{"collection":"Anguttara Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_an5.166/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_an5.166","id":"suttacentral_an5.166","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/an5.166/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Anguttara Nikaya","Early Buddhist Texts"],"text":"There Venerable S\u0101riputta addressed the mendicants: \u201cReverends, take a mendicant who is accomplished in ethics, immersion, and wisdom. They might enter into and emerge from the cessation of perception and feeling. That is possible. If they don\u2019t reach enlightenment in this very life, then, surpassing the company of gods that consume edible food, they\u2019re reborn in a certain host of mind-made gods. There they might enter into and emerge from the cessation of perception and feeling. That is possible.\u201d When he said this, Venerable Ud\u0101y\u012b said to him, \u201cThis is not possible, Reverend S\u0101riputta, it cannot happen!\u201d But for a second \u2026 and a third time S\u0101riputta repeated his statement. And for a third time, Ud\u0101y\u012b said to him, \u201cThis is not possible, Reverend S\u0101riputta, it cannot happen!\u201d Then Venerable S\u0101riputta thought, \u201cVenerable Ud\u0101y\u012b disagrees with me three times, and not one mendicant agrees with me. Why don\u2019t I go to see the Buddha?\u201d Then S\u0101riputta went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to the mendicants: \u201cReverends, take a mendicant who is accomplished in ethics, immersion, and wisdom. They might enter into and emerge from the cessation of perception and feeling. That is possible. If they don\u2019t reach enlightenment in this very life, they\u2019re reborn in the company of a certain host of mind-made gods, who surpass the gods that consume edible food. There they might enter into and emerge from the cessation of perception and feeling. That is possible.\u201d When he said this, Ud\u0101y\u012b said to him, \u201cThis is not possible, Reverend S\u0101riputta, it cannot happen!\u201d But for a second \u2026 and a third time S\u0101riputta repeated his statement. And for a third time, Ud\u0101y\u012b said to him, \u201cThis is not possible, Reverend S\u0101riputta, it cannot happen!\u201d Then Venerable S\u0101riputta thought, \u201cEven in front of the Buddha Venerable Ud\u0101y\u012b disagrees with me three times, and not one mendicant agrees with me. I\u2019d better stay silent.\u201d Then S\u0101riputta fell silent. Then the Buddha said to Venerable Ud\u0101y\u012b, \u201cBut Ud\u0101y\u012b, do you believe in a mind-made body?\u201d \u201cFor those gods, sir, who are formless, made of perception.\u201d \u201cUd\u0101y\u012b, what has an incompetent fool like you got to say? How on earth could you imagine you\u2019ve got something worth saying!\u201d Then the Buddha said to Venerable \u0100nanda, \u201c\u0100nanda! How can you just watch while a senior mendicant is being harassed? Don\u2019t you have any compassion for a senior mendicant who is being harassed?\u201d Then the Buddha addressed the mendicants: \u201cMendicants, take a mendicant who is accomplished in ethics, immersion, and wisdom. They might enter into and emerge from the cessation of perception and feeling. That is possible. If they don\u2019t reach enlightenment in this very life, they\u2019re reborn in the company of a certain host of mind-made gods, who surpass the gods that consume edible food. There they might enter into and emerge from the cessation of perception and feeling. That is possible.\u201d That is what the Buddha said. When he had spoken, the Holy One rose from his seat and entered his dwelling. Then, not long after the Buddha had left, Venerable \u0100nanda went to Venerable Upav\u0101\u1e47a and said to him, \u201cReverend Upav\u0101\u1e47a, they\u2019ve been harassing other senior mendicants, but I didn\u2019t question them. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if the Buddha brings this up when he comes out of retreat later this afternoon. He might even call upon Venerable Upav\u0101\u1e47a himself. And right now I feel insecure.\u201d Then in the late afternoon, the Buddha came out of retreat and went to the assembly hall. He sat down on the seat spread out and said to Upav\u0101\u1e47a, \u201cUpav\u0101\u1e47a, how many qualities should a senior mendicant have to be dear and beloved to their spiritual companions, respected and admired?\u201d \u201cSir, a senior mendicant with five qualities is dear and beloved to their spiritual companions, respected and admired. What five? It\u2019s when a mendicant is ethical, restrained in the monastic code, conducting themselves well and resorting for alms in suitable places. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, they keep the rules they\u2019ve undertaken. They\u2019re very learned, remembering and keeping what they\u2019ve learned. These teachings are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, meaningful and well-phrased, describing a spiritual practice that\u2019s totally full and pure. They are very learned in such teachings, remembering them, reciting them, mentally scrutinizing them, and penetrating them theoretically. They\u2019re a good speaker who enunciates well, with a polished, clear, and articulate voice that expresses the meaning. They get the four absorptions\u2014blissful meditations in this life that belong to the higher mind\u2014when they want, without trouble or difficulty. They realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom. And they live having realized it with their own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements. A senior mendicant with these five qualities is dear and beloved to their spiritual companions, respected and admired.\u201d \u201cGood, good, Upav\u0101\u1e47a! A senior mendicant with these five qualities is dear and beloved to their spiritual companions, respected and admired. If these five qualities are not found in a senior mendicant, why would their spiritual companions honor, respect, revere, or venerate them? Because of their broken teeth, gray hair, and wrinkled skin? But since these five qualities are found in a senior mendicant, their spiritual companions honor, respect, revere, or venerate them.\u201d","title":"Cessation","tradition":"Anguttara Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":891}