At Savatthī. “Bhikkhus, just as whatever strenuous deeds are done, are all done based upon the earth, established upon the earth, so too, based upon virtue, established upon virtue, a bhikkhu develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path.
“And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu, based upon virtue, established upon virtue, develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops right view … right concentration, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release. It is in this way, bhikkhus, that a bhikkhu, based upon virtue, established upon virtue, develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path.”
Read this translation of Saṁyutta Nikāya 45.149 Balasutta: Strenuous by Bhikkhu Bodhi on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net. Or listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.
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Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (Wisdom Publications, 2009), The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Wisdom Publications, 2000), The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha (Wisdom Publications, 2012).