SN45:147 The Sun
- © Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Bodhi. (More copyright information)
"Bhikkhus, just as in the autumn, when the sky is clear and cloudless, the sun, ascending in the sky, dispels all darkness from space as it shines and beams and radiates,[n.38] The similes of SN45.141–47 are also at SN22:102. sn.v.45
so too whatever wholesome states there are, they are all rooted in diligence, converge upon diligence, and diligence is declared to be the chief among them.
When a bhikkhu is diligent, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.
And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu who is diligent develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path?
Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration,
- which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release;
- which has as its final goal the removal of lust, the removal of hatred, the removal of delusion;
- which has the Deathless as its ground, the Deathless as its destination, the Deathless as its final goal;
- which slants, slopes, and inclines towards Nibbāna.
It is in this way, bhikkhus, that a bhikkhu who is diligent develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path."
“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, saradasamaye viddhe vigatavalāhake deve ādicco nabhaṃ abbhussakkamāno sabbaṃ ākāsagataṃ tamagataṃ abhivihacca bhāsate ca tapate ca virocati ca; evameva kho, bhikkhave…pe…
navamaṃ.
