sn.45.48 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

The Abandoning of the Fetters, Etc.

“Bhikkhus, if wanderers of other sects ask you: ‘For what purpose, friends, is the holy life lived under the ascetic Gotama?’—being asked thus, you should answer them thus: ‘It is, friends, for the abandoning of the fetters … for the uprooting of the underlying tendencies … for the full understanding of the course … for the destruction of the taints … for the realization of the fruit of true knowledge and liberation … for the sake of knowledge and vision … … for the sake of final Nibbāna without clinging that the holy life is lived under the Blessed One.’

“Then, bhikkhus, if the wanderers of other sects ask you: ‘But, friends, is there a path, is there a way for attaining final Nibbāna without clinging?’—being asked thus, you should answer them thus: ‘There is a path, friends, there is a way for attaining final Nibbāna without clinging.’

“And what, bhikkhus, is that path, what is that way for attaining final Nibbāna without clinging? It is this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view … right concentration. This is the path, this is the way for attaining final Nibbāna without clinging.

“Being asked thus, bhikkhus, you should answer those wanderers of other sects in such a way.”

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh

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Extinguishment by Not Grasping

At Sāvatthī.
“Mendicants, if wanderers who follow another path were to ask you:
‘Reverends, what’s the purpose of leading the spiritual life under the ascetic Gotama?’ You should answer them like this:
‘The purpose of leading the spiritual life under the Buddha is extinguishment by not grasping.’
If wanderers who follow other paths were to ask you:
‘Is there a path and a practice for extinguishment by not grasping?’ You should answer them like this:
‘There is a path and a practice for extinguishment by not grasping.’
And what is that path, what is that practice for extinguishment by not grasping?
It is simply this noble eightfold path, that is:
right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion.
This is the path, this is the practice for extinguishment by not grasping.
When questioned by wanderers who follow other paths, that’s how you should answer them.”