This discourse was taught by the Blessed One, taught by the Arahant, the fully enlightened Supreme Buddha. This is as I heard,
“Monks, there are three fires. What three? The fire of lust, the fire of hate, and the fire of delusion. These, monks, are the three fires.”
This is the meaning of what the Blessed One said. So, with regard to this, it was said:
The fire of lust burns those who delight in and are infatuated by sense pleasures; the fire of hate burns angry people who kill other beings; the fire of delusion burns those who do not know the Four Noble Truths.
Those who take delight in the Five Aggregates of Clinging are unaware of these three fires.
Since they have not been freed from the bonds of Māra, the evil one, they increase the number of beings in hell, in the animal world, the titan’s world, and the ghost world.
But the disciples of the fully enlightened Buddha have put out the fire of lust because they are devoted to the message of the Buddha and meditate day and night on the impurities of the body.
Those worthy humans put out the fire of hate with loving kindness, and put out the fire of delusion with the wisdom leading to Nibbāna.
Practising the path with untiring effort night and day, those wise disciples put out these fires without remainder and overcome suffering without remainder. They attain ultimate freedom, Nibbāna.
Having fully understood the Four Noble Truths, they have reached the ultimate goal of the Dhamma. These wise ones possess noble vision. By directly knowing the end of birth they will never be born again.
This, too, is the meaning of what was said by the Blessed One. This is exactly as I heard.
