Near Sāvatthī. “Monks, I will teach you the phenomena to be comprehended, as well as comprehension. Listen & pay close attention. I will speak.”
“As you say, lord,” the monks responded to him.
The Blessed One said, “And which are the phenomena to be comprehended? Form is a phenomenon to be comprehended. Feeling… Perception… Fabrications… Consciousness is a phenomenon to be comprehended. These are called phenomena to be comprehended.
“And which is comprehension? Any ending of passion, ending of aversion, ending of delusion:1 This is called comprehension.”
Notes
1. Comprehension here means the arahant’s full-knowing (see MN 117). As SN 56:11 shows, the first noble truth of suffering and stress is to be comprehended. As SN 56:30 further implies, when the first noble truth has been comprehended, the tasks with regard to all the other noble truths have been completed as well.