“While the Buddha was giving a discourse at the Jetavana monastery, he saw Patacara at a distance; so he willed that she should come to the congregation. The crowd seeing her coming tried to stop her, saying “Don’t let the mad woman come in.” But the Buddha told them not to prevent her coming in. When Patacara was close enough to hear him, he told her to be careful and to keep calm. Then, she realized that she did not have her skirt on and how she had lost her sons, her husband, her brothers and her parents.

The Buddha said to her, “Patacara, have no fear; you have now come to one who can protect you and guide you. Throughout this round of existences (samsara), the amount of tears you have shed on account of the death of your sons, husbands, parents and brothers is voluminous; it is even more than the waters of the four oceans.” Thus the Buddha expounded to her the Anamatagga Sutta, which dealt with countless existences, and she felt relieved. Then, the Buddha added that one should not think too much about those who were gone, but that one should purify oneself and strive to realize Nibbana. On hearing this exhortation from the Buddha, Patacara attained Sotapatti Fruition.

-Ref: Dhp 288

“Once, in Savatthi, there were five friends who became bhikkhus only in their old age. These five bhikkhus were in the habit of going together to their old homes for alms-food. Of the former wives of those five, one lady in particular, by the name of Madhurapacika was a good cook and she looked after them very well. Thus, the five bhikkhus went mostly to her house. But one day, Madhurapacika fell ill and died suddenly. The old bhikkhus felt their loss very deeply and together they cried praising her virtues and lamenting their loss.

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

“O bhikkhus, cut down the forest of craving, not the real tree; the forest of craving breeds danger (of rebirth). Cut down the forest of craving as well as its undergrowth and be free from craving.”

-Ref: Dhp: 283

“Impermanent are all component things, they arise and cease, that is their nature: They come into being and pass away, release from them is bliss supreme.”

Ref: DN 16, Mahaparinibbana sutta

“Monks, when there is a monk for whom five kinds of mental desolation have not been abandoned and five kinds of mental imprisonment have not been destroyed, it is not possible for him to attain growth, development, and fulfillment in this Dhamma-Vinaya.

“What are the five kinds of mental desolation that have not been abandoned by him? Here, monks, a monk is uncertain and doubtful about the Teacher (Buddha), and has not resolved his mind and become confident in the Teacher (Buddha). Monks, when a monk is uncertain and doubtful about the Teacher (Buddha) and has not resolved his mind and become confident in the Teacher (Buddha), his mind does not tend towards ardency, commitment, perseverance, and striving. As his mind does not tend towards ardency, commitment, perseverance, and striving, this is the first kind of mental desolation that has not been abandoned by him.

“Monks, this is another one: There is a monk who is uncertain and doubtful about the Dhamma… about the Saṅgha…

…Monks, when there is a monk for whom these five kinds of mental desolation have been abandoned and these five kinds of mental imprisonment have been well-destroyed, it is possible for him to attain growth, development, and fulfillment in this Dhamma-Vinaya.

-Ref: MN 16, Cetokhilasutta

“Monks, there are these three roots of what is unskillful. Which three? Greed is a root of what is unskillful, aversion is a root of what is unskillful, delusion is a root of what is unskillful.

“Greed itself is unskillful. Whatever a greedy person fabricates by means of body, speech, or intellect, that too is unskillful. Whatever suffering a greedy person — his mind overcome with greed, his mind consumed — wrongly inflicts on another person through beating or imprisonment or confiscation or placing blame or banishment, [with the thought,] ‘I have power. I want power,’ that too is unskillful. Thus it is that many evil, unskillful qualities/events — born of greed, caused by greed, originated through greed, conditioned by greed — come into play.

“Aversion itself is unskillful. Whatever an aversive person fabricates by means of body, speech, or intellect, that too is unskillful. Whatever suffering an aversive person — his mind overcome with aversion, his mind consumed — wrongly inflicts on another person through beating or imprisonment or confiscation or placing blame or banishment, [with the thought,] ‘I have power. I want power,’ that too is unskillful. Thus it is that many evil, unskillful qualities — born of aversion, caused by aversion, originated through aversion, conditioned by aversion — come into play.

“Delusion itself is unskillful. Whatever a deluded person fabricates by means of body, speech, or intellect, that too is unskillful. Whatever suffering a deluded person — his mind overcome with delusion, his mind consumed — wrongly inflicts on another person through beating or imprisonment or confiscation or placing blame or banishment, [with the thought,] ‘I have power. I want power,’ that too is unskillful. Thus it is that many evil, unskillful qualities — born of delusion, caused by delusion, originated through delusion, conditioned by delusion — come into play.

“And a person like this is called one who speaks at the wrong time, speaks what is unfactual, speaks what is irrelevant, speaks contrary to the Dhamma, speaks contrary to the Vinaya.

-Ref: AN 3.69, Mula Sutta

“Cunda, that one who is himself sinking in the mud should pull out another who is sinking in the mud is impossible; that one who is not himself sinking in the mud should pull out another who is sinking in the mud is possible. That one who is himself untamed, undisciplined, [with defilements] unextinguished, should tame another, discipline him, and help extinguish [his defilements] is impossible; that one who is himself tamed, disciplined, [with defilements] extinguished, should tame another, discipline him, and help extinguish [his defilements] is possible.”

MN 8, Sallekha sutta

“Any Arahant who has banished evil qualities, not overbearing, not stained, his mind controlled gone to the end of wisdom, the holy life completed: Rightly would that Arahant, speak the holy teaching”.

-Ud 1:4, Huhuṅka Sutta

“Associate with good friends, who are energetic and whose livelihood is pure; let him be amiable and be correct in his conduct. Then, (frequently) feeling much joy he will make an end of dukkha (of the round of rebirths).”

