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one appropriates by way of craving. Whatever is the wandering of the one hundred and eight cravings – this is the stain of craving. What is the stain of views? The twenty-fold personality view, the ten-fold wrong view, the ten-fold view of grasping at extremes, whatever such view, view-point, thicket of views, wilderness of views, wriggling of views, vacillation of views, fetter of views, grasping, clinging, adherence, attachment, wrong path, false way, wrongness, heretical ground, perverted grasping, inverted grasping, distorted grasping, wrong grasping, the grasping of ‘this is real’ in what is unreal, whatever are the sixty-two views – this is the stain of views. “Having fully known both ends, he is not stained in the middle by wisdom.” This means: He, having fully known, understood, weighed, crossed, clarified, made clear both ends and the middle by wisdom, is not stained, not smeared, not defiled, unstained, unsmudged, undefiled, gone forth, escaped, liberated, disjoined, he dwells with an unbounded mind – “Having fully known both ends, he is not stained in the middle by wisdom.” “Him I call a great man.” A great man, foremost man, excellent man, distinguished man, leader man, supreme man, noble man, him I call, him I say, him I declare, him I explain, him I designate. The Venerable Sāriputta said this to the Blessed One: “A great man, a great man!” is called, venerable sir. How far, venerable sir, is one a great man?” “Because of a liberated mind, Sāriputta, I call one a great man; because of an unliberated mind, I do not call one a great man. “And how, Sāriputta, is one’s mind liberated? Here, Sāriputta, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure concerning the world. As he dwells contemplating the body in the body, his mind becomes dispassionate and is liberated from the taints without clinging. In feelings… in mind… in mental phenomena, he dwells contemplating mental phenomena, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure concerning the world. As he dwells contemplating mental phenomena in mental phenomena, his mind becomes dispassionate and is liberated from the taints without clinging. Thus, Sāriputta, a monk’s mind is liberated. Because of a liberated mind, Sāriputta, I call one a great man; because of an unliberated mind, I do not call one a great man”—that I call a great man. “He here has overcome the seamstress.” The seamstress is called craving. That which is passion, attachment… covetousness, greed, a root of unwholesome states, this seamstress craving has been abandoned, uprooted, calmed, tranquilized, incapable of arising, burnt by the fire of knowledge. He has overcome, transcended, gone beyond, surpassed, gone past the seamstress craving—he here has overcome the seamstress. Therefore the Blessed One said: “Having known both ends, He is not stained by the middle, That I call a great man, He here has overcome the seamstress.” At the end of the verse, for those many thousands of beings who were of the same intention, the same practice, the same aim, imbued with the same disposition as the brahmin, the dust-free, stain-free Dhamma-eye arose: “Whatever is of the nature to arise, all that is of the nature to cease.” The mind of that brahmin was liberated from the taints without clinging. Immediately upon attaining arahantship, his matted hair, bark garments, three-pronged staff, water pot, hair, and beard disappeared. He was clad in a saffron robe, wearing a monastic robe and bowl, and followed. With proper practice, with joined palms, revering the Blessed One, he sits, thinking: "My Teacher, venerable sir, is the Blessed One; I am a disciple." The explanation of Tissa-Metteyya's questions, the second. 3. The explanation of Puṇṇaka's questions 12. To the Unstirred, the Root-seer, [thus spoke the venerable Puṇṇaka] I have come with a question. On what do sages, humans, warriors, brahmins, perform sacrifices for the gods widely here in the world? I ask you, Blessed One, tell me this. "Unstirred, Root-seer" means: "Stirring" is called craving. That which is passion, attachment, etc., covetousness, greed, the root of unwholesome, that stirring, that craving – for the Buddha, the Blessed One, it is abandoned, its root cut off, made like a palm stump, made non-existent, not liable to arise in the future. Therefore, the Buddha is "Unstirred". Because stirring is abandoned, he is "Unstirred". The Blessed One is not stirred by gain, is not stirred by loss, is not stirred by fame, is not stirred by disrepute, is not stirred by praise, is not stirred by blame, is not stirred by pleasure, is not stirred by pain; he does not waver, does not tremble, does not shake – that is "Unstirred". "Root-seer" means: the Blessed One is a seer of roots, a seer of causes, a seer of origins, a seer of arising, a seer of emergence, a seer of generation, a seer of nutriment, a seer of