1At Sāvatthī. Then the Venerable Sāriputta approached the Blessed One … and said to him:

"Venerable sir, this is the entire holy life, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship."[n.8] Spk: Because Ānanda had not reached the peak in the knowledge of a disciple's perfections he did not know that the entire holy life of the path depends on a good friend, but since the General of the Dhamma (Sāriputta) had reached the peak in the knowledge of a disciple's perfections he knew this; therefore he spoke thus and the Blessed One applauded him.

2"Good, good, Sāriputta! This is the entire holy life, Sāriputta, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. When a bhikkhu has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.

"And how, Sāriputta, does a bhikkhu who has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path?"

sn.v.43Here, Sāriputta, a bhikkhu develops right view, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release.[n.7] The vivekanisṣita formula is affixed to the path factors at Vibh 236. Spk explains seclusion (viveka) in the light of the commentarial notion of the fivefold seclusion: (i) "in a particular respect" (tadaṅga, temporarily, by the practice of insight); (ii) by suppression (vikkhambhana, temporarily, by attainment of jhāna); (iii) by eradication (samuccheda, permanently, by the supramundane path); (iv) by subsiding (paṭippassaddhi, permanently, in fruition); and (v) by escape (nissaraṇa, permanently, in Nibbāna). In the next two paragraphs I translate from Spk.
"He develops right view dependent on seclusion (vivekanissitaṁ): dependent on seclusion in a particular respect, dependent on seclusion by eradication, dependent on seclusion by escape. For at the moment of insight this meditator, devoted to the development of the noble path, develops right view dependent on seclusion in a particular respect by way of function and dependent on seclusion by escape as inclination (since he inclines to Nibbāna); at the time of the path, he develops it dependent on seclusion by eradication as function and dependent on seclusion by escape as object (since the path takes Nibbāna as object). The same method of explanation is also extended to the terms ‘dependent on dispassion’ (virāganissita) and ‘dependent on cessation’ (nirodhanissita).
"Release (vossagga) is twofold, release as giving up (pariccāga) and release as entering into (pakkhandana). ‘Release as giving up’ is the abandoning (pahāna) of defilements: in a particular respect (tadaṅgavasena) on the occasion of insight, by eradication (samucchedavasena) at the moment of the supramundane path. ‘Release as entering into’ is the entering into Nibbāna: by way of inclination towards that (tadninnabhāvena) on the occasion of insight, and by making it the object (ārammaṇakaraṇena) at the moment of the path. Both methods are suitable in this exposition, which combines the mundane (insight) and the supramundane (the path). The path is maturing in release (vossaggapariṇāmi) because it is maturing towards or has matured in release, meaning that it is ripening towards or has ripened (in release). The bhikkhu engaged in developing the path is ‘ripening’ the path for the sake of giving up defilements and entering into Nibbāna, and he develops it so that it has ‘ripened’ thus."
When I translate vossagga as "release," this should be understood as the act of releasing or the state of having released rather than as the experience of being released. Vossagga and paṭinissagga are closely related, both etymologically and in meaning, but as used in the Nikayas a subtle difference seems to separate them. Paṭinissagga, here translated "relinquishment," pertains primarily to the phase of insight and thus might be understood as the active elimination of defilements through insight into the impermanence of all conditioned things. Vossagga, as that in which the path matures, probably signifies the final state in which all attachment is utterly given up, and thus comes close in meaning to Nibbāna as the goal of the path. Paṭinissagga occurs as a distinct contemplation, the last, in the sixteen steps in the development of mindfulness of breathing (see SN54:1). Though Spk glosses it in the same way as it does vossagga (see n. 293 below), in the suttas themselves the two terms are used with different nuances.

He develops right intention, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release.
He develops right speech, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release.
He develops right action, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release.
He develops right livelihood, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release.
He develops right effort, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release.
He develops right mindfulness, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release.

He develops right concentration, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release.

It is in this way, Sāriputta, that a bhikkhu who has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path.

4"By the following method too, Sāriputta, it may be understood how the entire holy life is good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship:

by relying upon me as a good friend, Sāriputta,
beings subject to birth are freed from birth;
beings subject to aging are freed from aging;
beings subject to death are freed from death;
beings subject to sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair are freed from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair.

By this method, Sāriputta, it may be understood how the entire holy life is good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship."

1Sāvatthinidānaṁ. Atha kho āyasmā sāriputto yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā sāriputto bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

"Sakalamidaṁ, bhante, brahmacariyaṁ, yadidaṁ – kalyāṇamittatā kalyāṇasahāyatā kalyāṇasampavaṅkatā"ti.

2"Sādhu sādhu, sāriputta. Sakalamidaṁ, sāriputta, brahmacariyaṁ, yadidaṁ – kalyāṇamittatā kalyāṇasahāyatā kalyāṇasampavaṅkatā. Kalyāṇamittassetaṁ, sāriputta, bhikkhuno pāṭikaṅkhaṁ kalyāṇasahāyassa kalyāṇasampavaṅkassa – ariyaṁ aṭṭhaṅgikaṁ maggaṁ bhāvessati, ariyaṁ aṭṭhaṅgikaṁ maggaṁ bahulīkarissati.

Kathañca, sāriputta, bhikkhu kalyāṇamitto kalyāṇasahāyo kalyāṇasampavaṅko ariyaṁ aṭṭhaṅgikaṁ maggaṁ bhāveti, ariyaṁ aṭṭhaṅgikaṁ maggaṁ bahulīkaroti?

3Idha, sāriputta, bhikkhu sammādiṭṭhiṁ bhāveti vivekanissitaṁ virāganissitaṁ nirodhanissitaṁ vossaggapariṇāmiṁ

… pe …

sammāsamādhiṁ bhāveti vivekanissitaṁ virāganissitaṁ nirodhanissitaṁ vossaggapariṇāmiṁ.

Evaṁ kho, sāriputta, bhikkhu kalyāṇamitto kalyāṇasahāyo kalyāṇasampavaṅko ariyaṁ aṭṭhaṅgikaṁ maggaṁ bhāveti, ariyaṁ aṭṭhaṅgikaṁ maggaṁ bahulīkaroti.

4Tadamināpetaṁ, sāriputta, pariyāyena veditabbaṁ yathā sakalamidaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, yadidaṁ – kalyāṇamittatā kalyāṇasahāyatā kalyāṇasampavaṅkatā.

Mamañhi, sāriputta, kalyāṇamittaṁ āgamma jātidhammā sattā jātiyā parimuccanti; jarādhammā sattā jarāya parimuccanti; maraṇadhammā sattā maraṇena parimuccanti; sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsadhammā sattā sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsehi parimuccanti.

Iminā kho etaṁ, sāriputta, pariyāyena veditabbaṁ yathā sakalamidaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, yadidaṁ – kalyāṇamittatā kalyāṇasahāyatā kalyāṇasampavaṅkatā"ti.

Tatiyaṁ.