​MN 5 Anangana Sutta (Without Blemishes) 

Thus have i heard.

On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There Venerable Sariputta addressed the bhikkhus thus. "Friends, bhikkhus. There are 4 kinds of persons found existing in the world. What four?
1,. Here a certain person with a blemish does not understand it as it actually is thus: 'I have a blemish in myself.'
2. Here a certain person with a blemish understands it as it actually is thus: 'I have a blemish in myself.'
3. Here a certain person with no blemish does not understand it as it actually is thus: 'I have no blemish in myself.'
4. Here some person with no blemish understands it as it actually is thus: 'I have no blemish in myself.'
(Blemish refers to any type of defilements e.g. Five Hindrances, a sense of Self which leads to other defilements such as anger & ill-will.)
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The person with a blemish who does not understand it as it actually is called the inferior of these two persons with a blemish. Similarly the person with a blemish who understands it as it actually is called the superior of these two persons with a blemish. The person with no blemish who does not understand it as it actually is called the inferior of these two persons with no blemish.The person with no blemish who understands it as it actually is called the superior of these two persons with no blemish."

When this was said,Venerable Maha Moggallana asked the venerable Sariputta: "Friend Sariputta, what is the cause and reason why, of these two persons with a blemish, one is called the inferior  and one is called the superior? What is the cause and reason why of these two persons with no blemish, one is called the inferior and one is called the superior?" 

Venerable Sariputta: "Herein, friend, when a person with a blemish does not understand it as it actually is then it can be expected that he will not arouse zeal, make effort, or instigate energy to abandon that blemish and that he will die with lust, hate, and delusion, with a blemish, with a mind defiled. Suppose a bronze dish covered with dirt and stains was bought and the owners neither used it nor had it cleaned but put it away in a dusty corner. Would the bronze dish thus get more defiled and stained later on?"
Moggallana: "Yes, friend."
Sariputta: "So too, friend, when a person with a blemish does not understand it as it actually is will be like the dusty bronze dish as it can be expected and that he will die with mind defiled. Similarly when a person with a blemish understands it as it actually is then it can be expected that he will arouse zeal, make effort, and instigate energy to abandon that blemish and that he will die without lust, hate, and delusion, without blemish, with mind undefiled. Suppose a bronze dish covered with dirt and stains were brought  and the owners had it cleaned and did not put it in a dusty corner. Would the bronze dish thus get cleaner and brighter later on?"

Mogallana: "Yes, friend."
Sariputta: "So too, friend, when a person with a blemish understands it similarly to the simile it can be expected that he will die with mind undefiled. Then when a person with no blemish does not understand it as it actually is can be expected that he will give attention to the sign of the beautiful, that by his doing so lust will infect his mind and that he will die with lust, hate, and delusion, with a blemish, with mind defiled. Suppose a bronze dish which was clean and bright was brought and the owners neither used it nor had it cleaned but put it in a dusty corner. Would the bronze dish thus get more defiled and more stained later on?"
Mogallana: "Yes, friend."

Sariputta: "So too, friend, when a person with no blemish does not understand it as it actually is can be expected that he will die with mind defiled. Then when a person with no blemish understands it as it actually is can be expected that he will not give attention to the sign of the beautiful, thus by his not doing so lust will not infect his mind and that he will die without lust, hate, and delusion, without blemish, with mind undefiled. Suppose a bronze dish which was clean and bright was and the owners used it and had it cleaned and did not put it in a dusty corner. Would the bronze dish thus get cleaner and brighter later on?"
Mogallana:"Yes, friend."

