SN 12.46  Aññatarabrāhmaṇa sutta - A Certain Brahmin

At Sāvatthi.

Then a certain brahmin approached the Blessed One, and having approached, exchanged greetings with him. After the exchange of courteous and polite conversation, he sat down to one side and said to the Blessed One:

“Sir Gotama, is it the case that the one who acts is the same one who experiences [the result]?”

“‘The one who acts is the same one who experiences the result,’ brahmin, this is one extreme.”

“What about this, sir Gotama, one who acts is different from the one who experiences the result?”

“‘The one who acts is different from the one who experiences the result,’ brahmin, this is the second extreme.

Not approaching these two extremes, brahmin, the Tathāgata teaches the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]| by the middle: ‘|Dependent on::contingent on, supported by, grounded on [paṭicca]| |ignorance::fundamental unawareness or misunderstanding of the true nature of reality, not experientially understanding the four noble truths [avijjā]|, |intentional constructs::intentions, volitions, and choices expressed as mental, verbal, and bodily activities; thought formations and constructed experiences (including proliferative tendencies); processes that produce kamma [saṅkhāra]| [arise]; dependent on intentional constructs, |consciousness::quality of awareness — distinctive knowing that arises in dependence on the meeting of eye and form, ear and sound, nose and odor, tongue and taste, body and tangible object, mind and mind object [viññāṇa]| arises; dependent on consciousness, |name and form::mentality and materiality—the integrated structure of mental capacities (intention, attention, contact, feeling, perception) and physical form that together constitute and sustain an individual being [nāmarūpa]| arise; dependent on name and form, the |six sense bases::The six internal sense bases—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—are the faculties that enable sensory contact and experience. They are not the physical organs themselves, but the functional conditions that enable consciousness to meet an object [saḷāyatana]| arise; dependent on the six sense bases, |contact::sense impingement, raw experience, touch [phassa]| arises; dependent on contact, |felt experience::pleasant, neutral, or painful sensation, feeling, second of the five aggregates [vedanā]| arises; dependent on felt experience, |craving::wanting, yearning, longing, attachment, lit. thirst [taṇha]| arises; dependent on craving, |clinging::grasping, acquiring, appropriating, taking possession, identifying [upādāna]| arises; dependent on clinging, |existence::continued conditional existence, the karmically conditioned mode of being that leads to future rebirth [bhava]| arises; dependent on existence, |birth::rebirth, conception, coming into existence [jāti]| arises; dependent on birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair arise. Thus is the |arising::appearance, origination [samudaya]| of this whole mass of suffering.

With the |complete fading away and ending::remainderless dispassion and cessation [asesavirāganirodha]| of ignorance comes the ending of intentional constructs; with the ending of intentional constructs, ending of consciousness; with the ending of consciousness, ending of name and form; with the ending of name and form, ending of the six sense bases; with the ending of the six sense bases, ending of contact; with the ending of contact, ending of felt experience; with the ending of felt experience, ending of craving; with the ending of craving, ending of clinging; with the ending of clinging, ending of existence; with the ending of existence, ending of birth; with the ending of birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair cease. Thus is the ending of this whole mass of suffering.’”

When this was said, that brahmin said to the Blessed One: “Excellent, venerable Gotama! Excellent, venerable Gotama! Just as if one might set upright what had been overturned, |reveal::uncover [vivarati]| what had been concealed, point out the way to one who was lost, or hold up a lamp in the dark so that those with eyes could see forms, in the same way, venerable Gotama, the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]| has been |explained::illustrated [pakāsita]| by you in many ways. I go for refuge to venerable Gotama, to the Dhamma, and to the |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]| of bhikkhus. May venerable Gotama remember me as a |lay disciple::one who takes refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha [upāsaka]| who, from this day forward, has gone to refuge for life.