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an.3.12 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

To be Remembered

“Bhikkhus, there are these three places that a head-anointed khattiya king should remember all his life. What three? (1) The first is the place where he was born. (2) The second is the place where he was head-anointed a khattiya king. (3) And the third is the place where, having triumphed in battle, he emerged victorious and settled at the head of the battlefield. These are the three places that a head-anointed khattiya king should remember all his life.

“So too, bhikkhus, there are these three places that a bhikkhu should remember all his life. What three? (1) The first is the place where he shaved off his hair and beard, put on ochre robes, and went forth from the household life into homelessness. (2) The second is the place where he understood as it really is: ‘This is suffering,’ and ‘This is the origin of suffering,’ and ‘This is the cessation of suffering,’ and ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering.’ (3) And the third is the place where, with the destruction of the taints, he realized for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life, the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, and having entered upon it, dwelled in it. These are the three places that a bhikkhu should remember all his life.”

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh


Commemoration

This is the first place.
“An anointed aristocratic king should commemorate three places as long as he lives.
What three?
The place he was born.
This is the first place.
The place he was anointed as king.
This is the second place.
The place where he won victory in battle, establishing himself as foremost in battle.
This is the third place.
These are the three places an anointed king should commemorate as long as he lives.
In the same way, a mendicant should commemorate three places as long as they live.
What three?
The place where the mendicant shaved off their hair and beard, dressed in ocher robes, and went forth from the lay life to homelessness.
The place where the mendicant truly understands: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’.
This is the second place.
The place where the mendicant realizes the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom in this very life. And they live having realized it with their own insight due to the ending of defilements.
This is the third place.
These are the three places a mendicant should commemorate as long as they live.”