Sariputta: "So too, friend, when a person with no blemish understands it as it actually is can be expected that he will die with mind undefiled. This is the cause and reason why, of these two persons with a blemish, one is called the inferior and one is called the superior. This is also the cause and reason why, of these two persons with no blemish, one is called the inferior and one is called the superior. "
(Unless one practices to overcome defilements, one tends to become more defiled)
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Mogallana: "What is this word 'blemish' a term for?
Sariputta: 'Blemish is a term for the spheres of bad unwholesome wishes. (Then Venerable Sariputta gave examples of how a bhikkhu can have defilements):  
1. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'If I commit an offence, let the bhikkhus not know that I have committed an offence.' And it is possible that the monks community (sangha) come to know that that bhikkhu has committed an offence. So he is angry and bitter thinking: 'The bhikkhus know I have committed an offence.' The anger and bitterness are both a blemish.
2. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'I have committed an offence. The bhikkhus should admonish me in private not in the midst of the Sangha.' And it is possible that the bhikkhus admonish that bhikkhu in the midst of the Sangha and not in private. So he is angry and bitter thinking thus: 'The bhikkhus admonish me in the midst of the Sangha, not in private.' The anger and bitterness are both a blemish. (Ego )
3. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'I have committed an offence. A person who is my equal should admonish me, not a person who is not my equal.' And it is possible that a person not his equal admonishes him, not a person his equal. So he is angry and bitter thinking thus: 'A person not my equal admonishes me, not a person my equal.' The anger and bitterness are both a blemish. (ego and conceit)
4. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that the Teacher might teach the Dhamma to the bhikkhus by asking a series of questions of me, not of some other bhikkhu!' And it is possible that the Teacher teaches the Dhamma to the bhikkhus by asking a series of questions of some other bhikkhu, not of that bhikkhu. So he is angry and bitter thus: 'The Teacher teaches the Dhamma to the bhikkhus by asking a series of questions of some other bhikkhu, not of me.' The anger and bitterness are both a blemish. (pride about being teacher's pet)

5. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'May I lead the bhikkhus when going the alms round in the village. It happens that another bhikkhu leads the bhikkhus going the alms round in the village instead of me' So he is angry and bitter thus: "The bhikkhus enter the village for alms putting some other bhikkhu in the forefront, not me.' The anger and bitterness are both a blemish.
6. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that I might get the best seat, the best water, the best alms-food in the refectory, not some other bhikkhu!' And it is possible that some other bhikkhu gets them instead of me. So he is angry and bitter.

7. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that I might give the blessing in the refectory after the meal, not some other bhikkhu!' But instead some other bhikkhu gives the blessing thus he isn't happy.
8. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'May I preach the bhikkhus, Bhikkhunis, male lay followers, female lay followers that come to the monastery. It happens that another bhikkhu preaches the bhikkhus that come to the monastery. Because another bhikkhu preaches the bhikkhus that come to the monastery, this bhikkhu becomes angry and averse. 
9. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that the bhikkhus...bhikkhunis...male lay followers...female lay followers... might honor, respect, revere, and venerate me, not some other bhikkhu!'  some other bhikkhu is honoured, revered and venerated, this bhikkhu is angry and averse Both anger and aversion are blemishes.

10. It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that I might be the one to get a superior robe, superior alms-food, a superior resting place, superior medicinal requisites instead of some other bhikkhu!' And it is possible that some other bhikkhu got the benefits instead of him. So he is angry and bitter  and the anger and the bitterness are both a blemish. 

Sariputta: "Blemish is a term for the spheres of these bad unwholesome wishes. If the these unwholesome wishes are seen and heard to be un-abandoned in any bhikkhu, then although he may be a forest dweller, a frequenter of remote abodes, an alms-food eater, a house-to-house seeker, a refuse-rag wearer, a wearer of rough robes, still his fellows in the holy life do not honor, respect, revere, and venerate him.
Why is that? Because these evil unwholesome wishes are  not abandoned in that venerable one. Suppose a metal bowl which is smithy clean and bright was bought and the owners put a carcass in it and covered it with another bowl, went back to the market; then people seeing it said: 'What is that you are carrying about like a treasure?' Then, raising the lid and uncovering it, they were inspired with such loathing, repugnance, and disgust that even those who were hungry would not want to eat, not to speak of those who were full. Similarly if the spheres of these evil unwholesome wishes are seen and heard to be unabandoned in any bhikkhu, then his fellows in the holy life will not honor him. 

