Monks, for this reason those matters which I have discovered and proclaimed should be thoroughly learnt by you, practised, developed and cultivated, so that this holy life may endure for a long time, that it may be for the benefit and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit and happiness of devas and humans. And what are those matters...?'
They are:
The four foundations of mindfulness;
The four right efforts,
The four roads to power,
The five spiritual faculties,
The five mental powers,
The seven factors of enlightenment,
The Noble Eightfold Path.'
"And now, monks, I declare to you-all conditioned things are of a nature to decay-strive on untiringly. The Tathāgata's final passing will not be long delayed. Three months from now the Tathagata will take his final Nibbāna.
Ripe I am in years. My life-span's determined. Now I go from you, having made myself my refuge. Monks, be untiring, mindful, disciplined, Guarding your minds with well-collected thought. He who, tireless, keeps to law and discipline, Leaving birth behind will put an end to woe.'
