“Bhikkhus, the |spiritual life::life of a contemplative, relating to people’s thoughts and beliefs, rather than to their bodies and physical surroundings [brahmacariya]| is lived for the abandoning and |complete uprooting::cutting off, total eradication [samuccheda]| of the seven underlying tendencies. Which seven?
1) The underlying tendency toward |sensual desire::passion or lust for sensual pleasures [kāmarāga]|,
2) the underlying tendency toward |aversion::mental resistance, irritation, conflict [paṭigha]|,
3) the |underlying tendency toward views::inherent inclination towards opinions, underlying conceptual beliefs; lit. views sleeping alongside [diṭṭhānusaya]|,
4) the underlying tendency toward |doubt::uncertainty, indecisiveness [vicikiccha]|,
5) the underlying tendency toward |conceit::self-view expressed as comparison—seeing oneself as superior, inferior, or equal; the persistent “I am” conceit (asmimāna) that underlies identification and fuels rebirth [māna]|,
6) the underlying tendency toward passion for |existence::continued conditional existence, the karmically conditioned mode of being that leads to future rebirth [bhava]|, and
7) the underlying tendency toward |ignorance::fundamental unawareness or misunderstanding of the true nature of reality, not experientially understanding the four noble truths [avijjā]|.
Bhikkhus, the spiritual life is lived for the abandoning and complete uprooting of these seven underlying tendencies.
Bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu has abandoned the underlying tendency toward sensual desire—|cut off at the root::eradicated at the source [ucchinnamūla]|, uprooted like a palm stump, utterly obliterated, never to arise again in the future, and likewise [has abandoned] the underlying tendencies toward aversion, views, doubt, conceit, passion for existence, and ignorance—then bhikkhus, that bhikkhu is called one who has completely cut out |craving::wanting, yearning, longing, attachment, lit. thirst [taṇha]|, torn apart the fetters, and through perfectly and completely comprehending conceit, has made an end of suffering.”