To Sonakāyana

The Brahmin Sikha Moggallāna approached The Blessed One exchanged friendly greetings, sat on a side and said to The Blessed One:

Good Gotama, a long time ago the young man Sonakaya approached me and said: The recluse Gotama appoints the non doing of any actions. He that appoints the non doing of any actions tells of the annihilation of the world. Action is the truth in the world and the world rests on action. Brahmin, I have not even seen the young man Sonakaya, how could such a conversation have taken place?

Bhikkhus, there are four actions by me known, realized and declared. What four?

Bhikkhus, there are dark actions with dark results, bright actions with bright results, there are dark and bright actions with dark and bright results and there are neither dark nor bright actions with neither dark nor bright results, which conduce to the destrution of actions.

Bhikkhus, what are dark actions with dark results?

Here, bhikkhus, a certain one puts forth internal troubled bodily activity, internal troubled verbal activity and internal troubled mental activity and is born in a world of troubles, and feels troubled feelings which are only unpleasant like what beings in hell feel.

Bhikkhus, these are dark actions with dark results.

Bhikkhus, what are bright actions with bright results?

Here, bhikkhus, a certain one puts forth internal untroubled bodily activity, internal untroubled verbal activity and internal untroubled mental activity and is born in a world without troubles, and feels untroubled feelings which is only pleasant like what beings in the heaven of happiness feel. Bhikkhus, these are bright actions with bright results.

Bhikkhus, what are dark and bright actions with dark and bright results?

Here, bhikkhus, a certain one puts forth internal troubled and untroubled bodily activity, internal troubled and untroubled verbal activity and internal troubled and untroubled mental activity and is born to a world of troubles and non troubles, and feels troubled and untroubled feelings. And he feels a mixture of feelings unpleasant and pleasant, like what the beings born in the human world feel, sometimes godly and sometimes hellish. Bhikkhus, these are dark and bright actions with dark and bright results.

Bhikkhus, what are neither dark nor bright actions with neither dark nor bright results which conduces to the destruction of actions?

Here, bhikkhus, a certain one makes an intention to put an end to dark actions with dark results. Makes an intention to put an end to bright actions with bright results. Makes an intention to put an end to dark and bright actions with dark and bright results, which conduces to the destruction of actions Bhikkhus, these are the four actions by me known, realized and declared.