically copied one.
A disciple's voice, not a demotion
Sāriputta addresses the mendicants as “Reverends” rather than the Buddha's “Mendicants,” and speaks entirely in his own right, with no indication the Buddha authorized or was even present for this restatement — the teaching's authority rests on Sāriputta's own standing as chief disciple, not on relayed permission.
Key terms
The text
Sāriputta addresses the assembly
§1There Sāriputta addressed the mendicants: “Reverends, mendicants!” “Reverend,” they replied. Sāriputta said this: “Reverends, if a mendicant isn’t skilled in encompassing another’s mind, then they should train themselves: ‘I will be skilled in encompassing my own mind.’
The mirror simile, restated
§2And how is a mendicant skilled in the ways of their own mind? Suppose there was a woman or man who was young, youthful, and fond of adornments, and they check their own reflection in a clean bright mirror or a clear bowl of water. If they see any dirt or blemish there, they’d try to remove it. But if they don’t see any dirt or blemish there, they’re happy with that, as they’ve got all they wished for: ‘How fortunate that I’m clean!’ In the same way, checking is very helpful for a mendicant’s skillful qualities. ‘Am I often covetous or not? Am I often malicious or not? Am I often overcome with dullness and drowsiness or not? Am I often restless or not? Am I often doubtful or not? Am I often irritable or not? Am I often defiled in mind or not? Am I often disturbed in body or not? Am I often energetic or not? Am I often immersed in samādhi or not?’
Two branching responses
§3Suppose that, upon checking, a mendicant knows this: ‘I am often covetous, malicious, overcome with dullness and drowsiness, restless, doubtful, angry, defiled in mind, disturbed in body, lazy, and not immersed in samādhi.’ In order to give up those bad, unskillful qualities, they should apply extraordinary enthusiasm, effort, zeal, vigor, perseverance, mindfulness, and situational awareness. Suppose your clothes or head were on fire. In order to extinguish it, you’d apply extraordinary enthusiasm, effort, zeal, vigor, perseverance, mindfulness, and situational awareness. In the same way, in order to give up those bad, unskillful qualities, that mendicant should apply extraordinary enthusiasm … But suppose that, upon checking, a mendicant knows this: ‘I am often content, kind-hearted, rid of dullness and drowsiness, calm, confident, loving, pure in mind, undisturbed in body, energetic, and immersed in samādhi.’ Grounded on those skillful qualities, they should practice meditation further to end the defilements.”
Self-check quiz
4 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.