1At Sāvatthī. Then a certain brahmin approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to him:

2"How is it, Master Gotama: is the one who acts the same as the one who experiences the result?" [n.126] See SN12.17, 18and notes 39 and 40.

"‘The one who acts is the same as the one who experiences the result’: this, brahmin, is one extreme." sn.ii.76

3"Then, Master Gotama, is the one who acts one, and the one who experiences the result another?"

"‘The one who acts is one, and the one who experiences the result is another’: this, brahmin, is the second extreme.

Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma by the middle:

With ignorance as condition, volitional formations come to be;
with volitional formations as condition, consciousness;
with consciousness as condition, name-and-form;
with name-and-form as condition, the six sense bases;
with the six sense bases as condition, contact;
with contact as condition, feeling;
with feeling as condition, craving;
with craving as condition, clinging;
with clinging as condition, existence;
with existence as condition, birth;
with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be.

Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.

But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional formations;
with the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of consciousness;
with the cessation of consciousness, cessation of name-and-form;
with the cessation of name-and-form, cessation of the six sense bases;
with the cessation of the six sense bases, cessation of contact;
with the cessation of contact, cessation of feeling;
with the cessation of feeling, cessation of craving;
with the cessation of craving, cessation of clinging;
with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence;
with the cessation of existence, cessation of birth;
with the cessation of birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease.

Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.’"

4When this was said, that brahmin said to the Blessed One: "Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent, Master Gotama! The Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by Master Gotama, as though he were turning upright what had been turned upside down, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms.
I go for refuge to Master Gotama, and to the Dhamma, and to the Bhikkhu Saṅgha.

From today let Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life."

1Sāvatthiyaṁ vihārati. Atha kho aññataro brāhmaṇo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṁ sammodi. Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho so brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

2"Kiṁ nu kho, bho gotama, so karoti so paṭisaṁvedayatī"ti?

"‘So karoti so paṭisaṁvedayatī’ti kho, brāhmaṇa, ayameko anto".

3"Kiṁ pana, bho gotama, añño karoti, añño paṭisaṁvedayatī"ti?

"‘Añño karoti, añño paṭisaṁvedayatī’ti kho, brāhmaṇa, ayaṁ dutiyo anto.

Ete te, brāhmaṇa, ubho ante anupāgamma majjhena tathāgato dhammaṁ deseti:

‘avijjāpaccayā saṅkhārā; saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇaṁ … pe …

Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.

Avijjāya tveva asesavirāganirodhā saṅkhāranirodho; saṅkhāranirodhā … pe …

Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hotī’"ti.

4Evaṁ vutte, so brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "Abhikkantaṁ, bho gotama, abhikkantaṁ, bho gotama … pe …

upāsakaṁ maṁ bhavaṁ gotamo dhāretu ajjatagge pāṇupetaṁ saraṇaṁ gatan"ti.

Chaṭṭhaṁ.