English
by the utter destruction of the three fetters, is a stream-enterer, no longer subject to downfall, certain of liberation, with enlightenment as her destination. "It is no wonder, Ānanda, that a human being should pass away; if, whenever someone passes away, you come to me and question me about this matter, that would be a bother for the Tathāgata, Ānanda." Therefore, Ananda, I will teach a discourse called the Mirror of Dhamma; endowed with which, a noble disciple, desiring, would declare about himself: ‘I am one whose hell is destroyed, whose animal birth is destroyed, whose realm of hungry ghosts is destroyed, whose states of woe, bad destinations, and downfall are destroyed. I am a stream-enterer, not subject to falling into states of woe, assured, bound for full enlightenment.’ “And what, Ananda, is that discourse, the Mirror of Dhamma; endowed with which, a noble disciple, desiring, would declare about himself: ‘I am one whose hell is destroyed, whose animal birth is destroyed, whose realm of hungry ghosts is destroyed, whose states of woe, bad destinations, and downfall are destroyed. I am a stream-enterer, not subject to falling into states of woe, assured, bound for full enlightenment’?” “Here, Ananda, a noble disciple is endowed with unwavering faith in the Buddha – ‘Indeed, that Blessed One is… (etc.)… teacher of gods and humans, the Buddha, the Blessed One.’ in the Dhamma… (etc.)… in the Saṅgha… (etc.)… and is endowed with virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken… (etc.)… conducive to concentration. This, Ananda, is that discourse, the Mirror of Dhamma; endowed with which, a noble disciple, desiring, would declare about himself: ‘I am one whose hell is destroyed, whose animal birth is destroyed, whose realm of hungry ghosts is destroyed, whose states of woe, bad destinations, and downfall are destroyed. I am a stream-enterer, not subject to falling into states of woe, assured, bound for full enlightenment.’ ” The Eighth. (All three suttas have the same introduction.) 9. The Second Giñjakāvasatha Sutta 1005. Seated to one side, Venerable Ananda said to the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, a bhikkhu named Asoka has passed away; what is his destination, what is his future state? Venerable sir, a bhikkhunī named Asoka has passed away… (etc.)… Venerable sir, a lay follower named Asoka has passed away… (etc.)… Venerable sir, a lay follower named Asoka has passed away; what is her destination, what is her future state?” “Ananda, the bhikkhu Asoka, having passed away, through the destruction of the taints, by his own direct knowledge, in this very life, realized and entered upon the taintless liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom, and dwelt therein… (etc.)… (same introduction as the previous explanation). “This, indeed, Thus, Ānanda, is the Dhamma-mirror, the Dhamma-exposition; endowed with which a noble disciple, if he wishes, could declare of himself – ‘I am one for whom hell is destroyed, the animal realm is destroyed, the realm of hungry ghosts is destroyed, the states of woe, the bad destinations, the downfall are destroyed; I am a stream-enterer, not subject to downfall, certain, bound for enlightenment.’ The Ninth. 10. The Third Giñjakāvasatha Sutta 1006. Seated to one side, the Venerable Ānanda said this to the Blessed One – ‘Lord, the lay follower named Kakkaṭa has passed away; what is his destination, what is his future state? The lay follower named Kaḷibha, Lord, the lay follower named Nikata, Lord, the lay follower named Kaṭissaha, Lord, the lay follower named Tuṭṭha, Lord, the lay follower named Santuṭṭha, Lord, the lay follower named Bhadda, Lord, the lay follower named Subhadda, Lord, has passed away; what is his destination, what is his future state?’ ‘Kakkaṭa, Ānanda, the lay follower who passed away, with the destruction of the five lower fetters, is an apparitional rebirth, there attaining final Nibbāna, not liable to return from that world. Kaḷibha, Ānanda, Nikata, Ānanda, Kaṭissaha, Ānanda, Tuṭṭha, Ānanda, Santuṭṭha, Ānanda, Bhadda, Ānanda, Subhadda, Ānanda, the lay follower who passed away, with the destruction of the five lower fetters, is an apparitional rebirth, there attaining final Nibbāna, not liable to return from that world. (All should be made to have the same destination). ‘More than fifty, Ānanda, lay followers in Nātikā have passed away, with the destruction of the five lower fetters, they are apparitional rebirths, there attaining final Nibbāna, not liable to return from that world. More than ninety, Ānanda, lay followers in Nātikā have passed away, with the destruction of the three fetters, and with the attenuation of lust, hatred, and delusion, they are once-returners; having come back to this world just once more, they will make an end of suffering. More than five hundred, Ānanda, lay followers in Nātikā have passed away With the destruction of the three fetters, a stream-enterer is incapable of falling into states of woe, certain