[506] When he had sat down to one side, Visākha the lay follower said this to the bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā: "Lady, 'identity (sakkāya), identity' is said. What now, lady, has been called identity by the Blessed One?"
"Friend Visākha, these five aggregates subject to clinging (pañcupādānakkhandhā) have been called identity by the Blessed One; that is to say: the form aggregate subject to clinging, the feeling (vedanā) aggregate subject to clinging, the perception aggregate subject to clinging, the volitional formations aggregate subject to clinging, the consciousness aggregate subject to clinging. These five aggregates subject to clinging, friend Visākha, have been called identity by the Blessed One."
Saying, "Good, lady," Visākha the lay follower, having delighted in and rejoiced at the bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā's statement, asked the bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā a further question: "Lady, 'the origin of identity, the origin of identity' is said. What now, lady, has been called the origin of identity by the Blessed One?"
"Friend Visākha, it is this craving (taṇhā) which leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, delighting now here, now there; that is to say: craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for non-existence. This, friend Visākha, has been called the origin of identity by the Blessed One."
"Lady, 'the cessation of identity, the cessation of identity' is said. What now, lady, has been called the cessation of identity by the Blessed One?"
"Friend Visākha, it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that very craving, the giving up, the relinquishing, the release, the non-attachment to it. This, friend Visākha, has been called the cessation of identity by the Blessed One."
"Lady, 'the way of practice leading to the cessation of identity, the way of practice leading to the cessation of identity' is said. What now, lady, has been called the way of practice leading to the cessation of identity by the Blessed One?"
"Friend Visākha, it is just this Noble Eightfold Path that has been called by the Blessed One the way of practice leading to the cessation of identity; that is to say: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration."
"Lady, is that very clinging (upādāna) the same as the five aggregates subject to clinging, or is clinging something apart from the five aggregates subject to clinging?"
"Friend Visākha, that very clinging is not the same as the five aggregates subject to clinging, nor is clinging something apart from the five aggregates subject to clinging. It is the desire and lust in regard to the five aggregates subject to clinging that is the clinging therein."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.