iti.72 Itivuttaka

Elements of Escape

This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.
“Mendicants, there are these three elements of escape.
What three?
Renunciation is the escape from sensual pleasures. Formlessness is the escape from form. Cessation is the escape from whatever is created, conditioned, and dependently originated.
These are the three elements of escape.”
The Buddha spoke this matter.
On this it is said:
“Knowing the escape from sensuality,
and form’s transcendence,
one always keen touches
the stilling of all activities.
That mendicant sees rightly,
and when freed in regards to that,
that peaceful sage, with perfect insight,
has truly escaped their bonds.”
This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.