10.
The Discourse on the Threefold Knowledge
99.
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Worthy One, thus have I heard:
"I, monks, declare a brahmin to be one with the threefold true knowledge by the Teaching, not another by mere talking and prattling.
"And how, monks, do I declare a brahmin to be one with the threefold true knowledge by the Teaching, not another by mere talking and prattling? Here, monks, a monk recollects manifold past lives, as follows - one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many cosmic cycles of universe-contraction, many cosmic cycles of universe-expansion, many cosmic cycles of universe-contraction and expansion - 'There I was, having such a name, such a clan, such beauty, such food, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a life span. Passing away from there, I arose there. There too I was, having such a name, such a clan, such beauty, such food, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a life span. Passing away from there, I arose here.' Thus with aspects and terms he recollects manifold past lives. This is his first true knowledge attained; ignorance is destroyed, true knowledge has arisen, darkness is destroyed, light has arisen, as happens for one dwelling diligent, ardent, and resolute.
"Furthermore, monks, a monk with the divine eye, which is pure and surpasses the human, sees beings passing away and arising, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands beings according to their actions - 'These beings indeed, sirs, endowed with bodily misconduct, endowed with verbal misconduct, endowed with mental misconduct, revilers of the noble ones, holding wrong views, undertaking actions based on wrong views. Upon the body's collapse at death, they have arisen in a realm of misery, an unfortunate realm, a nether world, in hell. But these beings, sirs, endowed with bodily good conduct, endowed with verbal good conduct, endowed with mental good conduct, not revilers of the noble ones, holding right views, undertaking actions based on right views. Upon the body's collapse at death, they have arisen in a fortunate realm, in a heavenly world.' Thus with the divine eye, which is pure and surpasses the human, he sees beings passing away and arising, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands beings according to their actions. This is his second true knowledge attained; ignorance is destroyed, true knowledge has arisen, darkness is destroyed, light has arisen, as happens for one dwelling diligent, ardent, and resolute.
"Furthermore, monks, a monk, with the elimination of the mental corruptions, in this very life, having realised by direct knowledge himself, having attained, dwells in the liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom that are without mental corruptions. This is his third true knowledge attained; ignorance is destroyed, true knowledge has arisen, darkness is destroyed, light has arisen, as happens for one dwelling diligent, ardent, and resolute. Thus, monks, I declare a brahmin to be one with the threefold true knowledge by the Teaching, not another by mere talking and prattling." The Blessed One said this meaning. Therein this is said:
And also has attained the elimination of birth, the sage accomplished through direct knowledge.
Him I call one with the threefold true knowledge, not another who merely talks and prattles."
This meaning too was spoken by the Blessed One, thus have I heard. The tenth.