Thus I heard: On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Sāvatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus.”

“Venerable Sir,” they replied. The Blessed One said this:

“Bhikkhus, be my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material things. Out of pity for you I have thought: ‘How shall my disciples be my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material things?’

“If you are my heirs in material things, not my heirs in Dhamma, it will be a reproach to you: ‘The Master’s disciples live as his heirs in material things, not as his heirs in Dhamma’, and it will be a reproach to me that ‘The Master’s disciples live as his heirs in material things, not as his heirs in Dhamma’.

“If you are my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material things, it will be no reproach to you that ‘The Master’s Disciples live as his heirs in Dhamma, not as his heirs in material things’, and it will be no reproach to me that ‘The Master’s disciples live as his heirs in Dhamma, not as his heirs in material things’.

“Therefore, bhikkhus, be my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material things. Out of pity for you I have thought: ‘How shall my disciples be my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material things?’

“Now, bhikkhus, suppose that I had eaten, refused more, had my fill, finished, had enough, had what I needed, and some alms-food was left over to be thrown away. Then two bhikkhus arrived hungry and weak, and I told them: ‘Bhikkhus, I have eaten, refused more… had what I needed, but there is this alms-food of mine left over to be thrown away; eat if you like; if you do not then I shall throw it now where there is no greenery or drop into water where there is no life’; then one bhikkhu thought: ‘The Blessed One has eaten, refused more… had what he needed, but there is this alms-food of the Blessed One left over to be thrown away; if we do not eat it the Blessed One will throw it away… but this has been said by the Blessed One: “Bhikkhus, be my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material things”: now this alms-food is one of the material things; suppose that instead of eating this alms-food I pass the night and day hungry and weak?’ and instead of eating that alms-food he passed that night and day hungry and weak; then the second bhikkhu thought: ‘The Blessed One has eaten… had what he needed, but there is this alms-food of the Blessed One’s left over to be thrown away… Suppose that I eat this alms-food and pass the night and day neither hungry nor weak?’ And after eating that alms-food he passed the night and day not hungry and weak. Now although that bhikkhu by eating that alms-food passed the night and day neither hungry nor weak, yet the first bhikkhu is more to be respected and commended by me. Why is that? Because that will for long conduce to his fewness of wishes, contentment, effacement, easy support and arousal of energy. Therefore, bhikkhus, be my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material things. Out of pity for you I have thought: ‘How shall my disciples be my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material things?’”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, he rose from his seat and went into his dwelling.

Soon after he had gone, the venerable Sāriputta addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Friends, bhikkhus.”

“Friend,” they replied. The Venerable Sāriputta said this:

“Friends, in what way do disciples of a Master who lives secluded not train in seclusion? And in what way do disciples of a Master who lives secluded train in seclusion?”

“Indeed, friend, we would come from far away to learn from the venerable Sāriputta the meaning of this pronouncement. It would be good if the meaning of this pronouncement would occur to the venerable Sāriputta. Having heard it from him, the bhikkhus will remember it.”

“Then, listen and heed well what I shall say.”

“Yes friend,” they replied. The venerable Sāriputta said this:

“Friends, in what way do disciples of a Master who lives secluded not train in seclusion?

“Here, friends, disciples of a Master who lives secluded do not train in seclusion, they do not abandon what the Master tells them to abandon, they are busy and careless, forward in erring, giving up seclusion.

“In this the elder bhikkhus are to be blamed for three reasons. As disciples of a Master who lives secluded they do not train in seclusion: they are to be blamed for this first reason. They do not abandon what the Master tells them to abandon: they are to be blamed for this second reason. They are busy, careless, forward in erring, giving up seclusion: they are to be blamed for this third reason. The elder bhikkhus are to be blamed for these three reasons.

“In this the middle bhikkhus are to be blamed for three reasons…(repeat last para.)…

“In this the new bhikkhus are to be blamed for three reasons…(repeat last para.)…

“It is in this way that disciples of a Master who lives secluded do not train in seclusion.

“In what way do disciples of a Master who lives secluded train in seclusion?

“Here, disciples of a Master who lives secluded train in seclusion; they abandon what the Master tells them to abandon; they are not busy and not careless, they give up erring and are forward in seclusion.

“In this the elder bhikkhus are to be commended for three reasons. As disciples of a Master who lives secluded they train in seclusion: they are to be commended for this first reason. They abandon what the Master tells them to abandon: they are to be commended for this second reason. They are not busy and not careless; they give up erring and are forward in seclusion: they are to be commended for this third reason. The elder bhikkhus are to be commended for these three reasons.

“In this the middle bhikkhus are to be commended for three reasons…(repeat last para.)…

“In this the new bhikkhus are to be commended for three reasons…(repeat last para.)…

“It is in this way that the disciples of a Master who lives secluded train in seclusion.

“Friends, the evil herein is greed and it is hate. There is a Middle Way for the abandoning of greed and hate, giving vision, giving knowledge, that leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.

“And what is that Middle Way? It is just this Noble Eightfold Path, that is to say, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is the Middle Way giving vision, giving knowledge, that leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.

–“Friends, the evil herein is anger and it is revenge…

–“Friends, the evil herein is contempt and it is domineering…

–“Friends, the evil herein is envy and it is avarice…

–“Friends, the evil herein is deceit and it is fraud…

–“Friends, the evil herein is obduracy and it is presumption…

–“Friends, the evil herein is conceit and it is pride (haughtiness)…

–“Friends, the evil herein is vainity and it is negligence. There is a Middle Way for the abandoning of vanity and negligence… that leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.”

That is what the venerable Sāriputta said. The bhikkhus were satisfied, and they delighted in the venerable Sāriputta’s words.