Reading guide
Four named individuals, four distinct attainments
Confirmed by direct reading, the Buddha distinguishes each of the four precisely: the monk Sāḷha, arahantship (“the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom…due to the ending of defilements”); the nun Nandā, non-return, with the five lower fetters ended; the layman Sudatta, once-return, with three fetters ended and greed, hate, and delusion weakened; and the laywoman Sujātā, stream-entry, with three fetters ended — the same fourfold hierarchy of noble attainment this project has met throughout Book V.
A burden named directly, and a solution offered
Confirmed by direct reading, the Buddha states plainly: “if you should come and ask me about it each and every time someone dies, that would be a bother for me” — a rare, candid admission of personal inconvenience, immediately followed by a constructive solution rather than simply refusing further questions.
The mirror of the teaching: the four factors, renamed
Confirmed by direct reading, “the mirror of the teaching” (dhammādāsa) is, in its own actual content, the identical four factors of stream-entry already given in full at SN 55.2 — now framed explicitly as a tool any noble disciple can use to “declare of themselves” their own stream-entry, without needing to consult the Buddha individually.
Key terms
The text
§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying at Ñātika in the brick house. Then Venerable Ānanda went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him: “Sir, the monk named Sāḷha has passed away. Where has he been reborn in his next life? The nun named Nandā, the layman named Sudatta, and the laywoman named Sujātā have passed away. Where have they been reborn in the next life?”
§2“Ānanda, the monk Sāḷha passed away having realized the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom in this very life, having realized it with his own insight due to the ending of defilements. The nun Nandā passed away having ended the five lower fetters. She’s been reborn spontaneously, and will be extinguished there, not liable to return from that world. The layman Sudatta passed away having ended three fetters, and weakened greed, hate, and delusion. He’s a once-returner; he will come back to this world once only, then make an end of suffering. The laywoman Sujātā passed away having ended three fetters. She’s a stream-enterer, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, assured, destined for awakening.
§3It’s no wonder that a human being should pass away. But if you should come and ask me about it each and every time someone dies that would be a bother for me. So Ānanda, I will teach you the explanation of the Dhamma named ‘the mirror of the teaching’. A noble disciple who has this may declare of themselves: ‘I’ve finished with rebirth in hell, the animal realm, and the ghost realm. I’ve finished with all places of loss, bad places, the underworld. I am a stream-enterer! I’m not liable to be reborn in the underworld, and am assured, destined for awakening.’
§4And what is that mirror of the teaching? It’s when a noble disciple has experiential confidence in the Buddha … the teaching … the Saṅgha … And they have the ethical conduct loved by the noble ones … leading to immersion. This is that mirror of the teaching. A noble disciple who has this may declare of themselves: ‘I’ve finished with rebirth in hell, the animal realm, and the ghost realm. I’ve finished with all places of loss, bad places, the underworld. I am a stream-enterer! I’m not liable to be reborn in the underworld, and am assured, destined for awakening.’” (The following two discourses have the same setting.)
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