The Paribbājaka Vacchagotta asks the Buddha if it be true that the Buddha discourages the giving of alms to other than his own followers. The Buddha says that, in his eyes, even pot scorings or dregs from cups thrown into a pool or cesspool, to feed the creatures living there, would be a source of merit. But gifts made to the good are more fruitful than those made to the wicked. The good are those who have abandoned lust, malevolence, sloth and torpor, excitement and-flurry and doubt and wavering. A.i.160f.