of enlightenment, bound for enlightenment. “It is no wonder, Ānanda, that a human being should pass away. If you were to approach me and question me about this matter every time someone passed away, that would be a bother for the Tathāgata. Therefore, Ānanda, I will teach you a discourse called the Mirror of the Dhamma. Endowed with this, a noble disciple, if they wish, can declare about themselves: ‘I am one for whom hell is destroyed, for whom the animal realm is destroyed, for whom the realm of hungry ghosts is destroyed, for whom the states of woe, the bad destinations, the downfall are destroyed. I am a stream-enterer, incapable of falling into states of woe, certain of enlightenment, bound for enlightenment.’” “And what, Ānanda, is that Mirror of the Dhamma, that discourse on the Dhamma, endowed with which a noble disciple, if they wish, can declare about themselves: ‘I am one for whom hell is destroyed, for whom the animal realm is destroyed, for whom the realm of hungry ghosts is destroyed, for whom the states of woe, the bad destinations, the downfall are destroyed. I am a stream-enterer, incapable of falling into states of woe, certain of enlightenment, bound for enlightenment’?” “Here, Ānanda, a noble disciple is endowed with unwavering faith in the Buddha: ‘Indeed, that Blessed One is… the Teacher of gods and humans, the Buddha, the Blessed One.’ In the Dhamma… In the Saṅgha… They are endowed with the virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken… conducive to concentration. This, Ānanda, is that Mirror of the Dhamma, that discourse on the Dhamma, endowed with which a noble disciple, if they wish, can declare about themselves: ‘I am one for whom hell is destroyed, for whom the animal realm is destroyed, for whom the realm of hungry ghosts is destroyed, for whom the states of woe, the bad destinations, the downfall are destroyed. I am a stream-enterer, incapable of falling into states of woe, certain of enlightenment, bound for enlightenment.’” The tenth. The Chapter on Veḷudvāra, the first. Its summary: The King, the Deeply Immersed, Dīghāvu, and two others on Sāriputta; The Householder, those on Veḷudvāra, and three at Giñjakāvasatha. 2. The Chapter on Rājakārāma 1. The Discourse on the Assembly of a Thousand Bhikkhunīs 1007. At one time the Blessed One was staying at Sāvatthī, in the Rājakārāma. Then an assembly of a thousand bhikkhunīs where the Blessed One was, she approached him; having approached the Blessed One, having paid homage, she stood to one side. Standing to one side, the bhikkhuni the Blessed One addressed thus: “Bhikkhunis, an Ariyan disciple endowed with four qualities is a Stream-Enterer, not subject to falling, assured, bound for full enlightenment. With which four? Here, bhikkhunis, an Ariyan disciple is endowed with unwavering faith in the Buddha: ‘Indeed, that Blessed One is… teacher of gods and humans, the Buddha, the Blessed One.’ In the Dhamma… in the Sangha… is endowed with the Ariyan beloved virtues, unbroken… conducive to concentration. Bhikkhunis, an Ariyan disciple endowed with these four qualities is a Stream-Enterer, not subject to falling, assured, bound for full enlightenment.” First. 2. Discourse on Brahmins 1008. Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, Brahmins declare a path called ‘ascending.’ They exhort their disciple thus: ‘Come, good man, rise early and go facing east. Do not avoid a pit, nor a precipice, nor a stump, nor a thorny place, nor a muddy place, nor a cesspool. Wherever you might fall, there you should meet death. Thus, good man, with the breaking up of the body, after death, you will reappear in a good destination, a heavenly world.’” “But that, bhikkhus, is a foolish going of Brahmins, a deluded going; it does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to full enlightenment, to Nibbāna. But I, bhikkhus, declare a path in the Ariyan discipline called ‘ascending’; which leads to complete disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to full enlightenment, to Nibbāna. “And what, bhikkhus, is that path called ‘ascending’; which leads to complete disenchantment… to Nibbāna? leads to? Here, monks, a noble disciple is endowed with unwavering faith in the Buddha – 'Indeed, that Blessed One is Arahant, Perfectly Self-Awakened... teacher of gods and humans, the Buddha, the Blessed One'; in the Dhamma... in the Sangha... is endowed with virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken... conducive to concentration. This, monks, is the path leading to rise, conducing to complete disenchantment... to Nibbāna. The second. 3. The Discourse with Elder Ānanda 1009. At one time Venerable Ānanda and Venerable Sāriputta were staying in Sāvatthī, in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's monastery. Then Venerable Sāriputta, having risen from his seclusion in the evening, approached Venerable Ānanda; having approached, he exchanged greetings with Venerable Ānanda. Having concluded the courteous and memorable talk,