Sutta Nipāta 5-7: Upasīvamāṇavapucchā

1. ‘Alone, O Sakka; and without assistance I shall not be able to cross the great stream,’—so said the venerable Upasīva;—‘tell me an object, O thou all-seeing one, by means of which one may cross this stream.’ (1068)

2. ‘Having in view nothingness, being thoughtful, O Upasiva,’—so said Bhagavat,—‘by the reflection of nothing existing shalt thou cross the stream; having abandoned sensual pleasures, being loath of doubts, thou shalt regard the extinction of desire (i.e. Nibbāna), both day and night.’ (1069)

3. Upasīva: ‘He whose passion for all sensual pleasures has departed, having resorted to nothingness, after leaving everything else, and being delivered in the highest deliverance by knowledge, will he remain there without proceeding further?’ (1070)

4. ‘He whose passion for all sensual pleasures has departed, O Upasīva,’—so said Bhagavat,—‘having resorted to nothingness after leaving everything else, and being delivered in the highest deliverance by knowledge, he will remain there without proceeding further.’ (1071)

5. Upasīva: ‘If he remains there without proceeding further for a multitude of years, O thou all-seeing one, (and if) he becomes there tranquil and delivered, will there be consciousness for such a one?’ (1072)

6. ‘As a flame blown about by the violence of the wind, O Upasīva,’—so said Bhagavat,—‘goes out, cannot be reckoned (as existing), even so a Muni, delivered from name and body, disappears, and cannot be reckoned (as existing).’ (1073)

7. Upasīva: ‘Has he (only) disappeared, or does he not exist (any longer), or is he for ever free from sickness? Explain that thoroughly to me, O Muni, for this Dhamma is well known to thee.’ (1074)

8. ‘For him who has disappeared there is no form, O Upasīva,’—so said Bhagavat,—‘that by which they say he is, exists for him no longer, when all things (dhamma) have been cut off, all (kinds of) dispute are also cut off.’ (1075)

Upasīvamāṇavapucchā is ended.