47.11. A Great Man (SN47.11)

At Savatthi. Then the Venerable Sāriputta approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him:

“Venerable sir, it is said, ‘a great man, a great man.’ In what way, venerable sir, is one a great man?”

“With a liberated mind, I say, Sāriputta, one is a great man. Without a liberated mind, I say, one is not a great man.

“And how, Sāriputta, does one have a liberated mind? Here, Sāriputta, a bhikkhu dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. As he dwells contemplating the body in the body, the mind becomes dispassionate, and by nonclinging it is liberated from the taints.

“He dwells contemplating feelings in feelings … mind in mind … phenomena in phenomena, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. As he dwells contemplating phenomena in phenomena, the mind becomes dispassionate, and by nonclinging it is liberated from the taints.

“It is in such a way, Sāriputta, that one has a liberated mind. With a liberated mind, I say, Sāriputta, one is a great man. Without a liberated mind, I say, one is not a great man.”

© Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Wisdom Publications, 2000)

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