1Sitting to one side, the Venerable Ānanda said to the Blessed One:

"Venerable sir, the bhikkhu named Asoka has died. What is his destination, what is his future bourn?
The bhikkhuni named Asoka has died. What is her destination, what is her future bourn?
The male lay follower named Asoka has died. What is his destination, what is his future bourn?
The female lay follower named Asoka has died. What is her destination, what is her future bourn?"

2"Ānanda, the bhikkhu Asoka who has died, by the destruction of the taints, in this very life had entered and dwelt in the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge.

The bhikkhuni Asoka who has died had, with the utter destruction of the five lower fetters, become one of spontaneous birth, due to attain Nibbāna there without returning from that world.

The male lay follower Asoka who has died had, with the utter destruction of three fetters and with the diminishing of greed, hatred, and delusion, become a once-returner who, after coming back to this world only one more time, will make an end to suffering.[n.331] Spk: The diminishing (of lust, etc.) should be understood in two ways: as arising infrequently and as lacking obsessive force. For in once-returners lust, etc., do not arise often as they do in worldlings, but only occasionally; and when they do arise they are not thick, as in worldlings, but thin like a fly's wings. "This world" (imaṁ lokaṁ) is the sense-sphere world. If one who attains the fruit of once-returning as a human being is reborn among the devas and realizes arahantship, that is good. But if one cannot do so, having come back to the human world one definitely realizes it. Conversely, if one who attains the fruit of once-returning as a deva is reborn among human beings and realizes arahantship, that is good. But if one cannot do so, having come back to the deva world one definitely realizes it.

The female lay follower Asoka who has died had, with the utter destruction of three fetters, become a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the nether world, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as her destination.

"It is not surprising, Ānanda, that a human being should die. But if each time someone has died you approach and question me about this matter, that would be troublesome for the Tathāgata.

"Therefore, Ānanda, I will teach you a Dhamma exposition called the mirror of the Dhamma, equipped with which a noble disciple, if he wishes, could by himself declare of himself: ‘I am one finished with hell, finished with the animal realm, finished with the domain of ghosts, finished with the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world. I am a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the nether world, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as my destination.’

"And what, Ānanda, is that Dhamma exposition, the mirror of the Dhamma, equipped with which a noble disciple, if he wishes, could by himself declare thus of himself?

"Here, Ānanda, a noble disciple possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha thus: ‘The Blessed One is an arahant, perfectly enlightened, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate, knower of the world, unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.’

"He possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma thus: ‘The Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable, to be personally experienced by the wise.’

"He possesses confirmed confidence in the Saṅgha thus: ‘The Saṅgha of the Blessed One's disciples is practising the good way, practising the straight way, practising the true way, practising the proper way; that is, the four pairs of persons, the eight types of individuals— this Saṅgha of the Blessed One's disciples is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world.’

"He possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones— unbroken, untorn, unblemished, unmottled, freeing, praised by the wise, ungrasped, leading to concentration.

3"This, Ānanda, is that Dhamma exposition, the mirror of the Dhamma, equipped with which a noble disciple, if he wishes, could by himself declare of himself: ‘I am one finished with hell, finished with the animal realm, finished with the domain of ghosts, finished with the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world. I am a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the nether world, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as my destination.’"

1Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā ānando bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

"asoko nāma, bhante, bhikkhu kālaṅkato; tassa kā gati, ko abhisamparāyo? Asokā nāma, bhante, bhikkhunī kālaṅkatā … pe … asoko nāma, bhante, upāsako kālaṅkato … pe … asokā nāma, bhante, upāsikā kālaṅkatā; tassā kā gati, ko abhisamparāyo"ti?

2"Asoko, ānanda, bhikkhu kālaṅkato āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihāsi … pe … (purimaveyyākaraṇena ekanidānaṁ.)

3Ayaṁ kho so, ānanda, dhammādāso dhammapariyāyo; yena samannāgato ariyasāvako ākaṅkhamāno attanāva attānaṁ byākareyya: ‘khīṇanirayomhi khīṇatiracchānayoni khīṇapettivisayo khīṇāpāyaduggativinipāto, sotāpannohamasmi avinipātadhammo niyato sambodhiparāyaṇo’"ti.

Navamaṁ.