12.
The Discourse on the Truth-finder
844.
There the Blessed One addressed the monks thus:
"What do you think, monks, because of having developed and cultivated which qualities is the Truth-finder of such great supernormal power, of such great majesty?"
"The teachings have the Blessed One as their root, venerable sir, etc.
"Because of having developed and cultivated the four bases for spiritual power, monks, the Truth-finder is of such great supernormal power, of such great majesty."
"Which four? Here, monks, the Truth-finder develops the basis for spiritual power that possesses concentration due to desire and volitional activities of striving - 'thus my desire will not be too slack, nor too tense, nor contracted internally, nor distracted externally.' And he dwells perceiving after and before - 'as before so after, as after so before; as below so above, as above so below; as by day so by night, as by night so by day.' Thus with an open mind, unobstructed, he develops a mind of luminosity. Concentration due to energy, etc. concentration due to mind, etc. he develops the basis for spiritual power that possesses concentration due to investigation and volitional activities of striving - 'thus my investigation will not be too slack, nor too tense, nor contracted internally, nor distracted externally.' And he dwells perceiving after and before - 'as before so after, as after so before; as below so above, as above so below; as by day so by night, as by night so by day.' Thus with an open mind, unobstructed, he develops a mind of luminosity. Because of having developed and cultivated these four bases for spiritual power, monks, the Truth-finder is of such great supernormal power, of such great majesty.
"And because of having developed and cultivated these four bases for spiritual power, monks, the Truth-finder wields the various kinds of supernormal power: having been one, he becomes many, etc. He exercises mastery with his body even as far as the Brahma world. And because of having developed and cultivated these four bases for spiritual power, monks, the Truth-finder, through the elimination of the mental corruptions, realised by his own direct knowledge, in this very life, the liberation of mind and the liberation by wisdom that are free from mental corruptions and, having entered upon them, dwells in them." The twelfth.