objects, a seer of conditions, a seer of origination. Three roots of unwholesome: greed is a root of unwholesome, hatred is a root of unwholesome, delusion is a root of unwholesome. This was said by the Blessed One – [see A.N. 3.112]: "Monks, there are these three origins for the arising of kamma. Which three? Greed is an origin for the arising of kamma, hatred is an origin for the arising of kamma, delusion is an origin for the arising of kamma. Monks, by kamma born of greed, by kamma born of hatred, by kamma born of delusion, gods do not appear, humans do not appear, nor do any other good destinations. But rather, monks, by kamma born of greed, by kamma born of hatred, by kamma born of delusion, hell appears, the animal realm appears, the realm of hungry ghosts appears, or any other bad destinations." in hell, in the animal realm, in the realm of hungry ghosts, for the arising of a new existence." "These are the three roots of unwholesome action," the Blessed One knows and sees. Thus, the Blessed One is one who sees the root... and sees the origin. The three roots of wholesome action are: non-greed is a root of wholesome action, non-hatred is a root of wholesome action, non-delusion is a root of wholesome action. This was said by the Blessed One: "These three... Monks, by action born of non-greed, by action born of non-hatred, by action born of non-delusion, hell is not manifested, the animal realm is not manifested, the realm of hungry ghosts is not manifested, nor any other bad destinations. But rather, monks, by action born of non-greed, by action born of non-hatred, by action born of non-delusion, devas are manifested, humans are manifested, nor any other good destinations, for the arising of an existence among devas and humans." "These are the three roots of wholesome action," the Blessed One knows and sees. Thus, the Blessed One is one who sees the root... and sees the origin. This was said by the Blessed One: "Whatever phenomena, monks, are unwholesome, part of unwholesome action, belonging to the unwholesome side, all of them have ignorance as their root, converge on ignorance, are eradicated by the eradication of ignorance." "All of them go to eradication," the Blessed One knows and sees. Thus, the Blessed One is one who sees the root... and sees the origin. This was said by the Blessed One: "Whatever phenomena, monks, are wholesome, part of wholesome action, belonging to the wholesome side, all of them have heedfulness as their root, converge on heedfulness. Heedfulness is declared to be the foremost of these phenomena." the Blessed One knows and sees. Thus, the Blessed One is one who sees the root... and sees the origin. Or else, the Blessed One knows and sees: "Ignorance is the root of volitional formations, volitional formations are the root of consciousness, consciousness is the root of name-and-form, name-and-form is the root of the six sense bases, the six sense bases are the root of contact, contact is the root of feeling, feeling is the root of craving, craving is the root of clinging, clinging is the root of becoming, becoming is the root of birth, birth is the root of old age and death." the Blessed One knows and sees. Thus, the Blessed One ...or seeing the root... ...or seeing the origin. Or, the Blessed One knows and sees. "The eye is the root of eye diseases, the ear is the root of ear diseases, the nose is the root of nose diseases, the tongue is the root of tongue diseases, the body is the root of body diseases, the mind is the root of mental sufferings" – the Blessed One knows and sees. Thus, the Blessed One is one who sees the root, sees the cause, sees the source, sees the arising, sees the coming forth, sees the origination, sees the nutriment, sees the object, sees the condition, sees the origin – thus, one who sees the root, without wavering. Thus, the venerable Puṇṇaka, thus is the word-junction... ...the venerable Puṇṇaka. "There is coming with a question" means: "I have come with a question, I have come desirous of a question, I have come wishing to ask a question, I have come wishing to hear a question" – thus, there is coming with a question. Or, "for those desirous of questions, for those wishing to ask questions, for those wishing to hear questions, there is coming, approaching, drawing near, attending" – thus, there is coming with a question. Or, "the coming of questions is with you, you are capable, you are competent, you are able. To explain what I have asked, to answer it, you bear this burden" – thus, there is coming with a question. "On what do sages and humans depend?" means: "On what are they based, adhering, attached, approaching, dwelling, resolved?" "Sages" means: those who are called sages, who have taken up the ascetic life of a sage, Ajivakas, Nigaṇṭhas, Jatilas, Tapasas. "Humans" means: people are called humans – "On what do sages and humans depend?" "Khattiyas, Brahmins, deities." "Khattiyas" means: