[432] 8. "Those who in the past gave me their explanations
(thus said the Venerable Hemaka)
(outside the teaching of Gotama),
saying, 'So it was, so it shall be' —
all that is hearsay (itihītiha),
all that only increases speculation;
(I found no delight therein.)
But do you, O sage (muni), declare to me the Dhamma
that destroys craving (taṇhā),
knowing which, one living mindfully (sato)
might cross over attachment (visattikā) in the world."
[The Blessed One:]
"Here, Hemaka, with regard to the dear and pleasing things (piyarūpa)
that are seen, heard, sensed, (and cognized):
the dispelling of desire and lust (chandarāga) for them
is the imperishable (accuta) state of Nibbāna.
Having understood this, those who are mindful,
quenched in this very life (diṭṭhadhammābhinibbutā),
they, at peace and mindful,
have crossed over attachment in the world."
The Questions of the Young Man Hemaka, the Eighth.
The Questions of Todeyya, the Ninth [in the Pārāyanavagga, the fifth chapter of the Suttanipāta].
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.