[428] What six things are hard to penetrate? The six elements (dhātu) of escape (nissāraṇīyā dhātuyo):
1. Here, friends, a bhikkhu might say thus: 'The liberation of mind (cetovimutti) by loving-kindness (mettā) has indeed been developed by me, cultivated, made a vehicle, made a basis, maintained, consolidated, and well undertaken; and yet ill will (byāpāda) still occupies my mind (citta) and remains.' He should be told: 'Not so! Let the venerable one not speak thus; let him not misrepresent the Blessed One, for it is not good to misrepresent the Blessed One, and the Blessed One would not speak thus. It is impossible, friend, there is no way, that when the liberation of mind by loving-kindness has been developed, cultivated, made a vehicle, made a basis, maintained, consolidated, and well undertaken, ill will could still occupy his mind and remain — no such possibility exists. For this, friend, is the escape from ill will, namely, the liberation of mind by loving-kindness.'
2. But here, friends, a bhikkhu might say thus: 'The liberation of mind by compassion (karuṇā) has indeed been developed by me, cultivated, made a vehicle, made a basis, maintained, consolidated, and well undertaken; and yet harming (vihesā) still occupies my mind and remains.' He should be told: 'Not so! Let the venerable one not speak thus; let him not misrepresent the Blessed One, for it is not good to misrepresent the Blessed One, and the Blessed One would not speak thus. It is impossible, friend, there is no way, that when the liberation of mind by compassion has been developed, cultivated, made a vehicle, made a basis, maintained, consolidated, and well undertaken, harming could still occupy his mind and remain — no such possibility exists. For this, friend, is the escape from harming, namely, the liberation of mind by compassion.'
3. But here, friends, a bhikkhu might say thus: 'The liberation of mind by altruistic joy (muditā) has indeed been developed by me, cultivated, made a vehicle, made a basis, maintained, consolidated, and well undertaken; and yet discontent (arati) still occupies my mind and remains.' He should be told: 'Not so! Let the venerable one not speak thus; let him not misrepresent the Blessed One, for it is not good to misrepresent the Blessed One, and the Blessed One would not speak thus. It is impossible, friend, there is no way, that when the liberation of mind by altruistic joy has been developed, cultivated, made a vehicle, made a basis, maintained, consolidated, and well undertaken, discontent could still occupy his mind and remain — no such possibility exists. For this, friend, is the escape from discontent, namely, the liberation of mind by altruistic joy.'
4. But here, friends, a bhikkhu might say thus: 'The liberation of mind by equanimity (upekkhā) has indeed been developed by me, cultivated, made a vehicle, made a basis, maintained, consolidated, and well undertaken; and yet lust (rāga) still occupies my mind and remains.' He should be told: 'Not so! Let the venerable one not speak thus; let him not misrepresent the Blessed One, for it is not good to misrepresent the Blessed One, and the Blessed One would not speak thus. It is impossible, friend, there is no way, that when the liberation of mind by equanimity has been developed, cultivated, made a vehicle, made a basis, maintained, consolidated, and well undertaken, lust could still occupy his mind and remain — no such possibility exists. For this, friend, is the escape from lust, namely, the liberation of mind by equanimity.'
5. But here, friends, a bhikkhu might say thus: 'The signless (animittā) liberation of mind has indeed been developed by me, cultivated, made a vehicle, made a basis, maintained, consolidated, and well undertaken; and yet my consciousness (viññāṇa) still follows after signs (nimitta).' He should be told: 'Not so! Let the venerable one not speak thus; let him not misrepresent the Blessed One, for it is not good to misrepresent the Blessed One, and the Blessed One would not speak thus. It is impossible, friend, there is no way, that when the signless liberation of mind has been developed, cultivated, made a vehicle, made a basis, maintained, consolidated, and well undertaken, his consciousness could still follow after signs — no such possibility exists. For this, friend, is the escape from all signs, namely, the signless liberation of mind.'
6. But here, friends, a bhikkhu might say thus: '[The conceit] "I am" has vanished for me, and I do not regard [anything] as "This I am"; and yet the dart of doubt (vicikicchā) and uncertainty still occupies my mind and remains.' He should be told: 'Not so! Let the venerable one not speak thus; let him not misrepresent the Blessed One, for it is not good to misrepresent the Blessed One, and the Blessed One would not speak thus. It is impossible, friend, there is no way, that when [the conceit] "I am" has vanished, and one does not regard [anything] as "This I am," the dart of doubt and uncertainty could still occupy his mind and remain — no such possibility exists. For this, friend, is the escape from the dart of doubt and uncertainty, namely, the uprooting of the conceit "I am" (asmimāna).'
These six things are hard to penetrate.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.