This is as I heard. At one time the Blessed One was staying in the province of Sāvatthī, in Jeta’s park, at Anathapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then, late at night, a glorious deity, lighting up the entire Jeta’s park, went up to the Blessed One, bowed, stood to one side, and recited this verse:
“How many are there to be cut?
How many are there to be abandoned?
How many more should be developed?
How many kinds of clinging
must a Bhikkhu get over
before you call them a flood-crosser?”
The Blessed One:
“Five to cut (the fetters of self-centered view, doubt, clinging to wrong practice, sensual desire, and anger),
five to drop (the fetters of craving for fine-material existence, craving for immaterial existence, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance),
and five more to develop (the faculties of faith, effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom). A Bhikkhu who gets over five kinds of clinging (lust, hatred, delusion, conceit, and wrong views)
is said to be a flood-crosser.”
Sādhu! Sādhu!! Sādhu!!!
