sn.45.6 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

A Certain Bhikkhu (1)

At Savatthī. Then a certain bhikkhu approached the Blessed One…. Sitting to one side, that bhikkhu said to the Blessed One:

“Venerable sir, it is said, ‘the holy life, the holy life.’ What, venerable sir, is the holy life? What is the final goal of the holy life?”

“This Noble Eightfold Path, bhikkhu, is the holy life; that is, right view … right concentration. The destruction of lust, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion: this is the final goal of the holy life.”

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh

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A Mendicant (1st)

At Sāvatthī.
Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha … and asked him,
“Sir, they speak of this thing called the ‘spiritual path’.
What is the spiritual path? And what is the culmination of the spiritual path?”
“Mendicant, the spiritual path 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.
The ending of greed, hate, and delusion.
This is the culmination of the spiritual path.”