“Teach the Dhamma that’s excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, and excellent in the end, meaningful and well-phrased. Explain the spiritual practice that’s entirely full and pure. There are beings with only a few defilements in their minds. They will deteriorate if they don’t get to hear the Dhamma. There will be those who understand the Dhamma!”

-Ref: DN 14, Mahāpadāna Sutta

“Nanda was a herdsman who looked after the cows of Anathapindika. Although only a herdsman, he had some means of his own. Occasionally, he would go to the house of Anathapindika and there he sometimes met the Buddha and listened to his discourses. Nanda requested the Buddha to pay a visit to his house. But the Buddha did not go to Nanda’s house immediately, saying that it was not yet time.

After some time, while travelling with his followers, the Buddha went off his route to visit Nanda, knowing that the time was ripe for Nanda to receive his teaching properly. Nanda respectfully received the Buddha and his followers; he served them milk and milk products and other choice food for seven days. On the last day, after hearing the discourse given by the Buddha, Nanda attained Sotapatti Fruition.”

-Ref: Dhammapada Verse 42, Nandagopalaka Vatthu

“But those who do attend the peaceful ones —wise, esteemed as sages—and whose faith in the Holy One has roots planted deep, they go to the realm of the gods, or are born here in a good family. Gradually those astute ones reach extinguishment.”

-Ref: AN 5.179, Gihisutta

“Easily known is the progressive one, easily known he who declines. He who loves Dhamma progresses; he who is averse to it, declines.”

-Ref: Sn 1.6, Parabhava Sutta

“Monks, there are these five forms of stinginess. Which five? Stinginess as to one’s monastery [or one’s lodgings], stinginess as to one’s family [of supporters], stinginess as to one’s gains, stinginess as to one’s status, and stinginess as to the Dhamma. These are the five forms of stinginess. And the meanest of these five is this: stinginess as to the Dhamma…

“Without abandoning these five things, one is incapable of realizing the fruit of stream entry.”

-Ref: AN 5.254, Pañcamacchariyasutta

“With the abandoning and eradication of the five forms of stinginess, the holy life is fulfilled. Which five?

“With the abandoning and eradication of stinginess as to one’s monastery [lodgings], the holy life is fulfilled. With the abandoning and eradication of stinginess as to one’s family [of supporters] … stinginess as to one’s gains … stinginess as to one’s status … stinginess as to the Dhamma, the holy life is fulfilled.

“With the abandoning and eradication of these five forms of stinginess, the holy life is fulfilled.”

-Ref: AN 5.255, Macchariyappahānasutta

“Greed, hate, and delusion arise inside oneself; these evil thoughts harm that person. It is exactly like a tree destroyed by its own fruit.”

-Ref: SN 3.2, Purisasutta

“The bad thing here is greed and hate. There is a middle way of practice for giving up greed and hate. It gives vision and knowledge, and leads to peace, direct knowledge, awakening, and extinguishment.”

-Ref: MN 3, Dhammadāyādasutta

“Reverend, the ending of greed, hate, and delusion is called perfection.”

“But, reverend, is there a path and a practice for realizing this perfection?”

“There is, reverend.”

“Well, what is it?”

“It is simply this noble eightfold path, that is: right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion. This is the path, the practice, for realizing this perfection.”

-Ref: SN 38.2, Arahattapañhāsutt

A noble disciple understands in this way the unskillful and its root, and the skillful and its root. They’ve completely given up the underlying tendency to greed, got rid of the underlying tendency to repulsion, and eradicated the underlying tendency to the view and conceit ‘I am’. They’ve given up ignorance and given rise to knowledge, and make an end of suffering in this very life. When they’ve done this, they’re defined as a noble disciple who has right view, whose view is correct, who has experiential confidence in the teaching, and has come to the true teaching.”

-Ref: MN9, Sammādiṭṭhisutta

“Buddha: “Great king, there are these five factors of striving. What five? Here a bhikkhu has faith, he places his faith in the Tathagata’s enlightenment thus: ‘The Blessed One is accomplished, fully enlightened, perfect in true knowledge and conduct, sublime, knower of worlds, incomparable leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened, blessed.’ Then he is free from illness and affliction, possessing a good digestion that is neither too cool nor too warm but medium and able to bear the strain of striving. Then he is honest and sincere, and shows himself as he actually is to his teacher, Buddha and his companions in the holy life. Then he is energetic in abandoning unwholesome states and in undertaking wholesome states, steadfast, launching his effort with firmness and persevering in cultivating wholesome states. Then he is wise; he possesses wisdom regarding rise and disappearance that is noble and penetrative and leads to the complete destruction of suffering. These are the five factors of striving. “There are these four castes, great king: the nobles, the brahmins, the merchants, and the workers. Now if they possessed these five factors of striving, it would lead to their welfare and happiness for a long time.”

-Ref: MN 90, Kannakatthala Sutta

When I directly knew a certain principle of those teachings, in accordance with how I was taught, I came to a conclusion about the teachings. I had confidence in the Teacher: “The Blessed One is a fully awakened Buddha! The teaching is well explained! The Saṅgha is practicing well!”’

When someone’s faith is settled, rooted, and planted in the Realized One in this manner, with these words and phrases, it’s said to be grounded faith that’s based on evidence. It is firm, and cannot be shifted by any ascetic or brahmin or god or Māra or Brahmā or by anyone in the world.

-MN47, Vīmaṁsakasutta

“Seeing him thus, the Buddha said to him, “My son, in your last existence you were an ogre; even as an ogre you had a sense of shame and a sense of fear to do evil. Now that you are a bhikkhu in my Teaching, why do you have to throw away the sense of shame, and the sense of fear to do evil?” When he heard those words, the bhikkhu realized his mistake; his sense of shame and fear to do evil returned, and he respectfully paid obeisance to the Buddha and asked that he should be pardoned. The Buddha then said to him, “Standing there without your upper robe is not proper; just discarding your robe etc., does not maker you an austere bhikkhu; a bhikkhu must also discard his doubt.”

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

Verse 141: Not going naked, nor having matted hair, nor smearing oneself with mud, nor fasting, nor sleeping on bare ground, nor covering oneself with dust, nor striving by squatting can purify a being, who has not yet overcome doubt.

-Ref: Dhammapada Verse 141 (Bahubhandika Bhikkhu Vatthu)

“Verse 78: One should not associate with bad friends, nor with the vile. One should associate with good friends, and with those who are noble. “

Ref:Dhammapada Verse 78 (Channatthera Vatthu)

“The teaching’s explained in such a way that not a single disciple doubts it.

We venerate the Buddha, the victor, lord of men, who has crossed the flood and cut off doubt.”

-Ref: DN 21, Sakkapañhasutta

“With a confident mind, recollect the Supreme Buddha who has immeasurable qualities. Always live with a body that is filled and spread with joy and rapture. With a confident mind, recollect the Supreme Dhamma that has immeasurable qualities. Always live with a body that is filled and spread with joy and rapture”.

Ref: The Verses of Arahant Tekicchakāni, Theragāthā

“Now this person lives with extra ordinary happiness. He is freed from doubt.”

-Ref:The Verse of Arahant Vīra, Theragāthā

“I offered just one flower. As a result I enjoyed heavenly happiness for eight hundred million years. Through the remainder of that merit, the fire of defilements has been extinguished by me.”

-Ref: The Verse of Arahant Khaṇḍasumana, Theragāthā

References:

https://suttafriends.org

https://suttacentral.net

tipitaka.net