2.
The Second Discourse on Before the Enlightenment
14.
"Before the enlightenment, monks, while still unenlightened, being just a Bodhisatta, this occurred to me -
'What indeed is the gratification of material forms, what is the danger, what is the escape?
What of sounds... etc.
what of odours...
what of flavours...
what of tangible objects...
what is the gratification of mental phenomena, what is the danger, what is the escape?'
This occurred to me, monks -
'Whatever happiness and pleasure arises dependent on material forms, this is the gratification of material forms.
That material forms are impermanent, suffering, subject to change, this is the danger of material forms.
Whatever is the removal of desire and lust, the abandoning of desire and lust regarding material forms, this is the escape from material forms.
Whatever regarding sounds...
odours...
flavours...
tangible objects...
whatever happiness and pleasure arises dependent on mental phenomena, this is the gratification of mental phenomena.
That mental phenomena are impermanent, suffering, subject to change, this is the danger of mental phenomena.
Whatever is the removal of desire and lust, the abandoning of desire and lust regarding mental phenomena, this is the escape from mental phenomena.'
"As long as I, monks, did not directly know as it really is the gratification of these six external sense bases as gratification, the danger as danger, and the escape as escape, I did not acknowledge, monks, in the world with its gods, with its Māras, with its Brahmās, among the generation with its ascetics and brahmins, with its gods and humans, that I had fully awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. But when I, monks, directly knew as it really is the gratification of these six external sense bases as gratification, the danger as danger, and the escape as escape, then I acknowledged, monks, in the world with its gods, with its Māras, with its Brahmās, among the generation with its ascetics and brahmins, with its gods and humans, that I had fully awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. And knowledge and vision arose in me - 'Unshakable is my liberation, this is the last birth, there is now no more rebirth.' The second.