The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - Bhikkhu Nanamoli [176]
21. “When his concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs it to knowledge of the destruction of the taints. He understands as it actually is: ‘This is suffering’;…‘This is the origin of suffering’;…‘This is the cessation of suffering’;…‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering’;…‘These are the taints’;…‘This is the origin of the taints’;…‘This is the cessation of the taints’;…‘This is the way leading to the cessation of the taints.’
“When he knows and sees thus, his mind is liberated from the taint of sensual desire, from the taint of being, and from the taint of ignorance. When it is liberated there comes the knowledge: ‘It is liberated.’ He understands: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.’
“Just as if there were a lake in a mountain recess, clear, limpid, and undisturbed, so that a man with good sight standing on the bank could see shells, gravel, and pebbles, and also shoals of fish swimming about and resting, he might think: ‘There is this lake, clear, limpid, and undisturbed, and there are these [280] shells, gravel, and pebbles, and also these shoals of fish swimming about and resting.’ So too, a bhikkhu understands as it actually is: ‘This is suffering.’…He understands: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.’
(THE ARAHANT)
22. “Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu such as this is called a recluse, a brahmin, one who has been washed, one who has attained to knowledge, a holy scholar, a noble one, an arahant.419
23. “And how is a bhikkhu a recluse? He has quieted down evil unwholesome states that defile, bring renewal of being, give trouble, ripen in suffering, and lead to future birth, ageing, and death. That is how a bhikkhu is a recluse.
24. “And how is a bhikkhu a brahmin? He has expelled evil unwholesome states that defile…and lead to future birth, ageing, and death. That is how a bhikkhu is a brahmin.
25. “And how is a bhikkhu one who has been washed?420 He has washed off evil unwholesome states that defile…and lead to future birth, ageing, and death. That is how a bhikkhu is one who has been washed.
26. “And how is a bhikkhu one who has attained to knowledge? He has known evil unwholesome states that defile…and lead to future birth, ageing, and death. That is how a bhikkhu is one who has attained to knowledge.
27. “And how is a bhikkhu a holy scholar?421 The evil unwholesome states that defile…and lead to future birth, ageing, and death, have streamed away from him. That is how a bhikkhu is a holy scholar.
28. “And how is a bhikkhu a noble one? Evil unwholesome states that defile…and lead to future birth, ageing, and death, are far away from him. That is how a bhikkhu is a noble one.
29. “And how is a bhikkhu an arahant? Evil unwholesome states that defile, bring renewal of being, give trouble, ripen in suffering, and lead to future birth, ageing, and death, are far away from him. That is how a bhikkhu is an arahant.”
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
Cūḷa-Assapura Sutta
The Shorter Discourse at Assapura
[281] 1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was living in the Angan country at a town of the Angans named Assapura. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus.”—“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Blessed One said this:
2. “‘Recluses, recluses,’ bhikkhus, that is how people perceive you. And when you are asked, ‘What are you?’ you claim that you are recluses. Since that is what you are designated and what you claim to be, you should train thus: ‘We will practise the way proper to the recluse422 so that our designations