SN 55.10

Tatiyagiñjakāvasathasutta

Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā ānando bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “kakkaṭo nāma, bhante, ñātike upāsako kālaṅkato; tassa kā gati, ko abhisamparāyo? Kaḷibho nāma, bhante, ñātike upāsako …pe… nikato nāma, bhante, ñātike upāsako … kaṭissaho nāma, bhante, ñātike upāsako … tuṭṭho nāma, bhante, ñātike upāsako … santuṭṭho nāma, bhante, ñātike upāsako … bhaddo nāma, bhante, ñātike upāsako … subhaddo nāma, bhante, ñātike upāsako kālaṅkato; tassa kā gati ko abhisamparāyo”ti?

At the Brick Hall (3rd)

Ānanda said to the Buddha: “Sir, the layman named Kakkaṭa has passed away in Ñātika. Where has he been reborn in his next life? The laymen named Kaḷibha, Nikata, Kaṭissaha, Tuṭṭha, Santuṭṭha, Bhadda, and Subhadda have passed away in Ñātika. Where have they been reborn in the next life?”

“Kakkaṭo, ānanda, upāsako kālaṅkato pañcannaṁ orambhāgiyānaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ parikkhayā opapātiko tattha parinibbāyī anāvattidhammo tasmā lokā. Kaḷibho, ānanda …pe… nikato, ānanda … kaṭissaho, ānanda … tuṭṭho, ānanda … santuṭṭho, ānanda … bhaddo, ānanda …pe… subhaddo, ānanda, upāsako kālaṅkato pañcannaṁ orambhāgiyānaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ parikkhayā opapātiko tattha parinibbāyī anāvattidhammo tasmā lokā. (Sabbe ekagatikā kātabbā.)

“Ānanda, the laymen Kakkaṭa, Kaḷibha, Nikata, Kaṭissaha, Tuṭṭha, Santuṭṭha, Bhadda, and Subhadda passed away having ended the five lower fetters. They’ve been reborn spontaneously, and will be extinguished there, not liable to return from that world.

Paropaññāsa, ānanda, ñātike upāsakā kālaṅkatā pañcannaṁ orambhāgiyānaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ parikkhayā opapātikā tattha parinibbāyino anāvattidhammā tasmā lokā. Sādhikanavuti, ānanda, ñātike upāsakā kālaṅkatā tiṇṇaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ parikkhayā rāgadosamohānaṁ tanuttā sakadāgāmino; sakideva imaṁ lokaṁ āgantvā dukkhassantaṁ karissanti. Chātirekāni kho, ānanda, pañcasatāni ñātike upāsakā kālaṅkatā tiṇṇaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ parikkhayā sotāpannā avinipātadhammā niyatā sambodhiparāyaṇā.

Over fifty laymen in Ñātika have passed away having ended the five lower fetters. They’ve been reborn spontaneously, and will be extinguished there, not liable to return from that world. More than ninety laymen in Ñātika have passed away having ended three fetters, and weakened greed, hate, and delusion. They’re once-returners, who will come back to this world once only, then make an end of suffering. More than five hundred laymen in Ñātika have passed away having ended three fetters. They’re stream-enterers, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening.

Anacchariyaṁ kho panetaṁ, ānanda, yaṁ manussabhūto kālaṁ kareyya; tasmiṁ tasmiñce maṁ kālaṅkate upasaṅkamitvā etamatthaṁ paṭipucchissatha. Vihesā pesā, ānanda, assa tathāgatassa. Tasmātihānanda, dhammādāsaṁ nāma dhammapariyāyaṁ desessāmi; yena samannāgato ariyasāvako ākaṅkhamāno attanāva attānaṁ byākareyya: ‘khīṇanirayomhi khīṇatiracchānayoni khīṇapettivisayo khīṇāpāyaduggativinipāto, sotāpannohamasmi avinipātadhammo niyato sambodhiparāyaṇo’.

It’s no wonder that a human being should pass away. But if you should come and ask me about it each and every time someone passes away, that would be a bother for me. So Ānanda, I will teach you the explanation of the Dhamma named ‘the mirror of the teaching’. A noble disciple who has this may declare of themselves: ‘I’ve finished with rebirth in hell, the animal realm, and the ghost realm. I’ve finished with all places of loss, bad places, the underworld. I am a stream-enterer! I’m not liable to be reborn in the underworld, and am assured, destined for awakening.’

Katamo ca so, ānanda, dhammādāso dhammapariyāyo; yena samannāgato ariyasāvako ākaṅkhamāno attanāva attānaṁ byākareyya: ‘khīṇanirayomhi khīṇatiracchānayoni khīṇapettivisayo khīṇāpāyaduggativinipāto, sotāpannohamasmi avinipātadhammo niyato sambodhiparāyaṇo’.

And what is that mirror of the teaching?

Idhānanda, ariyasāvako buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti—itipi so bhagavā …pe… satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavāti. Dhamme …pe… saṅghe …pe… ariyakantehi sīlehi samannāgato hoti akhaṇḍehi …pe… samādhisaṁvattanikehi. Ayaṁ kho so, ānanda, dhammādāso dhammapariyāyo; yena samannāgato ariyasāvako ākaṅkhamāno attanāva attānaṁ byākareyya: ‘khīṇanirayomhi khīṇatiracchānayoni khīṇapettivisayo khīṇāpāyaduggativinipāto, sotāpannohamasmi avinipātadhammo niyato sambodhiparāyaṇo’”ti.

It’s when a noble disciple has experiential confidence in the Buddha … the teaching … the Saṅgha … And they have the ethical conduct loved by the noble ones … leading to immersion. This is that mirror of the teaching. A noble disciple who has this may declare of themselves: ‘I’ve finished with rebirth in hell, the animal realm, and the ghost realm. I’ve finished with all places of loss, bad places, the underworld. I am a stream-enterer! I’m not liable to be reborn in the underworld, and am assured, destined for awakening.’”