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Thus Sūciloma the yakkha asked the Blessed One. Lust and hatred, these two things, originate from here, from this existence. Discontent, contentment, and horripilation, these three, arise from here, from this self. Just as children, having caught a crow, bind its leg with a long string, and wrapping the end of the string around a finger, they let it go; in the same way, mental thoughts arise from this existence and let the mind go. Just as shoots grow from the trunk of a banyan tree, and branches grow on branches; just as a creeper, the māluvā, born in the forest dependent on a tree, overwhelms that tree and spreads out, standing widely spread; in the same way, O Yakkha, you listen: The craving born of affection, arisen from the affection of craving, self-arisen, arisen in oneself, and various kinds of mental thoughts, and evil mental thoughts, and defilements associated with them, in sensual pleasures, in objects of sensual pleasure, are stuck, attached, interwoven, established. Those wise ones, who understand 'what is the cause of this existence,' who know that thicket of defilements, the truth of origin, as the cause, those wise ones dispel that thicket of defilements, the truth of origin, the cause of the truth of suffering, called existence, with the truth of the path. For non-becoming, for the sake of the truth of cessation, called non-becoming, they cross this hard-to-cross flood, the fourfold flood of defilements, never before crossed in beginningless samsara, never before crossed even in a dream. So the Blessed One said, is the connection. 'Blessed One, the doing of the ascetic's duty is difficult. Blessed One, the doing of the ascetic's duty is very difficult, exceedingly difficult.' A certain young man of good family, having gone forth, having practiced the ascetic's duty, but not having attained the noble stage, passed away and was reborn in the deva world. That deva-son approached the Blessed One and said: 'Kāmada, the seven trainees, established in virtue, of firm nature, perform even the difficult ascetic's duty. For one who has gone forth, who has entered the state of homelessness, the restraint of homelessness, contentment with the four requisites brings happiness.' So the Blessed One said. 'Blessed One, this contentment, this happiness-bringing contentment, is hard to obtain.' That deva-son said. 'Kāmada, for those trainees whose minds, day and night, are devoted to development, devoted to the calming of the mind, those trainees obtain even hard-to-obtain contentment.' So the Blessed One said. 'Blessed One, this mind, this mind devoted to development, is hard to concentrate.' That deva-son said. 'Kāmada, those noble ones who, day and night, are devoted to the calming of the faculties, those noble ones concentrate even a hard-to-concentrate mind. Kāmada, those noble ones, having cut the net of death, the net of defilements, go on the path.' Thus spoke the Blessed One. “Blessed One, the path that is uneven as a preliminary practice, that path is difficult to traverse,” so said that deity. “Kāmada, the Noble Ones traverse the path even when it is difficult and uneven; the ignoble ones fall headlong on the uneven path. For the Noble Ones, that path would be even, not uneven. Indeed, the Noble Ones are even in an uneven, entangled existence,” thus spoke the Blessed One, is the connection. 103. That Jetavana, frequented by the assembly of sages, inhabited by the King of Dhamma, this is that Jetavana, generating joy for me, indeed generating joy. Action, and the action of the path-volition, and wisdom, the path-wisdom, and Dhamma, concentration, and the Dhamma pertaining to concentration, and virtue; the life of one established in virtue is supreme. By this eightfold path beings are purified; by lineage or by wealth, beings are not purified. Therefore, since beings are purified only by the path, a wise person, seeing his own welfare, should carefully choose the Dhamma, the Dhamma pertaining to enlightenment, by proper means. When thus choosing, the person who chooses the Noble Path there is purified. Sāriputta is as if gone to the other shore by virtue and tranquility. So too, any bhikkhu who is gone to the other shore by virtue and tranquility, that bhikkhu is supreme like Sāriputta. Thus, the deity named Anāthapiṇḍika approached the Blessed One and spoke, is the connection. This Sutta is called the Sutta of Penetration. One should not pursue the past, the past five aggregates, with craving and views. One should not long for, should not hanker after, the future, the future five aggregates, with craving and views. Because the past is abandoned, ceased, gone to extinction, therefore, because the past is abandoned, ceased, gone to extinction, one should not pursue it. Because the future is not yet attained, therefore one should not long for it. The present five aggregates, subject to decay, wherever they arise, in whatever continuum, or in