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secluded from unwholesome states, with thinking and pondering, born of seclusion, with rapture and pleasure, entered and remained in the first jhāna. With the stilling of thinking and pondering, with internal assurance, with the mind's unification, without thinking and pondering, born of concentration, with rapture and pleasure, I entered and remained in the second jhāna. With the fading of rapture, I remained equanimous, mindful and clearly comprehending, and I experienced pleasure with the body, that of which the noble ones declare: 'equanimous, mindful, one who dwells in pleasure,' I entered and remained in the third jhāna. With the abandoning of pleasure, and the abandoning of pain, and with the prior disappearance of joy and sorrow, without pleasure and pain, with the purity of equanimity and mindfulness, I entered and remained in the fourth jhāna. 212. With my mind thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilements, malleable, wieldy, steady, attained to imperturbability, I directed my mind to the knowledge of recollecting past lives. I recollected my manifold past lives. Such as one birth... and so on... Thus, with their aspects and details, I recollected my manifold past lives. This, bhikkhus, was the first knowledge attained by me in the first watch of the night; ignorance was dispelled, knowledge arose; darkness was dispelled, light arose; as happens to one who dwells heedful, ardent, and resolute. 213. With my mind thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilements, malleable, wieldy, steady, attained to imperturbability, I directed my mind to the knowledge of the passing away and reappearance of beings. With the divine eye, purified and surpassing human sight, I saw beings passing away and reappearing... and so on... 'Indeed, these good beings, endowed with misconduct of body... and so on...' Thus, with the divine eye, purified and surpassing human sight, I saw beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly... I discern beings passing away and reappearing, in good and bad destinations, according to their kamma. This, indeed, for me, monks, in the middle watch of the night, was the second knowledge attained; ignorance was dispelled, knowledge arose; darkness was dispelled, light arose; as happens to one who dwells heedful, ardent, and resolute. 214. With my mind thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilements, pliant, workable, steady, and imperturbable, I directed my mind to the knowledge of the destruction of the taints. I directly knew, as it actually is: ‘This is suffering.’ I directly knew, as it actually is: ‘This is the origin of suffering.’ I directly knew, as it actually is: ‘This is the cessation of suffering.’ I directly knew, as it actually is: ‘This is the path leading to the cessation of suffering.’ I directly knew, as it actually is: ‘These are the taints.’ I directly knew, as it actually is: ‘This is the origin of the taints.’ I directly knew, as it actually is: ‘This is the cessation of the taints.’ I directly knew, as it actually is: ‘This is the path leading to the cessation of the taints.’ When I knew and saw thus, my mind was liberated from the taint of sensual desire, my mind was liberated from the taint of becoming, my mind was liberated from the taint of ignorance. And with liberation, there arose the knowledge: ‘Liberated it is.’ I directly knew: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being.’ This, indeed, for me, monks, in the last watch of the night, was the third knowledge attained; ignorance was dispelled, knowledge arose; darkness was dispelled, light arose; as happens to one who dwells heedful, ardent, and resolute. 215. Just as, monks, in a wilderness, in a forest, there might be a great low-lying pond. A great herd of deer might dwell relying on it. Then some man might appear, desiring their harm, desiring their disadvantage, desiring their insecurity. He would block the safe, secure, pleasant path by which they go. He would open a false path, set out a bait, and place a decoy. Thus, monks, that great herd of deer, after some time, would... They would fall into loss and ruin. But then, bhikkhus, for that great herd of deer, some man might arise, desiring their welfare, desiring their benefit, desiring their security from bondage. He would open up the path that is safe, secure, and leads to joy. He would close off the wrong path. He would remove the lurking place. He would destroy the lurker. Thus, bhikkhus, that great herd of deer, would in time attain growth, increase, and abundance. This simile, bhikkhus, has been made by me for the sake of understanding the meaning. And this is the meaning here: The great low-lying swamp, bhikkhus, is a designation for sensual pleasures. The great herd of deer, bhikkhus, is a designation for