Ref: Dhp 376

“Good friends, companions, and associates are the whole of the spiritual life. A mendicant with good friends, companions, and associates can expect to develop and cultivate the noble eightfold path.”

-Ref: SN 3.18, Kalyāṇamittasutta

“In any doctrine & discipline where the noble eightfold path is not ascertained, no contemplative of the first… second… third… fourth order [stream-winner, once-returner, non-returner, or arahant] is ascertained.”

Ref: DN 16 Mahā Parinibbāna Sutta

“One, who takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Samgha, sees with Magga Insight the Four Noble Truths, viz., Dukkha, the Cause of Dukkha, the Cessation of Dukkha, and the Noble Path of Eight Constituents which leads to the Cessation of Dukkha.

-Ref: Dhp 190 and 191

“A servant girl, working for my relatives, used to bring me flower garlands every day. I offered all those flower garlands with a happy mind to the relic stupa of the Supreme Buddha. I also went to relic puja ceremonies every Eight Precepts-Observance day. With great faith, I personally offered garlands, perfumes, and ointments to the stupa. God Sakka, I received this heavenly birth, beautiful body, and divine psychic powers by offering flower garlands.I also collected merit by keeping the precepts, but that merit has not yet ripened. Lord Sakka, in my mind I have the desire to be a once-returner”.

-Ref: Vv 3.9 Visālakkhī Sutta

“But those who do attend the peaceful ones —wise, esteemed as sages—and whose faith in the Holy One has roots planted deep, they go to the realm of the gods, or are born here in a good family. Gradually those astute ones reach extinguishment.”

-Ref: AN 5.179, Gihisutta

“A noble disciple understands in this way the unskillful and its root, and the skillful and its root. They’ve completely given up the underlying tendency to greed, got rid of the underlying tendency to repulsion, and eradicated the underlying tendency to the view and conceit ‘I am’. They’ve given up ignorance and given rise to knowledge, and make an end of suffering in this very life. When they’ve done this, they’re defined as a noble disciple who has right view, whose view is correct, who has experiential confidence in the teaching, and has come to the true teaching.”

-Ref: MN 9, Sammādiṭṭhisutta

“Sights, feeling, and perception, consciousness and what is chosen: ‘I am not this’ and ‘this is not mine’; that’s how to be free of desire them.”

Ref: SN 4.16, Pattasutta

“And when, monks, the Ariyan disciple understands as they really are the arising and the passing away, the attractiveness and the danger, and the deliverance from the five groups of clinging, he is called an Ariyan disciple who is a Stream-winner, not liable to states of woe, assured of final enlightenment.”

-Ref: SN 22.109, Sotaapanno Sutta

“Once, a wandering theatrical troupe consisting of five hundred dancers and some acrobats came to Rajagaha and performed on the grounds of the palace of King Bimbisara for seven days. There, a young dancer who was the daughter of an acrobat sang and danced on top of a long bamboo pole. Uggasena, the young son of a rich man, fell desperately in love with this dancer and his parents could not stop him from marrying her. He married the young dancer and followed the troupe. As he was not a dancer nor an acrobat, he was not of much use to the party. So, as the party moved from place to place, he had to help carry boxes, to drive the carts, etc.

In course of time, a son was born to Uggasena and his wife, the dancer. To this child, the dancer would often sing a song which ran thus: “O you, son of the man who keeps watch over the carts; the man who carries boxes and bundles! O , you, son of the ignorant one who can do nothing!” Uggasena heard the song; he knew that his wife was referring to him and he was very much hurt and depressed. So he went to his father-in-law, the acrobat, and requested him to teach him acrobatics. After a year’s training, Uggasena became a skilful acrobat.

Then, Uggasena went back to Rajagaha, and it was proclaimed that Uggasena would publicly demonstrate his skill in seven days’ time. On the seventh day, a long pole was put up and Uggasena stood on top of it. At a signal given from below he somersaulted seven times on the pole. At about this time, the Buddha saw Uggasena in his vision and knew that time was ripe for Uggasena to attain arahatship. So, he entered Rajagaha and willed that the audience should turn their attention to him instead of applauding Uggasena for his acrobatic feats. When Uggasena saw that he was being neglected and ignored, he just sat on top of the pole, feeling very discontented and depressed. The Buddha then addressed Uggasena, “Uggasena, a wise man should abandon all attachment to the khandha aggregates and strive to gain liberation from the round of rebirths.”

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

Verse 348: Give up the past, give up the future, give up the present. Having reached the end of existences, with a mind freed from all (conditioned things), you will not again undergo birth and decay.

At the end of the discourse Uggasena, who was still on top of the pole, attained arahatship..”

-Ref: Dhp: 348

“Therefore, Dighavu, you should train yourself thus: ‘I will be one who possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha thus: “The Blessed One is ‘” teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.” I will be one who possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma … in the Sangha …. I will be one who possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken … leading to concentration.’ It is in such a way that you should train yourself.”

“Venerable sir, as to these four factors of stream-entry that have been taught by the Blessed One, these things exist in me, and I live in conformity with those things. For, venerable sir, I possess confirmed confidence in the Buddha … in the Dhamma … in the Sangha …. I possess the virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken … leading to concentration.”

“Therefore, Dighavu, established upon these four factors of stream-entry, you should develop further six things that partake of true knowledge. Here, Dighavu, dwell contemplating impermanence in all formations, perceiving suffering in what is impermanent, perceiving nonself in what is suffering, perceiving abandonment, perceiving fading away, perceiving cessation. It is in such a way that you should train yourself.”

-Ref: SN 55.3 Dīghāvuupāsaka Sutta

References:

https://suttafriends.org

https://suttacentral.net

tipitaka.net