1On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Uruvela on the bank of the river Nerañjara at the foot of the Goatherd's Banyan Tree just after he had become fully enlightened. Then, while the Blessed One was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in his mind thus: "The five faculties, when developed and cultivated, have the Deathless as their ground, the Deathless as their destination, the Deathless as their final goal. What five? The faculty of faith, the faculty of energy, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, the faculty of wisdom. These five faculties, when developed and cultivated, have the Deathless as their ground, the Deathless as their destination, the Deathless as their final goal." sn.v.233

1Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā uruvelāyaṁ vihārati najjā nerañjarāya tīre ajapālanigrodhe paṭhamābhisambuddho. Atha kho bhagavato rahogatassa paṭisallīnassa evaṁ cetaso parivitakko udapādi: "pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānāni. Katamāni pañca? Saddhindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ. Vīriyindriyaṁ … pe … satindriyaṁ … pe … samādhindriyaṁ … pe … paññindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ. Imāni pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānānī"ti.

2Then Brahma Sahampati, having known with his own mind the reflection in the Blessed One's mind, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, disappeared from the brahma world and reappeared before the Blessed One. He arranged his upper robe over one shoulder, extended his joined hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, and said to him: "So it is, Blessed One! So it is, Fortunate One! Venerable sir, the five faculties … all as above … have the Deathless as their final goal.

2Atha kho brahmā sahampati bhagavato cetasā cetoparivitakkamaññāya – seyyathāpi nāma balavā puriso samiñjitaṁ vā bāhaṁ pasāreyya, pasāritaṁ vā bāhaṁ samiñjeyya; evameva brahmaloke antarahito bhagavato purato pāturahosi. Atha kho brahmā sahampati ekaṁsaṁ uttarāsaṅgaṁ karitvā yena bhagavā tenañjaliṁ paṇāmetvā bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "evametaṁ, bhagavā, evametaṁ sugata. Pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānāni. Katamāni pañca? Saddhindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ … pe … paññindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ. Imāni pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānāni.

3"Once in the past, venerable sir, I lived the holy life under the Perfectly Enlightened One Kassapa. There they knew me as the bhikkhu Sahaka. By having developed and cultivated these same five faculties, venerable sir, I eliminated desire for sensual pleasures and thus, with the breakup of the body, after death, I was reborn in a good destination, in the brahma world. There they know me as Brahma Sahampati. So it is, Blessed One! So it is, Fortunate One! I know this, I see this: how these five faculties, when developed and cultivated, have the Deathless as their ground, the Deathless as their destination, the Deathless as their final goal."

3Bhūtapubbāhaṁ, bhante, kassape sammāsambuddhe brahmacariyaṁ acariṁ. Tatrapi maṁ evaṁ jānanti: ‘sahako bhikkhu, sahako bhikkhū’ti. So khvāhaṁ, bhante, imesaṁyeva pañcannaṁ indriyānaṁ bhāvitattā bahulīkatattā kāmesu kāmacchandaṁ virājetvā kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā sugatiṁ brahmalokaṁ upapanno. Tatrapi maṁ evaṁ jānanti: ‘brahmā sahampati, brahmā sahampatī’ti. Evametaṁ, bhagavā, evametaṁ sugata. Ahametaṁ jānāmi, ahametaṁ passāmi yathā imāni pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānānī"ti.

Sattamaṁ.