{"collection":"Majjhima Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_mn26/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_mn26","id":"suttacentral_mn26","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/mn26/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Majjhima Nikaya"],"text":"So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near S\u0101vatth\u012b in Jeta\u2019s Grove, An\u0101thapi\u1e47\u1e0dika\u2019s monastery. Then the Buddha robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, entered S\u0101vatth\u012b for alms. Then several mendicants went up to Venerable \u0100nanda and said to him, \u201cReverend, it\u2019s been a long time since we\u2019ve heard a Dhamma talk from the Buddha. It would be good if we got to hear a Dhamma talk from the Buddha.\u201d \u201cWell then, reverends, go to the brahmin Rammaka\u2019s hermitage. Hopefully you\u2019ll get to hear a Dhamma talk from the Buddha.\u201d \u201cYes, reverend,\u201d they replied. Then, after the meal, on his return from almsround, the Buddha addressed \u0100nanda, \u201cCome, \u0100nanda, let\u2019s go to the stilt longhouse of Mig\u0101ra\u2019s mother in the Eastern Monastery for the day\u2019s meditation.\u201d \u201cYes, sir,\u201d \u0100nanda replied. So the Buddha went with \u0100nanda to the Eastern Monastery for the day\u2019s meditation. In the late afternoon the Buddha came out of retreat and addressed \u0100nanda, \u201cCome, \u0100nanda, let\u2019s go to the eastern gate to bathe.\u201d \u201cYes, sir,\u201d \u0100nanda replied. So the Buddha went with \u0100nanda to the eastern gate to bathe. When he had bathed and emerged from the water he stood in one robe drying his limbs. Then \u0100nanda said to the Buddha, \u201cSir, the hermitage of the brahmin Rammaka is nearby. It\u2019s so delightful, so lovely. Please visit it out of sympathy.\u201d The Buddha consented with silence. He went to the brahmin Rammaka\u2019s hermitage. Now at that time several mendicants were sitting together in the hermitage talking about the teaching. The Buddha stood outside the door waiting for the talk to end. When he knew the talk had ended he cleared his throat and knocked on the door-panel. The mendicants opened the door for the Buddha, and he entered the hermitage, where he sat down on the seat spread out and addressed the mendicants: \u201cMendicants, what were you sitting talking about just now? What conversation was left unfinished?\u201d \u201cSir, our unfinished discussion on the teaching was about the Buddha himself when the Buddha arrived.\u201d \u201cGood, mendicants! It\u2019s appropriate for gentlemen like you, who have gone forth out of faith from the lay life to homelessness, to sit together and talk about the teaching. When you\u2019re sitting together you should do one of two things: discuss the teachings or keep noble silence. Mendicants, there are these two quests: the noble quest and the ignoble quest. And what is the ignoble quest? It\u2019s when someone who is themselves liable to be reborn seeks what is also liable to be reborn. Themselves liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, they seek what is also liable to these things. And what should be described as liable to be reborn? Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, elephants and cattle, and gold and currency are liable to be reborn. These attachments are liable to be reborn. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to being reborn, seeks what is also liable to be reborn. And what should be described as liable to grow old? Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, elephants and cattle, and gold and currency are liable to grow old. These attachments are liable to grow old. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to grow old, seeks what is also liable to grow old. And what should be described as liable to fall sick? Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, and elephants and cattle are liable to fall sick. These attachments are liable to fall sick. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to falling sick, seeks what is also liable to fall sick. And what should be described as liable to die? Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, and elephants and cattle are liable to die. These attachments are liable to die. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to die, seeks what is also liable to die. And what should be described as liable to sorrow? Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, and elephants and cattle are liable to sorrow. These attachments are liable to sorrow. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to sorrow, seeks what is also liable to sorrow. And what should be described as liable to corruption? Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, elephants and cattle, and gold and currency are liable to corruption. These attachments are liable to corruption. