[89] Then the Blessed One, having stayed at Koṭigāma for as long as he wished, addressed the Venerable Ānanda: "Come, Ānanda, let us go to Nādikā." "Yes, venerable sir," the Venerable Ānanda replied to the Blessed One. Then the Blessed One, together with a large Saṅgha of bhikkhus, arrived at Nādikā. There at Nādikā the Blessed One stayed in the Brick House (Giñjakāvasatha).
Then the Venerable Ānanda approached the Blessed One; having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Seated to one side, the Venerable Ānanda said this to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, the bhikkhu named Sāḷha has died at Nādikā; what is his destination, what is his future state? Venerable sir, the bhikkhunī named Nandā has died at Nādikā; what is her destination, what is her future state? Venerable sir, the layman named Sudatta has died at Nādikā; what is his destination, what is his future state? Venerable sir, the laywoman named Sujātā has died at Nādikā; what is her destination, what is her future state? Venerable sir, the layman named Kakudha has died at Nādikā; what is his destination, what is his future state? Venerable sir, the layman named Kāraḷimbha … Venerable sir, the layman named Nikaṭa … Venerable sir, the layman named Kaṭissaha … Venerable sir, the layman named Tuṭṭha … Venerable sir, the layman named Santuṭṭha … Venerable sir, the layman named Bhaṭa … Venerable sir, the layman named Subhaṭa has died at Nādikā; what is his destination, what is his future state?"
"Ānanda, the bhikkhu Sāḷha, through the destruction of the taints (āsava), realized for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life, the taintless liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom, and having entered upon it, dwelt therein. Ānanda, the bhikkhunī Nandā, through the utter destruction of the five lower fetters (saṃyojana), is one spontaneously reborn, due to attain final Nibbāna there, not subject to returning from that world. Ānanda, the layman Sudatta, through the utter destruction of three fetters and the attenuation of lust, hatred, and delusion, is a once-returner who, having come back to this world once only, will make an end of suffering (dukkha). Ānanda, the laywoman Sujātā, through the utter destruction of three fetters, is a stream-enterer, no longer subject to the lower worlds, fixed in destiny, bound for awakening. Ānanda, the layman Kakudha, through the utter destruction of the five lower fetters, is one spontaneously reborn, due to attain final Nibbāna there, not subject to returning from that world. Ānanda, the layman Kāraḷimbha … Ānanda, the layman Nikaṭa. Ānanda, the layman Kaṭissaha. Ānanda, the layman Tuṭṭha. Ānanda, the layman Santuṭṭha. Ānanda, the layman Bhaṭa. Ānanda, the layman Subhaṭa, through the utter destruction of the five lower fetters, is one spontaneously reborn, due to attain final Nibbāna there, not subject to returning from that world.
"More than fifty laymen who have died at Nādikā, Ānanda, through the utter destruction of the five lower fetters, are spontaneously reborn, due to attain final Nibbāna there, not subject to returning from that world. Ninety-six laymen who have died at Nādikā, Ānanda, through the utter destruction of three fetters and the attenuation of lust, hatred, and delusion, are once-returners who, having come back to this world once only, will make an end of suffering. Five hundred and ten laymen who have died at Nādikā, Ānanda, through the utter destruction of three fetters, are stream-enterers, no longer subject to the lower worlds, fixed in destiny, bound for awakening.
"It is nothing remarkable, Ānanda, that one who has come to be a human being should die. But if, each time this or that person has died, you should approach the Tathāgata and ask the meaning of it, that is a vexation to the Tathāgata. Therefore, Ānanda, I will teach the exposition of the Dhamma called the Mirror of the Dhamma (Dhammādāsa), endowed with which a noble disciple, should he so wish, might declare of himself by himself: 'Destroyed for me is hell, destroyed the animal womb, destroyed the realm of ghosts, destroyed the plane of misery, the bad destination, the lower world; I am a stream-enterer, no longer subject to the lower worlds, fixed in destiny, bound for awakening.'
"And what, Ānanda, is that Mirror of the Dhamma, that exposition of the Dhamma, endowed with which a noble disciple, should he so wish, might declare of himself by himself: 'Destroyed for me is hell, destroyed the animal womb, destroyed the realm of ghosts, destroyed the plane of misery, the bad destination, the lower world; I am a stream-enterer, no longer subject to the lower worlds, fixed in destiny, bound for awakening'? Here, Ānanda, a noble disciple is possessed of unwavering confidence in the Buddha thus: 'Thus indeed is that Blessed One: an arahant, a perfectly awakened one, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate, knower of the world, unsurpassed trainer of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, awakened, blessed.' He is possessed of unwavering confidence in the Dhamma thus: 'Well proclaimed by the Blessed One is the Dhamma: visible here and now, timeless, inviting one to come and see, onward-leading, to be experienced individually by the wise.' He is possessed of unwavering confidence in the Saṅgha thus: 'The Saṅgha of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing well; the Saṅgha of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing uprightly; the Saṅgha of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing the true way; the Saṅgha of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing properly; that is, the four pairs of persons, the eight individual persons — this Saṅgha of the Blessed One's disciples is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world.' And he is possessed of the virtues dear to the noble ones: unbroken, untorn, unblemished, unmottled, liberating, praised by the wise, ungrasped, conducive to concentration (samādhi).
"This, Ānanda, is that Mirror of the Dhamma, that exposition of the Dhamma, endowed with which a noble disciple, should he so wish, might declare of himself by himself: 'Destroyed for me is hell, destroyed the animal womb, destroyed the realm of ghosts, destroyed the plane of misery, the bad destination, the lower world; I am a stream-enterer, no longer subject to the lower worlds, fixed in destiny, bound for awakening.'"
There too, while staying at Nādikā in the Brick House, the Blessed One frequently gave this very Dhamma talk to the bhikkhus: "Such is virtue, such is concentration, such is wisdom. Concentration imbued with virtue is of great fruit and great benefit; wisdom imbued with concentration is of great fruit and great benefit; the mind (citta) imbued with wisdom is rightly liberated from the taints, namely, the taint of sensuality, the taint of existence, and the taint of ignorance."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.