Nanda-manava-puccha: Nanda's Questions ~ Sn 1077-1083

[Nanda:]
There are in the world sages, they say
— in what way?
Do they call one a sage
for possessing knowledge
or possessing a way of life?

[The Buddha:]
Not on account of his views,
learning,
or knowledge
do the skilled here, Nanda,
call one a sage.
Those who live
disarmed,
undesiring,
untroubled:
those, I say, are called sages.

[Nanda:]
Whatever brahmans & contemplatives
describe purity
in terms of views & learning,
describe purity
in terms of precepts & practices,
describe purity
in terms of manifold ways:
have they, dear sir, living there in that way,
crossed over birth & aging?
I ask you, O Blessed One.
Please tell me.

[The Buddha:]
Whatever brahmans & contemplatives
describe purity
in terms of views & learning,
describe purity
in terms of precepts & practices,
describe purity
in terms of manifold ways:
none of them, living there in that way,
I tell you, have crossed over birth & aging.

[Nanda:]
Whatever brahmans & contemplatives
describe purity
in terms of views & learning,
describe purity
in terms of precepts & practices,
describe purity
in terms of manifold ways:
if, sage, as you say,
they've not crossed over the flood,
then who in the world
of beings divine & human
has crossed over birth & aging?
I ask you, O Blessed One.
Please tell me.

[The Buddha:]
I don't say that all brahmans & contemplatives
are shrouded in birth & aging.
Those here who've abandoned
what's seen, heard, & sensed,
precepts & practices
— all —
who've abandoned their manifold ways
— again, all —
who, comprehending craving,
are effluent-free:
they are the ones, I tell you,
who've crossed over the flood.

[Nanda:]
I relish, Gotama, the Great Seer's words
well-expounded, without acquisition.
Those here who've abandoned
what's seen, heard, & sensed,
precepts & practices
— all —
who've abandoned their manifold ways
— again, all —
who, comprehending craving,
are effluent-free:
I, too, say they've crossed over the flood.