The distinct indications

At one time The Blessed One was living in the Ānanda monument in Bhoganagar. and addressed the bhikkhus:

Bhikkhus, these four are distinct indications, listen carefully, I will tell you.

Bhikkhus, what are the four distinct indications?

Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu might say, I have heard this in the presence of The Blessed One and it was acknowledged. This is the Teaching, this is the Discipline and this is the dispensation of the Teacher. The words of that bhikkhu should not be disparaged nor accepted, those words and letters should be thoroughly learnt and searched in the discourses and proof should be looked in the Discipline. If those words and letters are not found in the discourses and if there is no proof in the Discipline, it should be concluded these are not the words, of that Blessed One, worthy and rightfully enlightened. These are wrongly grasped words of that bhikkhu and they should be thrown away.

Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu might say, I have heard this in the presence of The Blessed One and it was acknowledged. This is the Teaching, this is the Discipline and this is the dispensation of the Teacher. The words of that bhikkhu should not be disparaged nor accepted, those words and letters should be thoroughly learnt and searched in the discourses and proof should be looked in the Discipline. If those words and letters are found in the discourses and if there is proof in the Discipline, it should be concluded these are indeed the words of that Blessed One, worthy and rightfully enlightened. These are rightly grasped words of that bhikkhu and should be remembered. Bhikkhus, remember this as the first distinct indication.

Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu might say, in the monastery of this name bhikkhus live. They are eminent elders, leaders. I heard this from them and it was acknowledged. This is the Teaching, this is the Discipline and this is the dispensation of the Teacher. The words of that bhikkhu should not be disparaged nor accepted, those words and letters should be thoroughly learnt and searched in the discourses and proof should be looked in the Discipline. If those words and letters are not found in the discourses and if there is no proof in the Discipline, it should be concluded these are not the words of that Blessed One, worthy and rightfully enlightened. These are wrongly grasped words of the Community and they should be thrown away.

Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu might say, in the monastery of this name bhikkhus live. They are eminent elders, leaders. I heard this from them and it was acknowledged. This is the Teaching, this is the Discipline and this is the dispensation of the Teacher. The words of that bhikkhu should not be disparaged nor accepted, those words and letters should be thoroughly learnt and searched in the discourses and proof should be looked in the Discipline. If those words and letters are found in the discourses and if there is proof in the Discipline, it should be concluded these are the words of that Blessed One, worthy and rightfully enlightened. These are rightly grasped words of the Community and should be remembered. Bhikkhus, remember this as the second distinct indication.

Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu might say, in the monastery of this name many elder bhikkhus live. They are the bearers of the Teaching and the Discipline with the headings. I heard this from them and it was acknowledged. This is the Teaching, this is the Discipline and this is the dispensation of the Teacher. The words of that bhikkhu should not be disparaged nor accepted, those words and letters should be thoroughly learnt and they should be searched in the discourses and proof looked in the Discipline. If those words and letters are not found in the discourses and if there is no proof in the Discipline, it should be concluded these are not the words of that Blessed One, worthy and rightfully enlightened. These are wrongly grasped words of those elders and they should be thrown away.

Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu might say, in the monastery of this name many elder bhikkhus live. They are the bearers of the Teaching and the Discipline, with the headings. I heard this from them and it was acknowledged. This is the Teaching, this is the Discipline and this is the dispensation of the Teacher. The words of that bhikkhu should not be disparaged nor accepted, those words and letters should be thoroughly learnt and they should be searched in the discourses and proof should be looked in the Discipline. If those words and letters are found in the discourses with proof in the Discipline, it should be concluded these are the words of that Blessed One, worthy and rightfully enlightened. These are rightly grasped words of those elders and should be remembered. Bhikkhus, remember this as the third distinct indication.

Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu might say, in the monastery of this name a single bhikkhu lives. He is an eminent elder, a leader. a bearer of the Teaching and Discipline with the headings. I heard this from him and it was acknowledged. This is the Teaching, this is the Discipline and this is the dispensation of the Teacher. The words of that bhikkhu should not be disparaged nor accepted, those words and letters should be thoroughly learnt and should be searched in the discourses and proof should be looked in the Discipline. If those words and letters are not found in the discourses and if there is no proof in the Discipline, it should be concluded these are not the words of that Blessed One, worthy and rightfully enlightened. These are wrongly grasped words of that elder and they should be thrown away.

Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu might say, in the monastery of this name a single bhikkhu lives. He is an eminent elder, a leader a bearer of the Teaching and Discipline with the headings. I heard this from him and it was acknowledged. This is the Teaching, this is the Discipline and this is the dispensation of the Teacher. The words of that bhikkhu should not be disparaged nor accepted, those words and letters should be thoroughly learnt and searched in the discourses and proof should be looked in the Discipline. If those words and letters are found in the discourses and if there is proof in the Discipline, it should be concluded these are the words of that Blessed One, worthy and rightfully enlightened. These are rightly grasped words of that elder and should be remembered. Bhikkhus, remember this as the fourth distinct indication. Bhikkhus, these are the four distinct indications.