whatever forest and so on, there in that continuum, or there in that forest Or in the knowledges, the present phenomenon, which he discerns with contemplations of impermanence and so forth; by those same contemplations, Nibbāna becomes unshaken, unagitated by lust and so forth. That Nibbāna, the discerning person, knowing, having attained the fruit-attainment with Nibbāna as its object, should develop, should increase. Ardent effort, burning up defilements, should be done today. Who knows whether tomorrow is life or death? Not generating the thought: "Tomorrow I will know about giving and other merits," but "Today I will do it," thus effort should be made. For truly, due to being the cause of death, with that great army of Death, consisting of many armies like snakes, scorpions, poison, and weapons, there is no friendship or bribery. Having thus reflected, the good person who dwells ardently, day and night unwearied, unlazy, energetic, him the peaceful sage indeed definitely declares to be "one who has a single auspicious night." The sutta beginning "These four, bhikkhus..." is clear from both the Pāli text and the commentary. 104. Various kinds of suttas leading to penetration have been determined by the teacher, and are known by us. Since it is to be asked: "Which is the sutta pertaining to the unconditioned?" therefore "Among these, which is the sutta pertaining to the unconditioned?" and so forth is said. "Among these" means among those sixteen suttas pertaining to defilement and so forth, it asks which sutta is called the sutta pertaining to the unconditioned. Whose mind, of that excellent person, stands like a rock, is not shaken by the winds of worldly conditions; is dispassionate towards gain and other things that excite passion; that excellent person does not get angry at loss and other things that cause anger; the mind of that excellent person is thus developed with impermanence and so forth; from where will suffering come to that excellent person whose mind is thus developed, suffering caused by transcending worldly conditions? This sutta is called the sutta pertaining to the unconditioned because it functions as a speaker and indicator in the domain of the unconditioned. This method should be understood for others as well. . The discourse on the part of the trainee is just this, thus it is said, and thus "of the venerable one" and so on is stated. The brahmin who, having banished evil states, is one who has banished evil states, that brahmin, having gone beyond "hum-hum" sounds, is one without "hum-hum" sounds, having gone beyond the stains of defilements, is one without stains, by the restraint of virtue, with a mind restrained, is one with a restrained self, the brahmin who, by the knowledge of the four paths, has gone to the end, Nibbāna, is one who has reached the end of the Vedas, by having lived the holy life righteously, is one who has lived the holy life. For that brahmin, in no place in the world, is there any excess, no excess of lust, no excess of hatred, no excess of delusion, no excess of conceit, no excess of views, that brahmin speaks the brahmin's word, "I am a brahmin," thus the Blessed One said, is the connection. Those Buddhas, having banished evil unwholesome states, always dwell mindfully, endowed with mindfulness, with fetters destroyed, those Buddhas, in the world, are indeed called brahmins, thus he said, is the connection. Where Nibbāna, water and earth, fire and wind, do not gain a footing, do not become established, there in Nibbāna, the white stars and constellations do not shine, there in Nibbāna, the sun does not illuminate, there in Nibbāna, the moon does not glow, there in Nibbāna, darkness is not found. The brahmin who, by himself, as a sage, by silence, when he knows, finds, obtains, penetrates that Nibbāna, then at the moment of penetration, that brahmin is liberated from forms, from the nature of form, and from formless things, from the nature of formless things, from pleasure and pain, from pleasure and pain, thus he said, is the connection. O Yakka, the brahmin who, in his own self-existences, in states, in the aggregates of clinging, in truths, and in states, is one who has gone to the other shore, then at the moment of going to the other shore, that brahmin surpasses this "ajakalāpaka" (goat-bundle) spoken by you, this demon, the demon of defilements, and the confusion made by you, the act of confusing, thus he said, is the connection. The bhikkhu who, does not delight in his mind in an approaching former wife, or in any other approaching woman, She does not grieve in her mind for an old former wife, or for any other woman who departs. Freed from the five kinds of attachments, victorious in battle, that monk, I call a brahmin. Here, many people bathe in the river; those many bathers are not pure by water, by water-bathing. In whom there is truth, and other qualities born of truth, that person is pure, that person is a brahmin. The state of purity and impurity