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to corruption, seeks what is also liable to corruption. This is the ignoble quest. And what is the noble quest? It\u2019s when someone who is themselves liable to be reborn, understanding the drawbacks in being liable to be reborn, seeks that which is free of rebirth, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment. Themselves liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, understanding the drawbacks in these things, they seek that which is free of old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment. This is the noble quest. Mendicants, before my awakening\u2014when I was still unawakened but intent on awakening\u2014I too, being liable to be reborn, sought what is also liable to be reborn. Myself liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, I sought what is also liable to these things. Then it occurred to me: \u2018Why do I, being liable to be reborn, grow old, fall sick, sorrow, die, and become corrupted, seek things that have the same nature? Why don\u2019t I seek that which is free of rebirth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment?\u2019 Some time later, while still with pristine black hair, blessed with youth, in the prime of life\u2014though my mother and father wished otherwise, weeping with tearful faces\u2014I shaved off my hair and beard, dressed in ocher robes, and went forth from the lay life to homelessness. Once I had gone forth I set out to discover what is skillful, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace. I approached \u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma and said to him, \u2018Reverend K\u0101l\u0101ma, I wish to lead the spiritual life in this teaching and training.\u2019 \u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma replied, \u2018Stay, venerable. This teaching is such that a sensible person can soon realize their own denomination with their own insight and live having achieved it.\u2019 I quickly memorized that teaching. As far as lip-recital and verbal repetition went, I spoke the doctrine of knowledge, the elder doctrine. I claimed to know and see, and so did others. Then it occurred to me, \u2018It is not solely by mere faith that \u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma declares: \u201cI realize this teaching with my own insight, and live having achieved it.\u201d Surely he meditates knowing and seeing this teaching.\u2019 So I approached \u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma and said to him, \u2018Reverend K\u0101l\u0101ma, to what extent do you say you\u2019ve realized this teaching with your own insight?\u2019 When I said this, he declared the dimension of nothingness. Then it occurred to me, \u2018It\u2019s not just \u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma who has faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom; I too have these things. Why don\u2019t I make an effort to realize the same teaching that \u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma says he has realized with his own insight?\u2019 I quickly realized that teaching with my own insight, and lived having achieved it. So I approached \u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma and said to him, \u2018Reverend K\u0101l\u0101ma, is it up to this point that you realized this teaching with your own insight, and declare having achieved it?\u2019 \u2018I have, reverend.\u2019 \u2018I too, reverend, have realized this teaching with my own insight up to this point, and live having achieved it.\u2019 \u2018We are fortunate, reverend, so very fortunate to see a venerable such as yourself as one of our spiritual companions! So the teaching that I\u2019ve realized with my own insight, and declare having achieved it, you\u2019ve realized with your own insight, and dwell having achieved it. The teaching that you\u2019ve realized with your own insight, and dwell having achieved it, I\u2019ve realized with my own insight, and declare having achieved it. So the teaching that I know, you know, and the teaching that you know, I know. I am like you and you are like me. Come now, reverend! We should both lead this community together.\u2019 And that is how my tutor \u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma placed me, his pupil, on the same position as him, and honored me with high praise. Then it occurred to me, \u2018This teaching doesn\u2019t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. It only leads as far as rebirth in the dimension of nothingness.\u2019 Realizing that this teaching was inadequate, I left disappointed. I set out to discover what is skillful, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace. I approached Uddaka son of R\u0101ma and said to him, \u2018Reverend, I wish to lead the spiritual life in this teaching and training.\u2019 Uddaka replied, \u2018Stay, venerable. This teaching is such that a sensible person can soon realize their own denomination with their own insight and live having achieved it.\u2019 I quickly memorized that teaching. As far as lip-recital and verbal repetition went, I spoke the doctrine of knowledge, the elder doctrine. I claimed to know and see, and so did others. Then it occurred to me, \u2018It is not solely by mere faith that R\u0101ma declared: \u201cI realize this teaching with my own insight, and live having achieved it.\u201d Surely he meditated knowing and seeing this teaching.\u2019 So I approached Uddaka son of R\u0101ma and said to him, \u2018Reverend, to what extent did R\u0101ma say he\u2019d realized this teaching with his own insight?\u2019 When I said this, Uddaka son of R\u0101ma declared the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. Then it occurred to me, \u2018It\u2019s not just R\u0101ma who had faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom; I too have these things. Why don\u2019t I make an effort to realize the same teaching that R\u0101ma said he had realized with his own insight?\u2019 I quickly realized that teaching with my own insight, and lived having achieved it. So I approached Uddaka son of R\u0101ma and said to him, \u2018Reverend, had R\u0101ma realized this teaching with his own insight up to this point, and declared having achieved it?\u2019 \u2018He had, reverend.\u2019 \u2018I too have realized this teaching with my own insight up to this point, and live having achieved it.\u2019 \u2018We are fortunate, reverend, so very fortunate to see a venerable such as yourself as one of our spiritual companions! So the teaching that R\u0101ma had realized with his own insight, and declared having achieved it, you\u2019ve realized with your own insight, and dwell having achieved it. The teaching that you\u2019ve realized with your own insight, and dwell having achieved it, R\u0101ma had realized with his own insight, and declared having achieved it. So the teaching that R\u0101ma directly knew, you know, and the teaching you know, R\u0101ma directly knew. R\u0101ma was like you and you are like R\u0101ma. Come now, reverend! You should lead this community.\u2019 And that is how my spiritual companion Uddaka son of R\u0101ma placed me in the position of a tutor and honored me with high praise. Then it occurred to me, \u2018This teaching doesn\u2019t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. It only leads as far as rebirth in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.\u2019 Realizing that this teaching was inadequate, I left disappointed. I set out to discover what is skillful, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace. Traveling stage by stage in the Magadhan lands, I arrived at the town of Sen\u0101 in Uruvel\u0101. There I saw a delightful park, a lovely grove with a flowing river that was clean and charming, with smooth banks. And nearby was a village to resort to for alms. Then it occurred to me, \u2018This park is truly delightful, a lovely grove with a flowing river that\u2019s clean and charming, with smooth banks. And nearby there\u2019s a village to resort to for alms. This is good enough for striving for a gentleman wanting to strive.\u2019 So I sat down right there, thinking, \u2018This is good enough for striving.\u2019 And so, being myself liable to be reborn, understanding the drawbacks in being liable to be reborn, I sought that which is free of rebirth, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment\u2014and I found it. Being myself liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, understanding the drawbacks in these things, I sought that which is free of old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment\u2014and I found it. Knowledge and vision arose in me: \u2018My freedom is unshakable; this is my last rebirth; now there\u2019ll be no more future lives.\u2019 Then it occurred to me, \u2018This principle I have discovered is deep, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, sublime, beyond the scope of logic, subtle, comprehensible to the astute. But people like clinging, they love it and enjoy it. It\u2019s hard for them to see this topic; that is, specific conditionality, dependent origination. It\u2019s also hard for them to see this topic; that is, the stilling of all activities, the letting go of all attachments, the ending of craving, fading away, cessation, extinguishment. And if I were to teach this principle, others might not understand me, which would be wearying and troublesome for me.\u2019 And then these verses, which were neither supernaturally inspired, nor learned before in the past, occurred to me: \u2018I\u2019ve struggled hard to realize this, there\u2019s no need to reveal it now! Those mired in greed and hate can\u2019t really understand this teaching. It goes against the stream, subtle, deep, obscure, and very fine. Those besotted by greed cannot see, for they\u2019re cloaked in a mass of darkness.