In short: in Iti 22 the Buddha says "don't fear good deeds": good deeds, or merit, is simply another word for happiness. He recalls the long-lasting happiness that came from his own past good deeds.
Mendicants, don't fear good deeds. For 'good deeds' is a term for happiness, for what is likable, desirable, and agreeable.
Iti 22, translated by Bhikkhu Sujato.
What it means
Some people feel good deeds are a burden, or are wary of feeling good about doing good. The Buddha says the opposite: merit is simply another word for happiness. He goes on to describe the long-lasting results of developing a mind of love. Practise: giving, ethics and love.
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The full text in Pāli and English
Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato, from SuttaCentral (ITI22). Ellipses (…) are abbreviations in the original. Notes are ANEW's.
| Pāli | English |
|---|---|
| Vuttañhetaṁ bhagavatā vuttamarahatāti me sutaṁ: | This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard. |
| “Mā, bhikkhave, puññānaṁ bhāyittha. | “Mendicants, don’t fear good deeds. |
| Sukhassetaṁ, bhikkhave, adhivacanaṁ iṭṭhassa kantassa piyassa manāpassa yadidaṁ puññāni. | For ‘good deeds’ is a term for happiness, for what is likable, desirable, and agreeable. |
| Abhijānāmi kho panāhaṁ, bhikkhave, dīgharattaṁ katānaṁ puññānaṁ iṭṭhaṁ kantaṁ piyaṁ manāpaṁ vipākaṁ paccanubhūtaṁ. | I recall undergoing for a long time the likable, desirable, and agreeable results of good deeds performed over a long time. |
| Satta vassāni mettacittaṁ bhāvetvā satta saṁvaṭṭavivaṭṭakappe nayimaṁ lokaṁ punarāgamāsiṁ. | Having developed a mind of love for seven years, for seven eons of the cosmos contracting and expanding I didn’t return to this world again. |
| Saṁvaṭṭamāne sudaṁ, bhikkhave, kappe ābhassarūpago homi; | As the eon contracted I went to the realm of sublime luminosity. |
| vivaṭṭamāne kappe suññaṁ brahmavimānaṁ upapajjāmi. | As it expanded I was reborn in an empty mansion of divinity. |
| Tatra sudaṁ, bhikkhave, brahmā homi mahābrahmā abhibhū anabhibhūto aññadatthudaso vasavattī. | There I was the Divinity, the Great Divinity, the vanquisher, the unvanquished, the universal seer, the wielder of power. |
| Chattiṁsakkhattuṁ kho panāhaṁ, bhikkhave, sakko ahosiṁ devānamindo; | I was Sakka, lord of gods, thirty-six times. |
| anekasatakkhattuṁ rājā ahosiṁ cakkavattī dhammiko dhammarājā cāturanto vijitāvī janapadatthāvariyappatto sattaratanasamannāgato. | Many hundreds of times I was a king, a wheel-turning monarch, a just and principled king. My dominion extended to all four sides, I achieved stability in the country, and I possessed the seven treasures. |
| Ko pana vādo padesarajjassa. | Not to mention regional kingship! |
| Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: | Then I thought, |
| ‘kissa nu kho me idaṁ kammassa phalaṁ, kissa kammassa vipāko, yenāhaṁ etarahi evaṁmahiddhiko evaṁmahānubhāvo’ti? | ‘Of what deed of mine is this the fruit and result, that I am now so mighty and powerful?’ |
| Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: | Then I thought, |
| ‘tiṇṇaṁ kho me idaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ, tiṇṇaṁ kammānaṁ vipāko, yenāhaṁ etarahi evaṁmahiddhiko evaṁmahānubhāvoti, seyyathidaṁ— | ‘It is the fruit and result of three kinds of deeds: |
| dānassa, damassa, saññamassā’”ti. | giving, self-control, and restraint.’” |
| Etamatthaṁ bhagavā avoca. | The Buddha spoke this matter. |
| Tatthetaṁ iti vuccati: | On this it is said: |
| “Puññameva so sikkheyya, | “One should practice only good deeds, |
| āyataggaṁ sukhudrayaṁ; | whose happy outcome stretches ahead. |
| Dānañca samacariyañca, | Giving and moral conduct, |
| mettacittañca bhāvaye. | developing a mind of love: |
| Ete dhamme bhāvayitvā, | having developed these |
| tayo sukhasamuddaye; | three things yielding happiness, |
| Abyāpajjaṁ sukhaṁ lokaṁ, | that astute one is reborn |
| paṇḍito upapajjatī”ti. | in a happy, pleasing world.” |
| Ayampi attho vutto bhagavatā, iti me sutanti. | This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard. |
| Dutiyaṁ. |
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Questions people ask
What does 'don't fear good deeds' mean?
In Iti 22 the Buddha says 'good deeds' (merit) is a term for happiness, so there is nothing to fear in doing good.