Here is Ven. Sujato's translation:
Not to do any evil;
Sabbapāpassa akaraṇaṁ,
to embrace the good;
kusalassa upasampadā;
The Pali word 'kusala' includes the word 'kusa', which is a type of grass.
Importantly, kusa grass is a type of grass that can cut the hand. The Dhammapada says:
When kusa grass is wrongly grasped
Kuso yathā duggahito,
it only cuts the hand.
hatthamevānukantati;
So too, the ascetic life, when wrongly taken,
Sāmaññaṁ dupparāmaṭṭhaṁ,
drags you to hell.
nirayāyupakaḍḍhati.
Dhp 311
Therefore, contrary to what appears to be Sujato's antithetical translation of "embrace", the relevant Pali word "upasampadā" appears to mean "perfect" or "attain skill" or "handle with skill". It appears to mean to cultivate "the grass" or "the good" so the intention to do good does not lead to one's own harm. Again, the Dhammapada makes this clear, when it says:
Never neglect your own good
Attadatthaṁ paratthena,
for the sake of another, however great. bahunāpi na hāpaye;
Knowing well what’s good for you,
Attadatthamabhiññāya,
be intent upon your true goal.
sadatthapasuto siyā.
Attavagga
Also, SN 12.63 is about how the road to hell is paved with good intentions, as follows:
And how is the nutriment of intellectual intention to be regarded?
Suppose there were a pit of glowing embers, deeper than a man's
height, full of embers that were neither flaming nor smoking, and a
man were to come along — loving life, hating death, loving pleasure,
abhorring pain — and two strong men, having grabbed him by the arms,
were to drag him to the pit of embers. To get far away would be that
man's intention, far away would be his wish, far away would be his
aspiration. Why is that? Because he would realize, 'If I fall into
this pit of glowing embers, I will meet with death from that cause, or
with death-like pain.' In the same way, I tell you, is the nutriment
of intellectual intention to be regarded. When the nutriment of
intellectual intention is comprehended, the three forms of craving
[for sensuality, for becoming, and for non-becoming] are comprehended.
When the three forms of craving are comprehended, I tell you, there is
nothing further for a disciple of the noble ones to do.
If we struggle to understand the above & particularly why 'upasampadā" does not mean to 'embrace' [with lust] the grass that, when the ascetic life, when wrongly taken, drags you to hell, Sujato's latest wokevangelical offering to the world of worldlings makes this perfectly clear.
In any case, this makes it clear why the Sutta says the gandhabba must
be present, while the Veda says Viśvāvasu must depart.... This is not
something new, or something that has been left unaddressed by cultures
in the past. Anxiety about potency and paternity is a fundamental
component, perhaps the single most important distinguishing feature,
of the male psyche, and forms the foundation of misogyny. Patriarchal
institutions like marriage traditionally aimed to subjugate women,
yes, but they also tried to temper the worst of men. In freeing women
from patriarchal suppression, it is crucial to find ways to address
this deeply irrational male anxiety.
On the gandhabba and male anxiety
We can also notice how Sujato's worldling wokevangelical offering above arguably contains the wrong view of denying mother & father, per MN 117.
In summary, Dhp 183 suggests to cultivate the grass to ensure one is not cut by the grass.