\u2019 So, as I reflected like this, my mind inclined to remaining passive, not to teaching the Dhamma. Then the divinity Sahampati, knowing my train of thought, thought, \u2018Oh lord! The world will be lost, the world will perish! For the mind of the Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha, inclines to remaining passive, not to teaching the Dhamma.\u2019 Then, as easily as a strong person would extend or contract their arm, the divinity Sahampati vanished from the realm of divinity and reappeared in front of me. He arranged his robe over one shoulder, raised his cupped palms toward me, and said, \u2018Sir, let the Blessed One teach the Dhamma! Let the Holy One teach the Dhamma! There are beings with little dust in their eyes. They\u2019re in decline because they haven\u2019t heard the teaching. There will be those who understand the teaching!\u2019 That is what the divinity Sahampati said. Then he went on to say: \u2018Among the Magadhans there appeared in the past an impure teaching thought up by the stained. Fling open the door to freedom from death! Let them hear the teaching <j>the immaculate one discovered. Standing high on a rocky mountain, you can see the people all around. In just the same way, All-seer, so intelligent, having ascended the Temple of Truth, rid of sorrow, look upon the people swamped with sorrow, <j>overcome by rebirth and old age. Rise, hero! Victor in battle, caravan leader, wander the world free of debt. Let the Blessed One teach the Dhamma! There will be those who understand!\u2019 Then, understanding the Divinity\u2019s invitation, I surveyed the world with the eye of a Buddha, because of my compassion for sentient beings. And I saw sentient beings with little dust in their eyes, and some with much dust in their eyes; with keen faculties and with weak faculties, with good qualities and with bad qualities, easy to teach and hard to teach. And some of them lived seeing the danger in the fault to do with the next world, while others did not. It\u2019s like a pool with blue water lilies, or pink or white lotuses. Some of them sprout and grow in the water without rising above it, thriving underwater. Some of them sprout and grow in the water reaching the water\u2019s surface. And some of them sprout and grow in the water but rise up above the water and stand with no water clinging to them. In the same way, I saw sentient beings with little dust in their eyes, and some with much dust in their eyes. Then I replied in verse to the divinity Sahampati: \u2018Flung open are the doors to freedom from death! Let those with ears to hear commit to faith. Thinking it would be troublesome, Divinity, <j>I did not teach the sophisticated, sublime Dhamma among mankind.\u2019 Then the divinity Sahampati, knowing that his request for me to teach the Dhamma had been granted, bowed and respectfully circled me, keeping me on his right, before vanishing right there. Then I thought, \u2018Who should I teach first of all? Who will quickly understand this teaching?\u2019 Then it occurred to me, \u2018That \u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma is astute, competent, intelligent, and has long had little dust in his eyes. Why don\u2019t I teach him first of all? He\u2019ll quickly understand the teaching.\u2019 But a deity came to me and said, \u2018Sir, \u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma passed away seven days ago.\u2019 And knowledge and vision arose in me, \u2018\u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma passed away seven days ago.\u2019 I thought, \u2018This is a great loss for \u0100\u1e37\u0101ra K\u0101l\u0101ma. If he had heard the teaching, he would have understood it quickly.\u2019 Then I thought, \u2018Who should I teach first of all? Who will quickly understand this teaching?\u2019 Then it occurred to me, \u2018That Uddaka son of R\u0101ma is astute, competent, intelligent, and has long had little dust in his eyes. Why don\u2019t I teach him first of all? He\u2019ll quickly understand the teaching.\u2019 But a deity came to me and said, \u2018Sir, Uddaka son of R\u0101ma passed away just last night.\u2019 And knowledge and vision arose in me, \u2018Uddaka son of R\u0101ma passed away just last night.\u2019 I thought, \u2018This is a great loss for Uddaka. If he had heard the teaching, he would have understood it quickly.\u2019 Then I thought, \u2018Who should I teach first of all? Who will quickly understand this teaching?\u2019 Then it occurred to me, \u2018The group of five mendicants were very helpful to me. They looked after me during my time of resolute striving. Why don\u2019t I teach them first of all?\u2019 Then I thought, \u2018Where are the group of five mendicants staying these days?