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SN 55.4

With Sāriputta (1st)

Paṭhamasāriputtasutta

from: 1. At Bamboo Gate

With Sāriputta (1st)

At one time Venerable Sāriputta was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then in the late afternoon, Venerable Ānanda came out of retreat … and said to Sāriputta:

“Reverend, how many things do people have to possess in order for the Buddha to declare that they’re a stream-enterer, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, destined for awakening?”

“Reverend, people have to possess four things in order for the Buddha to declare that they’re a stream-enterer, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, destined for awakening.

What four? It’s when a noble disciple has experiential confidence in the Buddha … the teaching … the Saṅgha … And they have the ethical conduct loved by the noble ones … leading to immersion. People have to possess these four things in order for the Buddha to declare that they’re a stream-enterer, not liable to be reborn in the underworld, destined for awakening.”

Translation: German (Ayyā Sabbamittā), English (Bhikkhu Sujato). Source: SuttaCentral / Bilara (public domain, CC0).

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