Numbered Discourses 4.38

4. Situations

Withdrawn

“Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu has eliminated idiosyncratic interpretations of the truth, has totally given up searching, has stilled the habitual functioning patterns of the body, and is said to be ‘withdrawn’.

And how has a bhikkhu eliminated idiosyncratic interpretations of the truth? Different ascetics and brahmins have different idiosyncratic interpretations of the truth. For example: the cosmos is eternal, or not eternal, or finite, or infinite; the soul and the body are the same thing, or they are different things; after death, a Realized One still exists, or no longer exists, or both still exists and no longer exists, or neither still exists nor no longer exists. A bhikkhu has dispelled, eliminated, thrown out, rejected, let go of, given up, and relinquished all these. That’s how a bhikkhu has eliminated idiosyncratic interpretations of the truth.

And how has a bhikkhu totally given up searching? It’s when they’ve given up searching for sensual pleasures, for continued existence, and for a spiritual path. That’s how a bhikkhu has totally given up searching.

And how has a bhikkhu stilled the habitual functioning patterns of the body? It’s when, giving up pleasure and pain, and ending former happiness and sadness, they enter and remain in the fourth jhāna, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. That’s how a bhikkhu has stilled the habitual functioning patterns of the body.

And how is a bhikkhu withdrawn? It’s when they’ve given up the conceit ‘I am’, cut it off at the root, made it like a palm stump, obliterated it, so it’s unable to arise in the future. That’s how a bhikkhu is withdrawn. A bhikkhu has eliminated idiosyncratic interpretations of the truth, has totally given up searching, has stilled the habitual functioning patterns of the body, and is said to be ‘withdrawn’.

The search for sensual pleasures, for a good rebirth, and the search for a spiritual path; the holding tight to the notion ‘this is the truth’, and the mass of grounds for views—

for one detached from all lusts, freed by the ending of craving, that searching has been relinquished, and those viewpoints eradicated.

That bhikkhu is peaceful and mindful, a tranquil champion. And when they’re awakened by comprehending conceit, they’re called ‘withdrawn’.”