sn.45.77 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)
Good Friend
“Bhikkhus, I do not see even one other thing by means of which the unarisen Noble Eightfold Path arises and the arisen Noble Eightfold Path goes to fulfilment by development so effectively as by this: good friendship. When a bhikkhu has a good friend, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.
“And how does a bhikkhu who has a good friend develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops right view, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release…. He develops right concentration, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release. It is in this way, bhikkhus, that a bhikkhu who has a good friend develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path.”
- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi
- Editor: Blake Walsh
Good Friends
At Sāvatthī.
“Mendicants, I do not see a single thing that gives rise to the noble eightfold path, or, if it’s already arisen, fully develops it like good friendship.
A mendicant with good friends can expect to develop and cultivate the noble eightfold path.
And how does a mendicant with good friends develop and cultivate the noble eightfold path?
It’s when a mendicant develops right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion, which rely on seclusion, fading away, and cessation, and ripen as letting go.
That’s how a mendicant with good friends develops and cultivates the noble eightfold path.”