\u2019 With clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman I saw that the group of five mendicants were staying near Varanasi in the deer park at Isipatana. So, when I had stayed in Uruvel\u0101 as long as I pleased, I set out for Varanasi. While I was traveling along the road between Gay\u0101 and Bodhgaya, the \u0100j\u012bvaka ascetic Upaka saw me and said, \u2018Reverend, your faculties are so very clear, and your complexion is pure and bright. In whose name have you gone forth, reverend? Who is your Teacher? Whose teaching do you believe in?\u2019 I replied to Upaka in verse: \u2018I am the vanquisher of all, the knower of all, unsullied in the midst of all things. I\u2019ve given up all, freed through the ending of craving. Since I know for myself, whose follower should I be? I have no tutor. There is no one like me. In the world with its gods, I have no rival. For in this world, I am the perfected one; I am the supreme Teacher. I alone am fully awakened, cooled, quenched. I am going to the city of K\u0101si to roll forth the Wheel of Dhamma. In this world that is so blind, I\u2019ll beat the drum of freedom from death!\u2019 \u2018According to what you claim, reverend, you ought to be the Infinite Victor.\u2019 \u2018The victors are those who, like me, have reached the ending of defilements. I have conquered bad qualities, Upaka\u2014 that\u2019s why I\u2019m a victor.\u2019 When I had spoken, Upaka said: \u2018If you say so, reverend.\u2019 Shaking his head, he took a wrong turn and left. Traveling stage by stage, I arrived at Varanasi, and went to see the group of five mendicants in the deer park at Isipatana. The group of five mendicants saw me coming off in the distance and stopped each other, saying, \u2018Here comes the ascetic Gotama. He\u2019s so indulgent; he strayed from the struggle and returned to indulgence. We shouldn\u2019t bow to him or rise for him or receive his bowl and robe. But we can set out a seat; he can sit if he likes.\u2019 Yet as I drew closer, the group of five mendicants were unable to stop themselves per their own agreement. Some came out to greet me and receive my bowl and robe, some spread out a seat, while others set out water for washing my feet. But they still addressed me by name and as \u2018reverend\u2019. So I said to them, \u2018Mendicants, don\u2019t address me by name and as \u201creverend\u201d. The Realized One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha. Listen up, mendicants: I have achieved freedom from death! I shall instruct you, I will teach you the Dhamma. By practicing as instructed you will soon realize the supreme culmination of the spiritual path in this very life. You will live having achieved with your own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.\u2019 But they said to me, \u2018Reverend Gotama, even by that conduct, that practice, that grueling work you did not achieve any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones. How could you have achieved such a state now that you\u2019ve become indulgent, strayed from the struggle and returned to indulgence?\u2019 So I said to them, \u2018The Realized One has not become indulgent, strayed from the struggle and returned to indulgence. The Realized One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha. Listen up, mendicants: I have achieved freedom from death! I shall instruct you, I will teach you the Dhamma. By practicing as instructed you will soon realize the supreme culmination of the spiritual path in this very life.\u2019 But for a second time they said to me, \u2018Reverend Gotama \u2026 you\u2019ve returned to indulgence.\u2019 So for a second time I said to them, \u2018The Realized One has not become indulgent \u2026\u2019 But for a third time they said to me, \u2018Reverend Gotama, even by that conduct, that practice, that grueling work you did not achieve any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones. How could you have achieved such a state now that you\u2019ve become indulgent, strayed from the struggle and returned to indulgence?\u2019 So I said to them, \u2018Mendicants, have you ever known me to speak like this before?\u2019 \u2018No sir, we have not.\u2019 \u2018The Realized One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha. Listen up, mendicants: I have achieved freedom from death! I shall instruct you, I will teach you the Dhamma. By practicing as instructed you will soon realize the supreme culmination of the spiritual path in this very life. You will live having achieved with your own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.