“Mendicants, Uddaka son of Rāma used to say:
‘Hereupon, ever the knowledge master! Hereupon, ever the conqueror of all! Hereupon, ever the undug boil’s root was dug out by me!’
Even though Uddaka son of Rāma was no knowledge master, he said ‘I’m a knowledge master.’ Though he was no conqueror of all, he said ‘I’m conqueror of all.’ And though the boil’s root was not dug out, he said ‘I’ve dug out the boil’s root.’
A mendicant might rightly say here:
‘Hereupon, ever the knowledge master! Hereupon, ever the conqueror of all! Hereupon, ever the undug boil’s root is dug out!’
And how is someone a knowledge master? It’s when a mendicant truly understands the six fields of contact’s origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape. That’s how a mendicant is a knowledge master.
And how is a mendicant a conqueror of all? It’s when a mendicant comes to be freed by not grasping after truly understanding the six fields of contact’s origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape. That’s how a mendicant is a conqueror of all.
And how has a mendicant dug out the undug boil’s root? ‘Boil’ is a term for this body made up of the four principal states, produced by mother and father, built up from rice and porridge, liable to impermanence, to wearing away and erosion, to breaking up and destruction. ‘Boil’s root’ is a term for craving. It’s when a mendicant has given up craving, 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 mendicant has dug out the undug boil’s root.
Uddaka son of Rāma used to say:
‘Hereupon, ever the knowledge master! Hereupon, ever the conqueror of all! Hereupon, ever the undug boil’s root is dug out!’
Even though Uddaka son of Rāma was no knowledge master, he said ‘I’m a knowledge master.’ Though he was no conqueror of all, he said ‘I’m conqueror of all.’ And though the boil’s root was not dug out, he said ‘I’ve dug out the boil’s root.’
A mendicant might rightly say here:
‘Hereupon, ever the knowledge master! Hereupon, ever the conqueror of all! Hereupon, ever the undug boil’s root is dug out!’”