5.
The Discourse on the Practice Suitable for Nibbāna
150.
"I will teach you, monks, the practice suitable for Nibbāna.
Listen to that, etc.
And what, monks, is that practice suitable for Nibbāna?
What do you think, monks, is the eye permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, venerable sir."
"But what is impermanent, is that suffering or happiness?"
"Suffering, venerable sir."
"But what is impermanent, suffering, subject to change, is it proper to regard that - 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'?"
"No, Venerable Sir."
"Are forms permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, venerable sir." Etc.
"Eye-consciousness... Eye-contact... etc. Whatever feeling arises with mind-contact as condition - whether pleasant or unpleasant or neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant - is that too permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, venerable sir."
"But what is impermanent, is that suffering or happiness?"
"Suffering, venerable sir."
"But what is impermanent, suffering, subject to change, is it proper to regard that - 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'?"
"No, Venerable Sir."
"Seeing thus, monks, a learned noble disciple becomes disenchanted with the eye, becomes disenchanted with forms, becomes disenchanted with eye-consciousness, becomes disenchanted with eye-contact, etc. becomes disenchanted with whatever feeling arises with mind-contact as condition - whether pleasant or unpleasant or neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant. Being disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate; through dispassion, he becomes liberated, etc. He understands: ... there is no more coming back to any state of being .' This, monks, is that practice suitable for Nibbāna." The fifth.