\u2019 I was able to persuade the group of five mendicants. Then sometimes I advised two mendicants, while the other three went for alms. Then those three would feed all six of us with what they brought back. Sometimes I advised three mendicants, while the other two went for alms. Then those two would feed all six of us with what they brought back. As the group of five mendicants were being advised and instructed by me like this, being themselves liable to be reborn, understanding the drawbacks in being liable to be reborn, they sought that which is free of rebirth, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment\u2014and they found it. Being themselves liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, understanding the drawbacks in these things, they sought that which is free of old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment\u2014and they found it. Knowledge and vision arose in them: \u2018Our freedom is unshakable; this is our last rebirth; now there\u2019ll be no more future lives.\u2019 Mendicants, there are these five kinds of sensual stimulation. What five? Sights known by the eye, which are likable, desirable, agreeable, pleasant, sensual, and arousing. Sounds known by the ear \u2026 Smells known by the nose \u2026 Tastes known by the tongue \u2026 Touches known by the body, which are likable, desirable, agreeable, pleasant, sensual, and arousing. These are the five kinds of sensual stimulation. There are ascetics and brahmins who enjoy these five kinds of sensual stimulation tied, infatuated, attached, blind to the drawbacks, and not understanding the escape. You should understand that they have met with calamity and disaster, and the Wicked One can do with them what he wants. Suppose a deer in the wilderness was lying caught on a pile of snares. You\u2019d know that it has met with calamity and disaster, and the hunter can do with them what he wants. And when the hunter comes, it cannot flee where it wants. In the same way, there are ascetics and brahmins who enjoy these five kinds of sensual stimulation tied, infatuated, attached, blind to the drawbacks, and not understanding the escape. You should understand that they have met with calamity and disaster, and the Wicked One can do with them what he wants. There are ascetics and brahmins who enjoy these five kinds of sensual stimulation without being tied, infatuated, or attached, seeing the drawbacks, and understanding the escape. You should understand that they haven\u2019t met with calamity and disaster, and the Wicked One cannot do what he wants with them. Suppose a deer in the wilderness was lying on a pile of snares without being caught. You\u2019d know that it hasn\u2019t met with calamity and disaster, and the hunter cannot do what he wants with them. And when the hunter comes, it can flee where it wants. In the same way, there are ascetics and brahmins who enjoy these five kinds of sensual stimulation without being tied, infatuated, or attached, seeing the drawbacks, and understanding the escape. You should understand that they haven\u2019t met with calamity and disaster, and the Wicked One cannot do what he wants with them. Suppose there was a wild deer wandering in the forest that walked, stood, sat, and laid down in confidence. Why is that? Because it\u2019s out of the hunter\u2019s range. In the same way, a mendicant, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra, put out his eyes without a trace, and gone where the Wicked One cannot see. Furthermore, as the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, a mendicant enters and remains in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, with the fading away of rapture, a mendicant enters and remains in the third absorption, where they meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, experiencing for themselves the bliss of which the noble ones declare, \u2018Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.\u2019 This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, with the giving up of pleasure and pain and the disappearance of former happiness and sadness, a mendicant enters and remains in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that \u2018space is infinite\u2019, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite space. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite space, aware that \u2018consciousness is infinite\u2019, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite consciousness. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, aware that \u2018there is nothing at all\u2019, enters and remains in the dimension of nothingness. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of nothingness, enters and remains in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra \u2026 Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And, having seen with wisdom, their defilements come to an end. This is called a mendicant who has blinded M\u0101ra, put out his eyes without a trace, and gone where the Wicked One cannot see. They\u2019ve crossed over clinging to the world. And they walk, stand, sit, and lie down in confidence. Why is that? Because they\u2019re out of the Wicked One\u2019s range.\u201d That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said.","title":"The Noble Quest","tradition":"Majjhima Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":4948}