5:7 Nanda’s Questions

The Buddha:

Not on account of his views,

learning,

or knowledge

do the skilled here, Nanda,

call one a sage.

Those who live

disarmed,

undesiring,

untroubled:

Those, I say, are called sages.

Nanda:

Whatever brahmans & contemplatives

describe purity

in terms of views & learning,

describe purity

in terms of habits & practices,

describe purity

in terms of manifold ways:

Have they, dear sir, living there in that way,

crossed over birth & aging?

I ask you, Blessed One.

Please tell me.

The Buddha:

Whatever brahmans & contemplatives

describe purity

in terms of views & learning,

describe purity

in terms of habits & practices,

describe purity

in terms of manifold ways:

None of them, living there in that way,

I tell you, have crossed over birth & aging.

Nanda:

Whatever brahmans & contemplatives

describe purity

in terms of views & learning,

describe purity

in terms of habits & practices,

describe purity

in terms of manifold ways:

If, sage, as you say,

they’ve not crossed over the flood,

then who in the world

of beings divine & human, dear sir,

has crossed over birth & aging?

I ask you, Blessed One.

Please tell me.

The Buddha:

I don’t say that all brahmans & contemplatives

are shrouded in birth & aging.

Those here who’ve abandoned

what’s seen, heard, & sensed,

habits & practices1

—all—

who’ve abandoned their manifold ways

—again, all—

who, comprehending craving,

are effluent-free:

They are the ones, I tell you,

who’ve crossed over the flood.

Nanda:

I relish, Gotama, the Great Seer’s words

well-expounded, without acquisition.

Those here who’ve abandoned

what’s seen, heard, & sensed,

habits & practices

—all—

who’ve abandoned their manifold ways

—again, all—

who, comprehending craving,

are effluent-free:

I, too, say they’ve crossed over the flood.