Friends; this Teaching of Peace is lovely in the beginning, lovely in the middle, and lovely in the end. This Teaching of Peace leads to the utter ceasing of all suffering. Therefore, let us not fall short of this Teaching and let us not overshoot the mark, but instead let us avoid both extremes and follow the Middle Way.
And what is this Teaching of Peace that follows the Middle Way? Here, friends, we are told that we must abandon greed, hatred, and delusion and develop instead a heart of friendliness for all, desiring nothing other than peace. We must give up both fear and fearful aggression and develop instead a heart of compassion, being compassionate for the suffering even of our enemies, let alone our friends, and desire nothing other than peace. We must renounce injustice and partisanship and develop even-mindedness instead, desiring nothing other than peace. This, friends, is called the Teaching of Peace.
And how does one fall short of this Teaching of Peace that follows the Middle Way? Here, friends, a person does not give assent to this Teaching. He does not recognize this world-transcending Teaching as his own business. He does not make effort, when greed, hatred, or delusion arise in him, when fear and fearful aggression arise in him, or when injustice and partisanship arise in him, to abandon, give up and renounce them and develop instead a heart of friendliness and compassion and even-mindedness. He does not desire nothing other than peace. This person, friends, is called "one who falls short of this Teaching".
Or again, a person does give assent to this Teaching, but nevertheless he does not recognize this world-transcending Teaching as his own business. He does not make effort, when greed, hatred, or delusion arise in him, when fear and fearful aggression arise in him, when injustice and partisanship arise in him, to abandon, give up and renounce them and develop instead a heart of friendliness and compassion and even-mindedness. He does not desire nothing other than peace. This person too, friends, is called "one who falls short of this Teaching".
Or again, a person does give assent to this Teaching, and he does recognize this world-transcending Teaching as his own business, but nevertheless he does not make effort, when greed, hatred, or delusion arise in him, when fear and fearful aggression arise in him, or when injustice and partisanship arise in him, to abandon, give up and renounce them and develop instead a heart of friendliness and compassion, and even-mindedness. He does not desire nothing other than peace. This person, too, friends, is called "one who falls short of this Teaching".
And how does one overshoot the mark, going beyond this Teaching of Peace that follows the Middle Way? Here, friends, a person hears this Teaching of Peace: "Abandon greed, hatred, and delusion. Develop a heart of friendliness. Give up fear and fearful aggression. Develop a heart of compassion. Renounce injustice and partisanship. Develop even-mindedness. Desire nothing other than peace." And he, having heard this Teaching, complains and criticizes others:
"They haven't abandoned greed, hatred, and delusion and developed a heart of friendliness. How can I do so when they don't? They haven't given up fear and fearful aggression and developed a heart of compassion. How can I do so when they don't? They haven't renounced injustice and partisanship and developed even-mindedness. How can I do so when they don't? They have many desires, but they have no desire for peace. How can I desire nothing other than peace when they don't?" This person, friends, is called "one who has overshot the mark, gone beyond this Teaching of Peace".
And how does one avoid both extremes and follow the Middle Way? Here, friends, a person hears this Teaching of Peace: "Abandon greed, hatred, and delusion. Develop a heart of friendliness. Give up fear and fearful aggression. Develop a heart of compassion. Renounce injustice and partisanship. Develop even-mindedness. Desire nothing other than peace." And he, having heard this Teaching, gives assent to it. He recognizes this world-transcending Teaching as his own business. And whether or not others do so, he makes effort, when greed, hatred, and delusion arise in him, to abandon them and develop a heart of friendliness. Whether or not others do so, he makes effort, when fear and fearful aggression arise in him, to give them up and develop a heart of compassion, even for his enemies, let alone his friends. Whether or not others do so, he makes effort, when injustice and partisanship arise in him, to renounce them and develop even-mindedness. Whether or not others do so, he desires nothing other than peace.
Following this course, proceeding along this way, gradually his heart becomes imbued with peace. Just as a dry sponge, when placed in pure water, becomes saturated with that pure water, so too his heart becomes saturated with peace. Being at peace he is tranquil. Being tranquil he has insight. Having insight, he knows: "All that is of a nature to arise, all that is necessarily of a nature to cease." Knowing this, he holds to nothing. Holding to nothing, he is free and no longer conceives what is not. Being free and no longer conceiving what is not, he no longer subjectivizes experience. No longer subjectivizing experience, he makes an end of all suffering. This person, friends, is called "one who avoids the extremes and follows the Middle Way".
Friends, this Teaching of Peace is lovely in the beginning, lovely in the middle, and lovely in the end. This Teaching of Peace leads to the utter ceasing of all suffering. Therefore, let us not fall short of this Teaching and let us not overshoot the mark, but instead let us avoid both extremes and follow the Middle Way.
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