The Book of the Fours

VIII: The Sure

[86]

Thus have I heard:

On a certain occasion the Exalted One was staying near Sāvatthī.

Then the Exalted One addressed the monks, saying:

"Monks."

"Yes, lord," replied those monks to the Exalted One.

The Exalted One said:

"Possessed of four things, monks,
a monk has entered on the path to surety,
and he is determinedly bent on the destruction of the āsavas.

What are the four?

Dispassionate thinking,
benevolent thinking,
harmless thinking
and right view.¹

Possessed of these four things
a monk has entered on the path to surety,
and he is determinedly bent on the destruction of the āsavas."

¹ The first three at A. i, 275. Cf. K.S. ii, 105 n.; again below, text 252.