At Sāvatthi.
“Bhikkhus, as far as beings go — whether they are without feet, with two feet, with four feet, or with many feet; with form or formless; having perception, non-percipient, or neither percipient nor non-percipient; the |Tathāgata::one who has arrived at the truth, an epithet of the Buddha [tathāgata]|, the |Arahant::a worthy one, a fully awakened being, epithet of the Buddha [arahant]|, the |Perfectly Awakened One::fully awakened being, fully enlightened being [sammāsambuddha]| is regarded the foremost among them. In the same way, bhikkhus, whatever wholesome qualities there are, they are all rooted in |diligence::quality of wishing to do one’s work or duty well, with alertness, carefulness and care [appamāda]|, and they meet together in diligence; diligence is regarded the foremost among the qualities. For a diligent bhikkhu, this is to be expected - that he will develop and extensively cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.
And how, bhikkhus, does a diligent bhikkhu develop and extensively cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops right view |dependent on seclusion::supported by detachment, by means of disengagement [vivekanissita]|, |supported by dispassion::based on fading of desire [virāganissita]|, |based on ending::supported by cessation [nirodhanissita]|, |culminating in complete relinquishment::ripening in release, culminating in letting go [vossaggapariṇāmī]|; similarly he develops right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right collectedness, dependent on seclusion, supported by dispassion, based on ending, culminating in complete relinquishment. It is in this way, bhikkhus, that a diligent bhikkhu develops and extensively cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path.
Bhikkhus, as far as beings go — whether they are without feet, with two feet, with four feet, or with many feet; with form or formless; having perception, non-percipient, or neither percipient nor non-percipient; the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the perfectly Awakened One is regarded the foremost among them. In the same way, bhikkhus, whatever wholesome qualities there may be, they are all rooted in diligence, and they meet together in diligence; diligence is regarded the foremost among the qualities. For a diligent bhikkhu, this is to be expected - that he will develop and extensively cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.
And how, bhikkhus, does a diligent bhikkhu develop and extensively cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops right view, culminating in the removal and ending of |passion::intense desire, strong emotion, infatuation, obsession, lust [rāga]|, culminating in the removal and ending of |aversion::ill-will, hatred, resentment [dosa]|, and culminating in the removal and ending of |illusion::delusion, hallucination, misperception, distorted view; that which fuels further confusion and doubt [moha]|; similarly he develops right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right collectedness, culminating in the removal of lust, culminating in the removal of aversion, and culminating in the removal of delusion. In this way, bhikkhus, a diligent bhikkhu develops and extensively cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path.
Bhikkhus, as far as beings go — whether they are without feet, with two feet, with four feet, or with many feet; with form or formless; having perception, non-percipient, or neither percipient nor non-percipient; the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the perfectly Awakened One is regarded the foremost among them. In the same way, bhikkhus, whatever wholesome qualities there may be, they are all rooted in diligence, and they meet together in diligence; diligence is regarded the foremost among the qualities. For a diligent bhikkhu, this is to be expected - that he will develop and extensively cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.
And how, bhikkhus, does a diligent bhikkhu develop and extensively cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops right view, leading to the |deathless::deathless state, epithet of Nibbāna [amata]|, directed towards the deathless, and culminating in the deathless; similarly he develops right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right collectedness, culminating in the removal of lust, culminating in the removal of aversion, and culminating in the removal of delusion. In this way, bhikkhus, a diligent bhikkhu develops and extensively cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path.
Bhikkhus, as far as beings go — whether they are without feet, with two feet, with four feet, or with many feet; with form or formless; having perception, non-percipient, or neither percipient nor non-percipient; the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the perfectly Awakened One is regarded the foremost among them. In the same way, bhikkhus, whatever wholesome qualities there may be, they are all rooted in diligence, and they meet together in diligence; diligence is regarded the foremost among the qualities. For a diligent bhikkhu, this is to be expected - that he will develop and extensively cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.
And how, bhikkhus, does a diligent bhikkhu develop and extensively cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops right view, slanting towards |Nibbāna::complete cooling, letting go of everything, deathless, freedom from calamity, the non-disintegrating [nibbāna]|, sloping towards Nibbāna, and inclining towards Nibbāna; similarly he develops right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right collectedness, slanting towards Nibbāna, sloping towards Nibbāna, and inclining towards Nibbāna. In this way, bhikkhus, a diligent bhikkhu develops and extensively cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path.”