Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.
At that time the Blessed One said to the monks: “The existence of what is the cause, by clinging to what, by being fettered and attached to what, by seeing what as the self, do not yet arisen I-conceit andbeing fettered by attachment to a self and what belongs to a self arise, and already arisen I-conceit and being fettered by attachment to a self and what belongs to a self increase further?”
The monks said to the Buddha: “The Blessed One is the root of the Dharma, the eye of the Dharma, the foundation of the Dharma …” to be recited fully in the same way up to … when the Buddha had spoken this discourse, hearing what the Buddha had said the monks were delighted and received it respectfully.