The Related Discourses

13. Factors of the Noble Path

6 (753). Immortality

1. Thus I have heard:[1] One time, the Buddha was staying at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in Jeta’s Grove of Śrāvastī.

2. It was then that a monk named Ariṣṭa went to the Buddha, prostrated at his feet, and withdrew to sit at one side. He said to the Buddha, “Bhagavān, there’s the expression ‘immortal.’[2] What is it that’s called ‘immortal’?”

Buddha told Ariṣṭa, “‘Immortal’ is the name of a realm, but I take it to be the end of the contaminants of existence. That’s a clear explanation of this name.”

3. The monk Ariṣṭa said to the Buddha, “Bhagavān, isn’t there a path and steps to attaining immortality when cultivated and cultivated often?”

The Buddha addressed the monk, “There is. It’s known as the noble eightfold path, which is right view … right samādhi.”

4. After the Buddha spoke this sūtra, the monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved.

Notes

1. This sūtra is partially parallel with SN 45.7, which contains a question about the “deathless” and equates it with the end of desire, anger, and delusion. [back]
2. immortal. C. 甘露, P. amata, S. amṛta. The Chinese translates S. amṛta as ‘sweet dew,’ which was a mythical substance in Chinese legends. Amṛta was probably the inspiration for the Greek myth of ambrosia, as both were the food of the gods that gave them immortality. [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 10 November 2023