[28] "But at what point, venerable sir, has the disgust of evil through austerity (tapojigucchā) reached the peak and reached the pith? It would be good, venerable sir, if the Blessed One would bring me to the very peak, bring me to the very pith, of the disgust of evil through austerity."
"Here, Nigrodha, an ascetic (tapassī) is restrained by the fourfold restraint. And how, Nigrodha, is an ascetic restrained by the fourfold restraint? … And when, Nigrodha, an ascetic is restrained by the fourfold restraint, this counts as his asceticism. He advances; he does not turn back to the lower life. He resorts to a secluded lodging. … Having abandoned these five hindrances (nīvaraṇa), corruptions of the mind (citta) that weaken wisdom, he dwells pervading … with a mind imbued with loving-kindness … with a mind imbued with equanimity — abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without enmity, without ill will. He recollects his manifold past abodes, that is: one birth, two births … Thus, with their aspects and designations, he recollects his manifold past abodes. With the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human, he sees beings passing away and reappearing — inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate — and he understands beings as faring according to their kamma: 'These beings, sirs, endowed with bodily misconduct, endowed with verbal misconduct, endowed with mental misconduct, revilers of the noble ones, of wrong view, undertaking actions under the sway of wrong view — with the breakup of the body, after death, they have reappeared in a state of loss, a bad destination, the abyss, hell. But these beings, sirs, endowed with bodily good conduct, endowed with verbal good conduct, endowed with mental good conduct, not revilers of the noble ones, of right view, undertaking actions under the sway of right view — with the breakup of the body, after death, they have reappeared in a good destination, a heavenly world.' Thus, with the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human, he sees beings passing away and reappearing — inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate — and he understands beings as faring according to their kamma. What do you think, Nigrodha? This being so, is the disgust of evil through austerity purified, or unpurified?"
"Surely, venerable sir, this being so, the disgust of evil through austerity is purified, not unpurified; and it has reached the peak and reached the pith."
"To this extent, Nigrodha, the disgust of evil through austerity has reached the peak and reached the pith. Thus, Nigrodha, as to what you said to me: 'What is that dhamma of the Blessed One by which the Blessed One guides his disciples — guided by which the Blessed One's disciples, having attained solace, acknowledge the fundamental spiritual life as their heart's aim?' — thus indeed, Nigrodha, there is a state higher and more excellent than this, by which I guide my disciples — guided by which my disciples, having attained solace, acknowledge the fundamental spiritual life as their heart's aim."
When this was said, those wanderers became noisy, loud-voiced, and clamorous: "Herein we, together with our teachers, see nothing! Herein we, together with our teachers, see nothing! We do not understand anything higher beyond this!"
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.