Buddhist Holy Day (09/08/2023)
And how, bhikkhus, is one subject to decline? Here, bhikkhus,
when a bhikkhu has seen a form with the eye, there arise in him evil unwholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters. If the bhikkhu tolerates them and does not abandon them, dispel them, put an end to them, and obliterate them, he should understand this thus: ‘I am declining away from wholesome states. For this has been called decline by the Blessed One.’
“Further, bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu has heard a sound with the ear … has smelled an odor with the nose … has experienced a taste with the tongue … has felt a tactile object with the body … has cognized a mental phenomenon with the mind, there arise in him evil unwholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters. If the bhikkhu tolerates them and does not abandon them, dispel them, put an end to them, and obliterate them, he should understand this thus: ‘I am declining away from wholesome states. For this has been called decline by the Blessed One.’”
SN 35.96 Decline (Bhikkhu Bodhi)
