A Mendicant (2nd) (SN45.7)

Linked Discourses 45.7

1. Ignorance

A Mendicant (2nd)

At Sāvatthī.

Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha … and said to him:

“Sir, they speak of ‘the removal of greed, hate, and delusion’.

What is this a term for?”

“Mendicant, the removal of greed, hate, and delusion is a term for an element of extinguishment.¹

It’s used to speak of the ending of defilements.”

When he said this, the mendicant said to the Buddha:

“Sir, they speak of ‘freedom from death’.

What is freedom from death? And what is the path that leads to freedom from death?”

“The ending of greed, hate, and delusion.

This is called freedom from death.

The path that leads to freedom from death is simply this noble eightfold path, that is:

right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion.”