beings. The man desiring their harm, desiring their detriment, desiring their insecurity from bondage, bhikkhus, is a designation for Māra, the Evil One. The wrong path, bhikkhus, is a designation for the eightfold wrong path, namely: wrong view, wrong intention, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, wrong concentration. The lurking place, bhikkhus, is a designation for delight and lust. The lurker, bhikkhus, is a designation for ignorance. The man desiring their welfare, desiring their benefit, desiring their security from bondage, bhikkhus, is a designation for the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One. The safe path, secure, leading to joy, bhikkhus, is a designation for the Noble Eightfold Path, namely: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. Thus, bhikkhus, the safe path, secure, leading to joy, has been opened by me. The wrong path has been closed. The lurking place has been removed. The lurker has been destroyed. Whatever a teacher should do for his disciples, out of compassion, desiring their welfare, that has been done by me for you. These. These, monks, are roots of trees, these are empty dwellings; meditate, monks, do not be heedless; do not be remorseful later. This is our instruction to you. The Blessed One said this. Delighted, those monks rejoiced in the Blessed One's words. The Discourse on Two Kinds of Thoughts is finished, the ninth. 10. The Discourse on the Stillness of Thoughts 216. Thus have I heard – At one time the Blessed One was staying in Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks, saying: "Monks!" "Venerable sir," those monks replied to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this: "A monk devoted to the higher mind, monks, should from time to time pay attention to five signs. Which five? Here, monks, when a monk, relying on a certain sign, attends to a certain sign, evil unwholesome thoughts arise, connected with desire, connected with aversion, connected with delusion. Then, monks, that monk should attend to another sign, connected with wholesomeness, different from that sign. As he attends to another sign, connected with wholesomeness, different from that sign, those evil unwholesome thoughts, connected with desire, connected with aversion, connected with delusion, are abandoned, they disappear. With their abandonment, his mind becomes steady within, it settles, it becomes unified, it becomes concentrated. Just as, monks, a skillful carpenter or carpenter's apprentice might knock out, extract, or dislodge a coarse peg with a fine peg; even so, monks, when a monk, relying on a certain sign, attends to a certain sign, evil unwholesome thoughts arise, connected with desire, connected with aversion, connected with delusion. Then, monks, that monk should attend to another sign, connected with wholesomeness, different from that sign. As he attends to another sign, When he attends to that, connected with skillfulness, those evil unskillful thoughts, connected with desire, connected with aversion, connected with delusion, they are abandoned, they go to destruction. With their abandonment, the mind settles down, becomes firm, unified, and concentrated right within. 217. But if, monks, for a monk, attending to another sign, one connected with skillfulness, from that sign, evil unskillful thoughts still arise, connected with desire, connected with aversion, connected with delusion, then, monks, that monk should examine the danger in those thoughts: ‘These thoughts are unskillful, these thoughts are blameworthy, these thoughts have painful results.’ As he examines the danger in those thoughts, those evil unskillful thoughts, connected with desire, connected with aversion, connected with delusion, they are abandoned, they go to destruction. With their abandonment, the mind settles down, becomes firm, unified, and concentrated right within. Just as, monks, a woman or a man, young, youthful, fond of adornment, would be distressed, ashamed, disgusted, if a snake carcass, or a dog carcass, or a human carcass were hung around their neck; Even so, monks, if for a monk, attending to another sign, one connected with skillfulness, from that sign, evil unskillful thoughts still arise, connected with desire, connected with aversion, connected with delusion, then, monks, that monk should examine the danger in those thoughts: ‘These thoughts are unskillful, these thoughts are blameworthy, these thoughts have painful results.’ As he examines the danger in those thoughts, those evil unskillful thoughts, connected with desire, connected with aversion, connected with delusion, they are abandoned, they go to destruction. With their abandonment, the mind settles down, becomes firm, unified, and concentrated right within. 218. But if, monks, for a b... For a monk, even while examining the danger of those very thoughts,