[3] "Suppose, brahmin, a hen had eight, ten, or twelve eggs, and the hen had properly sat upon them, properly warmed them, properly incubated them. Now whichever of those chicks should be the very first to break through the eggshell with the tip of its claw or with its beak and hatch out safely — what should it be called: the eldest or the youngest?"
"It should be called the eldest, Master Gotama, for it is the eldest among them."
"Even so, brahmin, among a generation immersed in ignorance (avijjā), become as it were an egg, completely enveloped, I alone in the world broke through the eggshell of ignorance and fully awakened to the unsurpassed perfect awakening (sammāsambodhi). I, brahmin, am the eldest, the foremost of the world.
"Energy (vīriya) was aroused in me, brahmin, unflagging; mindfulness (sati) was established, unmuddled; my body was tranquil, unagitated; my mind (citta) was concentrated, unified. Then, brahmin, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I entered upon and dwelt in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought and examination (vitakka-vicāra), with rapture (pīti) and pleasure born of seclusion. With the stilling of thought and examination, I entered upon and dwelt in the second jhāna, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought, without examination, with rapture and pleasure born of concentration (samādhi). With the fading away of rapture, I dwelt equanimous, mindful and clearly comprehending, and I experienced pleasure with the body; I entered upon and dwelt in the third jhāna, on account of which the noble ones declare: 'Equanimous and mindful, he dwells in pleasure.' With the abandoning of pleasure and the abandoning of pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, I entered upon and dwelt in the fourth jhāna, which is neither painful nor pleasant and has purity of mindfulness due to equanimity.
"When my mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, become malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, I directed my mind to the knowledge of the recollection of past abodes (pubbenivāsānussatiñāṇa). I recollected my manifold past abodes, that is: one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many eons of world-contraction, many eons of world-expansion, many eons of world-contraction and expansion: 'There I was so named, of such a clan, of such an appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life-span; passing away from there, I was reborn over there; there too I was so named, of such a clan, of such an appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life-span; passing away from there, I was reborn here.' Thus with their aspects and particulars I recollected my manifold past abodes. This, brahmin, was the first true knowledge attained by me in the first watch of the night; ignorance was dispelled and true knowledge arose, darkness was dispelled and light arose, as happens for one who dwells diligent, ardent, and resolute. This, brahmin, was my first breaking out, like that of the chick from the eggshell.
"When my mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, become malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, I directed my mind to the knowledge of the passing away and rebirth of beings (cutūpapātañāṇa). With the divine eye (dibbacakkhu), purified and surpassing the human, I saw beings passing away and being reborn — inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate — and I understood how beings fare on according to their actions: 'These beings, sirs, who were endowed with bodily misconduct, endowed with verbal misconduct, endowed with mental misconduct, revilers of the noble ones, holding wrong view, undertaking actions under the influence of wrong view — with the breaking up of the body, after death, they have been reborn in a state of deprivation, a bad destination, a place of ruin, hell. But these beings, sirs, who were endowed with bodily good conduct, endowed with verbal good conduct, endowed with mental good conduct, not revilers of the noble ones, holding right view, undertaking actions under the influence of right view — with the breaking up of the body, after death, they have been reborn in a good destination, a heavenly world.' Thus with the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human, I saw beings passing away and being reborn — inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate — and I understood how beings fare on according to their actions. This, brahmin, was the second true knowledge attained by me in the middle watch of the night; ignorance was dispelled and true knowledge arose, darkness was dispelled and light arose, as happens for one who dwells diligent, ardent, and resolute. This, brahmin, was my second breaking out, like that of the chick from the eggshell.
"When my mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilement, become malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, I directed my mind to the knowledge of the destruction of the taints (āsavakkhayañāṇa). I directly knew as it really is: 'This is suffering (dukkha)'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the origin of suffering'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the cessation of suffering'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the way of practice leading to the cessation of suffering.' I directly knew as it really is: 'These are the taints (āsava)'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the origin of the taints'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the cessation of the taints'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the way of practice leading to the cessation of the taints.' Knowing thus, seeing thus, my mind was liberated from the taint of sensuality, my mind was liberated from the taint of existence, and my mind was liberated from the taint of ignorance. When it was liberated, there came the knowledge (ñāṇa): 'It is liberated.' I directly knew: 'Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what was to be done has been done, there is no more of this state of being.' This, brahmin, was the third true knowledge attained by me in the last watch of the night; ignorance was dispelled and true knowledge arose, darkness was dispelled and light arose, as happens for one who dwells diligent, ardent, and resolute. This, brahmin, was my third breaking out, like that of the chick from the eggshell."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.