169. And what is the power of sympathy? There are these four bases of sympathy: generosity, kind speech, doing a good turn and treating all equally. The best generosity is generosity with the Dhamma. The best kind speech is teaching the Dhamma again and again to a good and attentive listener. The best good turn is inciting, encouraging and establishing the ways of faith in those without faith, the ways of virtue in the unvirtuous, the ways of generosity in the mean, and ways of wisdom in the foolish. The best equal treatment is the equality between Stream-Winner and Stream-Winner, between Once-Returner and Once-Returner, between Non-Returner and Non-Returner, and between Noble One and Noble One. This is called the power of sympathy.
Anguttara Nikaya IV.362
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