3.
The Discourse on the Teaching in Brief
86.
Seated to one side, the Venerable Ānanda said this to the Blessed One -
"It would be good, venerable sir, if the Blessed One would expound to me the Teaching in brief, so that having heard the Teaching from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute."
"What do you think, Ānanda, 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... etc. Whatever feeling arises with eye-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 indeed, Venerable Sir." Etc.
"Is the tongue permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, venerable sir." Etc.
"Tongue-consciousness... tongue-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 indeed, Venerable Sir." Etc.
"Seeing thus, Ānanda, a learned noble disciple becomes disenchanted with the eye, etc. 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; when liberated, there is the knowledge: 'Liberated.' He understands: 'Birth is eliminated, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming back to any state of being.'" The third.