SN 1:2 · Freedom (Nimokkha Sutta)
Near Sāvatthī… Then a certain devatā, in the far extreme of the night, her extreme radiance lighting up the entirety of Jeta’s Grove, went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to him, she stood to one side. As she was standing there, she said to him, “Do you know, dear sir, freedom, liberation, seclusion for beings?”
“Yes, friend, I know freedom, liberation, seclusion for beings.”
“But how, dear sir, do you know freedom, liberation, seclusion for beings?”
The Buddha:
“From the destruction of delight in becoming,
from the ending of perception & consciousness,
from the cessation, stilling, of feelings:
That’s how I know
freedom,
liberation,
seclusion
for beings.”
See also: DN 15
Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 licence, for free distribution only. Source: dhammatalks.org (Metta Forest Monastery).
