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# Snp 5:7 · 5:7 Nanda’s Questions
- URL: https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/snp-5-7/
- Published: 2026-06-01T01:01:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-13T16:50:08.000Z
- Description: Sutta Nipāta · Snp 5:7. Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.
- Author: Ninth Heaven Literature & Arts Association (NHLAA)
- Tags: Buddhism, Sutta Piṭaka, Text, Indian, The Buddha, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Sutta Nipāta, Verse, Pali, Early Buddhist, Library, #Import 2026-07-06 03:29

There are in the world

sages, they say

—in what way?

Do they call one a sage

for possessing knowledge

or possessing a way of life?

The Buddha:

Not on account of his views,

learning,

or knowledge

do the skilled here, Nanda,

call one a sage.

Those who live

disarmed,

undesiring,

untroubled:

Those, I say, are called sages.

Nanda:

Whatever brahmans & contemplatives

describe purity

in terms of views & learning,

describe purity

in terms of habits & practices,

describe purity

in terms of manifold ways:

Have they, dear sir, living there in that way,

crossed over birth & aging?

I ask you, Blessed One.

Please tell me.

The Buddha:

Whatever brahmans & contemplatives

describe purity

in terms of views & learning,

describe purity

in terms of habits & practices,

describe purity

in terms of manifold ways:

None of them, living there in that way,

I tell you, have crossed over birth & aging.

Nanda:

Whatever brahmans & contemplatives

describe purity

in terms of views & learning,

describe purity

in terms of habits & practices,

describe purity

in terms of manifold ways:

If, sage, as you say,

they’ve not crossed over the flood,

then who in the world

of beings divine & human, dear sir,

has crossed over birth & aging?

I ask you, Blessed One.

Please tell me.

The Buddha:

I don’t say that all brahmans & contemplatives

are shrouded in birth & aging.

Those here who’ve abandoned

what’s seen, heard, & sensed,

habits & practices[1](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/StNp/StNp5%5F7.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co)

—all—

who’ve abandoned their manifold ways

—again, all—

who, comprehending craving,

are effluent-free:

They are the ones, I tell you,

who’ve crossed over the flood.

Nanda:

I relish, Gotama, the Great Seer’s words

well-expounded, without acquisition.

Those here who’ve abandoned

what’s seen, heard, & sensed,

habits & practices

—all—

who’ve abandoned their manifold ways

—again, all—

who, comprehending craving,

are effluent-free:

I, too, say they’ve crossed over the flood.

vv. 1077–1083

Note

1\. For a discussion of the abandoning of habits and practices, see *The Mind Like Fire Unbound,* chapters 3 and 4, and *The Paradox of Becoming,* chapter 4.

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*Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) licence, for free distribution only. Source: [dhammatalks.org](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/StNp/StNp5%5F7.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) (Metta Forest Monastery).*