“Straying from the ascetic actions by which young brahmans are purified, impure, you suppose you’re pure. You’ve missed the path to purity.”
“Having known it to be useless,
any further1 austerity,
each bringing nothing,
like oars & rudder on dry land:
Developing virtue, concentration, & discernment,
the path to awakening,
I’ve attained the foremost purity.
But you, End-maker, are struck down.”
Notes
1. Reading aparaṁ with the Thai edition. The Burmese and Sri Lankan editions read amaraṁ, deathless.
Origin URL: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN4_1.html