The Buddha distinguishes pleasant abidings in the here and now from the way of effacement leading upwards to complete quenching. Effacement is shown as the gradual chipping away of defilements through restraint, cultivation of the noble eightfold path, and diligent training, culminating in the complete freedom of Nibbāna.

### 5. Way Leading to Complete Quenching

The Buddha describes the seven powers in brief, of 1) faith, 2) energy, 3) conscience, 4) fear of wrongdoing, 5) mindfulness, 6) collectedness, and 7) wisdom.

Examining the Dhamma thoroughly, he deeply sees the meaning with wisdom; Like the |quenching::going out [nibbāna]| of a lamp, there is |deliverance::release, emancipation, freedom [vimokkha]| of the mind.”

The Buddha explains why he is called the Tathāgata, the one who has perfectly understood the world, its arising, cessation, and the way of practice leading to its cessation.

And bhikkhus, whatever the Tathāgata speaks, talks, or declares during the interval between the night he awakens to unsurpassed perfect awakening and the night he attains |final Nibbāna::complete cooling, full quenching, total emancipation, dying one’s final death [parinibbuta]| in the element of Nibbāna without a remainder of clinging, all that is just so and not otherwise. Therefore, he is called the Tathāgata.

The Buddha describes the seven powers in detail, of 1) faith, 2) energy, 3) conscience, 4) fear of wrongdoing, 5) mindfulness, 6) collectedness, and 7) wisdom.

Examining the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]| thoroughly, he deeply sees the meaning with wisdom; Like the |quenching::going out [nibbāna]| of a lamp, there is |deliverance::release, emancipation, freedom [vimokkha]| of the mind.”

On the passing away of Sāriputta, the Buddha advises Ānanda to be an island unto himself, with no other refuge, with the Dhamma as his island, with the Dhamma as his refuge, not dependent on another as a refuge.

Then the Venerable Sāriputta attained |final Nibbāna::complete cooling, full quenching, total emancipation, dying one’s final death [parinibbāyi]| from that very illness. Then Cunda, the novice monk, having taken the alms bowl and outer robe of the Venerable Sāriputta, went to Sāvatthi, to the Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s park, to where the Venerable Ānanda was. Having approached, he paid respects to the Venerable Ānanda and sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, Cunda, the novice monk, said to the Venerable Ānanda:

After recovering from a severe illness, the Buddha tells Ānanda that he holds no "teacher's closed fist" with regard to the Dhamma and instructs the bhikkhus to be an island unto themselves, with themselves and the Dhamma as their only refuge.

“It would not be appropriate for me to attain |final Nibbāna::complete cooling, full quenching, total emancipation, dying one’s final death [parinibbāyati]| without first informing my attendants and taking leave of the bhikkhu |Saṅgha::The community of monks and nuns practicing in line with the Buddha’s teachings. In the broader sense, this is the community of disciples who have realized the noble path and fruition through the Buddha’s teachings [saṅgha]|. Let me then subdue this illness by means of |energy::willpower, determination [vīriya]| and abide resolving upon the intention to live.” Then the Blessed One, having subdued that illness by means of energy and having resolved upon the intention to live, continued dwelling thus. And then indeed that illness of the Blessed One subsided.

Bāhiya of the Bark Cloth realizes the Dhamma and attains final Nibbāna immediately after receiving a concise teaching from the Buddha.

The Blessed One replied: “Bhikkhus, Bāhiya of the Bark Cloth was |wise::astute, intelligent, learned, skilled [paṇḍita]|. He |practiced::followed [paccapādi]| |in accordance with the teaching::in line with the training guidelines of the Buddha’s teachings that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhammassānudhamma]| and did not |impede::block, hinder [vihesesi]| me with the |technical points of the teaching::reasons or basis of the teaching [dhammādhikaraṇa]|. Bhikkhus, Bāhiya of the Bark Cloth has attained |final Nibbāna::complete cooling, full quenching, total emancipation, dying one’s final death [parinibbuta]|.”

The Buddha outlines an approach to cross-examine other sects and their doctrines, and how to distinguish between the true Dhamma and the false Dhamma through the comprehension of the four kinds of clinging.

Bhikkhus, when ignorance is abandoned and |wisdom::clear apprehension of how things have come to be, directly knowing [vijja]| has arisen in a bhikkhu, then with the fading away of ignorance and the arising of wisdom, he no longer clings to sensual pleasures, no longer clings to views, no longer clings to rules and observances, no longer clings to a doctrine of self. By not clinging, he remains |unperturbed::without agitation, without worry, untroubled, undisturbed, unshaken [aparitassa]|. Remaining unperturbed, he personally attains |complete quenching [of mental defilements]::complet cooling of mental defilements [parinibbuta]|.

The Buddha sits silently among the Saṅgha of bhikkhus on an Uposatha night when the assembly wasn’t pure. Afterwards, the Buddha explains the eight wonderful and marvelous qualities of the Dhamma and Vinaya, likening them to similarly wonderful qualities of the great ocean.

5) Just as, bhikkhus, all the streams in the world flow into the great ocean, and rains fall from the sky, yet the great ocean is neither depleted nor filled thereby; so too, bhikkhus, though many bhikkhus attain |final Nibbāna::complete cooling, full quenching, total emancipation, dying one’s final death [parinibbuta]| |with no residual clinging::with no grasping to existence [anupādisesa]| in the element of |Nibbāna::complete cooling, letting go of everything, deathless, freedom from calamity, the non-disintegrating [nibbāna]|, there is no discernible lessening or filling up of the Nibbāna element. That though many bhikkhus attain final Nibbāna with no residual clinging in the element of Nibbāna, yet there is no discernible decrease or increase in the Nibbāna element; this, bhikkhus, is the fifth wonderful and marvelous quality of this Dhamma and Vinaya, which, seeing again and again, bhikkhus delight in.