The Related Suttas Collection 1.25

3. A Sword

A Perfected One

“When a bhikkhu is perfected, proficient, with defilements ended, bearing the final body: would they say, ‘I speak’, or even ‘they speak to me’?”

“When a bhikkhu is perfected, proficient, with defilements ended, bearing the final body: they would say, ‘I speak’, and also ‘they speak to me’. Skillful, understanding the world’s conventions, they’d use these terms as no more than expressions.”

“When a bhikkhu is perfected, proficient, with defilements ended, bearing the final body: is such a bhikkhu drawing close to conceit if they’d say, ‘I speak’, or even ‘they speak to me’?”

“Someone who has given up conceit has no ties, the ties of conceit are all dissipated. Though that clever person has transcended identity, they’d still say, ‘I speak’,

and also ‘they speak to me’. Skillful, understanding the world’s conventions, they’d use these terms as no more than expressions.”