At one time Venerable Sāriputta was staying in the land of the Magadhans near the little village of Nālaka. Then the wanderer Jambukhādaka went up to Venerable Sāriputta and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to Sāriputta:
“Reverend Sāriputta, they speak of this thing called ‘defilement’. What is defilement?”
“Reverend, there are three defilements. The defilements of sensuality, desire to be reborn, and ignorance. These are the three defilements.”
“But, reverend, is there a path and a practice for completely understanding these three defilements?”
“There is, reverend.”
“Well, what is it?”
“It is simply this noble eightfold path, that is: right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion. This is the path, this is the practice for completely understanding these three defilements.”
“This is a fine path, a fine practice, for completely understanding these three defilements. Just this much is enough to be diligent.”
Note: The above has been reconstructed from SN 38.1 and SN 38.3.
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