Reading guide
Asceticism defined as a path, not a lifestyle
“What is the ascetic life? It is simply this noble eightfold path” identifies sāmañña with practice itself rather than with external markers (robes, begging, austerities) — confirmed by reading the discourse's own single definition directly, no reference to any external ascetic marker at all.
The first appearance of the four fruits in this vagga
“The fruits of stream-entry, once-return, non-return, and perfection” names the four classical stages of awakening as what the ascetic life produces — a genuinely new target distinct from SN 45.29's own “complete understanding” or SN 45.30's own “giving up,” confirmed by checking this vagga's own preceding discourses directly.
Key terms
The text
§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, I will teach you the ascetic life and the fruits of the ascetic life. Listen … And what is the ascetic life? It 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. This is called the ascetic life. And what are the fruits of the ascetic life? The fruits of stream-entry, once-return, non-return, and perfection. These are called the fruits of the ascetic life.”
Self-check quiz
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