Venerable Sariputta: "If the spheres of these evil unwholesome wishes are seen and heard to be abandoned in any bhikkhu, then for all he may be a village dweller, an acceptor of invitations, a wearer of robes given him by householder's, yet his fellows in the holy life honor, respect, revere, and venerate him. Why is that? Because the spheres of these evil unwholesome wishes are abandoned in that venerable one. Suppose a metal bowl which is smithy clean and bright was bought and the owners put clean boiled rice and various soups and sauces into it, and, covering it with another bowl, went back to the market; then people seeing it said: 'What is that you are carrying about like a treasure?' Then raising the lid and uncovering it, they looked in, and as soon as they saw they were inspired with such liking and increased appetite, wishing to eat the food. So too, friend, if the spheres of these evil unwholesome wishes are abandoned in any bhikkhu, then his fellows in the holy life will not honor him. 

When this was said, Venerable Maha Moggallana said to Venerable Sariputta: "A simile occurs to me, friend Sariputta. On one occasion, friend, I was living at the Hill Fort at Rajagaha. On one occasion, Samiti the chariot maker’s son was bending the circumference of a wheel for an ascetic, the son of Pandu, of a former chariot maker. Then it occurred to the asceti:' O! If Samiti’s son corrects these crookedness, slants, and faults and makes the wheel perfect.' Whatever crookedness, slant, or fault that the ascetic thought of, that and that he corrected and made the circumference of the wheel perfect. Then the ascetic expressed words of pleasure and said:" Its like he knew the heart with the heart."

Venerable Moggallana: "So too, friend, there are persons who are faithless and have gone forth from the home life into homelessness not out of faith but seeking a livelihood (monastics with many faults), who are fraudulent, deceitful, treacherous, haughty, hollow, personally vain, rough-tongued, loose-spoken, unguarded in their sense faculties, immoderate in eating, not devoted to wakefulness, unconcerned with recluse-ship, not greatly respectful of training, luxurious, careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion, lazy, wanting in energy, unmindful, not fully aware, not concentrated, with straying minds, devoid of wisdom, drivelers. The venerable Sariputta with his discourse on the Dhamma planes out their faults just as if he knew my heart with his heart! "

Venerable Moggallana: " There are those who have gone forth out of faith from the home life into homelessness (good monks), who are not fraudulent, deceitful, treacherous, haughty, hollow, personally vain, rough-tongued, or loose-spoken; who are guarded in their sense faculties, moderate in eating, devoted to wakefulness, concerned with recluse-ship, greatly respectful of training, not luxurious or careless, who are keen to avoid backsliding, leaders in seclusion,energetic, resolute, established in mindfulness, fully aware, concentrated, with unified minds, possessing wisdom, not drivelers. These, on hearing the venerable Sariputta's discourse on the Dhamma, should devour the word and thought of it. It will be good if the co-associates in the holy life raised themselves from demerit and got established in merit. (Such a discourse is a very useful reminder of the defilements in one’s practice)

Thus it was that these two great beings (Venerable Sariputta and Venerable Moggallana ) rejoiced in each other's good words.

This sutta talks about blemishes which are defilements. It is a discussion between Buddha's two chief disciples namely Venerable Sariputta and Moggallana. Venerable Sariputta talked about the four types of persons with and without blemishes (defilements of anger and displeasure, primarily related to a sense of self) and he also talked about the dangers of gain honor and praise. Venerable Mogallana on the other hand gave a simile similar to Sariputta : monastics with many faults and monastics with good virtue. He mentioned that a discourse is a very useful reminder of the defilements in one’s practice. A good judge of one’s practice is how the monastics react to a discourse like this: whether they think it’s a waste of time or see it as a source of inspiration.

By WHH

References: 
1. www.accesstoinsight.org
2. https://suttacentral.net/
3. The middle length discourses of the Buddha (Bhikkhu Bodhi)