Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mind well consolidated by heart — knowing itself free of greed, hate, and delusion, and free of any tendency to return to them or to rebirth in any of the three realms — remains untainted, steady, and imperturbable even when compelling sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, or ideas come into its range, like a deeply embedded stone post unmoved by storms from every direction.
A single word, corrected three times
Candikāputta reports Devadatta's teaching using the word ‘solidified’ (a term suggesting rigidity); Sāriputta corrects him, insisting the actual word is ‘well consolidated’ — and when Candikāputta repeats the same misquotation twice more, Sāriputta corrects him identically each time, a threefold insistence on precision echoing the threefold structure already met in Meghiya's threefold request at AN 9.3.
The same nine items as AN 9.25, framed by heart
Once the correction is settled, Sāriputta gives the identical nine-item formula met at AN 9.25 — freedom from greed, hate, and delusion; assurance against their return; assurance against rebirth in the three realms — but frames it here as consolidation ‘by heart’ (cetasā) rather than AN 9.25's ‘with wisdom’ (paññāya), demonstrating that the same liberating self-knowledge can be described through either register.
A stone post, and six sense doors
The discourse's famous close extends the formula's consequence into a concrete image: a stone post, sixteen feet long with half buried and half above ground, unmoved by violent storms from all four directions because of its deep foundation. The same imperturbability is then traced through all six sense doors in turn — sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas — none of which can occupy a mind rightly freed like this.
Key terms
The text
A misquotation, corrected three times
§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground. There Venerable Candikāputta addressed the mendicants, “Reverends, Devadatta teaches the mendicants like this: ‘When a mendicant’s mind is solidified by heart, it’s appropriate for them to say: “I understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.’”’”
§2When he said this, Venerable Sāriputta said to him, “Reverend Candikāputta, Devadatta does not teach the mendicants like that. He teaches like this: ‘When a mendicant’s mind is well consolidated by heart, it’s appropriate for them to say: “I understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.’”’”
§3And for a third time Venerable Candikāputta addressed the mendicants … And for a third time, Sāriputta said to him, “Reverend Candikāputta, Devadatta does not teach the mendicants like that. He teaches like this: ‘When a mendicant’s mind is well consolidated by heart, it’s appropriate for them to say: “I understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.’”’
Nine items, consolidated by heart
§4And how is a mendicant’s mind well consolidated by heart? The mind is well consolidated by heart when they know: ‘My mind is without greed.’ … ‘My mind is without hate.’ … ‘My mind is without delusion.’ … ‘My mind is not liable to become greedy.’ … ‘My mind is not liable to become hateful.’ … ‘My mind is not liable to become deluded.’ … ‘My mind is not liable to return to rebirth in the sensual realm.’ … ‘My mind is not liable to return to rebirth in the realm of luminous form.’ … ‘My mind is not liable to return to rebirth in the formless realm.’ When a mendicant’s mind is rightly freed like this, even if compelling sights come into the range of vision they don’t occupy their mind. Their mind is quite untainted. It is steady, imperturbable, observing disappearance.
The stone post, and six sense doors
§5Suppose there was a stone post, sixteen feet long. Eight feet were buried underground, and eight above ground. And violent storms were to blow up out of the east, the west, the north, and the south. They couldn’t make it tremor and tremble and quake. Why is that? It’s because that stone post is firmly embedded, with deep foundations. In the same way, when a mendicant’s mind is rightly freed like this, even if compelling sights come into the range of vision they don’t occupy their mind. Their mind is quite untainted. It is steady, imperturbable, observing disappearance.
§6If even compelling sounds … smells … tastes … touches … and ideas come into the range of the mind they don’t occupy the mind. Their mind is quite untainted. It is steady, imperturbable, observing disappearance.”
Self-check quiz
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