This discourse was taught by the Blessed One, taught by the Arahant, the fully enlightened Supreme Buddha. This is as I heard:
“Monks, a monk who has noble virtue, noble qualities, and noble wisdom, in the Buddha’s path is called one who is complete, who has reached fulfilment, supreme among humans.
And how, monks, is a monk a person with noble virtue? Here, monks, a monk is virtuous; he lives restrained by the restraint of the precepts of discipline and possesses courteous behaviour and righteous conduct. He trains himself, having undertaken the training rules and seeing danger in the slightest faults. In this way, monks, a monk is a person with noble virtue. Thus, he is of noble virtue.
And how, monks, is a monk a person with noble qualities? Here, monks, a monk lives developing the seven qualities that aid enlightenment. In this way, monks, a monk is a person with noble qualities. Thus, he is of noble virtue and noble qualities.
And how, monks, is a monk a person with noble wisdom? Here, monks, a monk, through realization by his own direct knowledge, enters and experiences here and now the mind-liberation and wisdom-liberation that is taintless due to the destruction of the taints. In this way, monks, a monk is a person with noble wisdom. Thus, he is of noble virtue, noble qualities, and noble wisdom. In the Buddha’s path, he is called one who is complete, who has reached fulfilment, supreme among humans.”
This is the meaning of what the Blessed One said. So, with regard to this, it was said:
The monk who is ashamed of wrongdoing and commits no wrong with body, speech, or mind is called a person of noble virtue.
The monk who is freed from conceit and is well-developed in the qualities that lead to enlightenment is called a person of noble qualities.
The taintless monk who understands the end of suffering through his own direct knowledge right in this life is called a person of noble wisdom.
The one who possesses these three qualities is free from suffering. He has destroyed all doubt. He has no attachments in the world. He is called one who has completely removed all.
This, too, is the meaning of what was said by the Blessed One. This is exactly as I heard.
