Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā ānando kosambiyaṁ viharati ghositārāme. Tatra kho āyasmā ānando bhikkhū āmantesi: “āvuso bhikkhave”ti.
Thus have I heard—At one time, the Venerable Ānanda was dwelling at Kosambi, in Ghosita’s park. There the Venerable Ānanda addressed the bhikkhus: “Friends, bhikkhus.”
“Āvuso”ti kho te bhikkhū āyasmato ānandassa paccassosuṁ. Āyasmā ānando etadavoca:
“Friend,” those bhikkhus replied to the Venerable Ānanda.
“Yo hi koci, āvuso, bhikkhu vā bhikkhunī vā mama santike arahattappattiṁ byākaroti, sabbo so catūhi maggehi, etesaṁ vā aññatarena.
The Venerable Ānanda said this: “Friends, whoever, whether a bhikkhu or a bhikkhunī, declares the attainment of arahantship in my presence, they all do so by one of these four paths, or by one of them.
Katamehi catūhi?
What are these four?
1 Idha, āvuso, bhikkhu samathapubbaṅgamaṁ vipassanaṁ bhāveti. Tassa samathapubbaṅgamaṁ vipassanaṁ bhāvayato maggo sañjāyati. So taṁ maggaṁ āsevati bhāveti bahulīkaroti. Tassa taṁ maggaṁ āsevato bhāvayato bahulīkaroto saṁyojanāni pahīyanti, anusayā byantīhonti.
1 Here, friends, a bhikkhu develops |discernment::clear seeing, penetrating internal vision [vipassanā]| preceded by |tranquility::serenity, stilling, calming, peace, mental unification, collectedness [samatha]|. As he develops discernment preceded by tranquility, the path arises in him. He pursues that path, develops it, and cultivates it. As he does so, the fetters are abandoned and the underlying tendencies are |eliminated::ended [byantīhoti]|.
2 Puna caparaṁ, āvuso, bhikkhu vipassanāpubbaṅgamaṁ samathaṁ bhāveti. Tassa vipassanāpubbaṅgamaṁ samathaṁ bhāvayato maggo sañjāyati. So taṁ maggaṁ āsevati bhāveti bahulīkaroti. Tassa taṁ maggaṁ āsevato bhāvayato bahulīkaroto saṁyojanāni pahīyanti, anusayā byantīhonti.
2 Again, friends, a bhikkhu develops tranquility preceded by discernment. As he develops tranquility preceded by discernment, the path arises in him. He pursues that path, develops it, and cultivates it. As he does so, the fetters are abandoned and the underlying tendencies are eliminated.
3 Puna caparaṁ, āvuso, bhikkhu samathavipassanaṁ yuganaddhaṁ bhāveti. Tassa samathavipassanaṁ yuganaddhaṁ bhāvayato maggo sañjāyati. So taṁ maggaṁ āsevati bhāveti bahulīkaroti. Tassa taṁ maggaṁ āsevato bhāvayato bahulīkaroto saṁyojanāni pahīyanti, anusayā byantīhonti.
3 Again, friends, a bhikkhu develops tranquility and discernment in tandem. As he develops tranquility and discernment in tandem, the path arises in him. He pursues that path, develops it, and cultivates it. As he does so, the fetters are abandoned and the underlying tendencies are eliminated.
4 Puna caparaṁ, āvuso, bhikkhuno dhammuddhaccaviggahitaṁ mānasaṁ hoti. Hoti so, āvuso, samayo yaṁ taṁ cittaṁ ajjhattameva santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati. Tassa maggo sañjāyati. So taṁ maggaṁ āsevati bhāveti bahulīkaroti. Tassa taṁ maggaṁ āsevato bhāvayato bahulīkaroto saṁyojanāni pahīyanti, anusayā byantīhonti.
4 Again, friends, a bhikkhu’s mind is seized by agitation about the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]|. There comes a time when his mind becomes internally steadied, calmed, unified, and collected. The path arises in him. He pursues that path, develops it, and cultivates it. As he does so, the fetters are abandoned and the underlying tendencies are eliminated.
Yo hi koci, āvuso, bhikkhu vā bhikkhunī vā mama santike arahattappattiṁ byākaroti, sabbo so imehi catūhi maggehi, etesaṁ vā aññatarenā”ti.
Friends, whoever, whether a bhikkhu or a bhikkhunī, declares the |attainment of arahantship::attainment of the awakened state [arahattappatti]| in my presence, they all do so by one of these four paths, or by one of them.”