Linked Discourses 2.14

1. With Anāthapiṇḍika

With Nandana

Standing to one side, the godling Nandana addressed the Buddha in verse:

“I ask you, Gotama, whose wisdom is vast,

the Blessed One of unhindered knowledge and vision.

What sort do they call ethical?

What sort do they call wise?

What sort lives on after transcending suffering?

What sort is worshipped by the deities?”

“Someone who is ethical, wise, evolved,

becomes serene, loving absorption, mindful,

who’s gotten rid of and given up all sorrows,

with defilements ended, they bear their final body.

That sort they call ethical.

That sort they call wise.

That sort lives on after transcending suffering.

That sort is worshipped by the deities.”