SN 45.18

Paṭhamakukkuṭārāmasutta

Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā ca ānando āyasmā ca bhaddo pāṭaliputte viharanti kukkuṭārāme. Atha kho āyasmā bhaddo sāyanhasamayaṁ paṭisallānā vuṭṭhito yenāyasmā ānando tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmatā ānandena saddhiṁ sammodi. Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā bhaddo āyasmantaṁ ānandaṁ etadavoca:

At the Chicken Monastery (1st)

So I have heard. At one time the venerables Ānanda and Bhadda were staying near Pāṭaliputta, in the Chicken Monastery. Then in the late afternoon, Venerable Bhadda came out of retreat, went to Venerable Ānanda, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to Ānanda:

“‘Abrahmacariyaṁ, abrahmacariyan’ti, āvuso ānanda, vuccati. Katamaṁ nu kho, āvuso, abrahmacariyan”ti? “Sādhu sādhu, āvuso bhadda. Bhaddako kho te, āvuso bhadda, ummaṅgo, bhaddakaṁ paṭibhānaṁ, kalyāṇī paripucchā. Evañhi tvaṁ, āvuso bhadda, pucchasi: ‘abrahmacariyaṁ, abrahmacariyanti, āvuso ānanda, vuccati. Katamaṁ nu kho, āvuso, abrahmacariyan’”ti? “Evamāvuso”ti. “Ayameva kho, āvuso, aṭṭhaṅgiko micchāmaggo abrahmacariyaṁ, seyyathidaṁ— micchādiṭṭhi …pe… micchāsamādhī”ti.

“Reverend, they speak of this thing called ‘not the spiritual path’. What is not the spiritual path?” “Good, good, Reverend Bhadda! Your approach and eloquence are excellent, and it’s a good question. For you asked: ‘They speak of this thing called “not the spiritual path”. What is not the spiritual path?’” “Yes, reverend.” “What is not the spiritual path is simply the wrong eightfold path, that is: wrong view, wrong purpose, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong immersion.”