Then Venerable Ānanda went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to the Buddha:

“Could it be, sir, that a mendicant might gain a state of immersion such that there’s no ego, possessiveness, or underlying tendency to conceit for this conscious body; and no ego, possessiveness, or underlying tendency to conceit for all external stimuli; and that they’d live having attained the freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom where ego, possessiveness, and underlying tendency to conceit are no more?”

“It could be, Ānanda, that a mendicant gains a state of immersion such that they have no ego, possessiveness, or underlying tendency to conceit for this conscious body; and no ego, possessiveness, or underlying tendency to conceit for all external stimuli; and that they’d live having attained the freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom where ego, possessiveness, and underlying tendency to conceit are no more.”

“But how could this be, sir?”

“Ānanda, it’s when a mendicant thinks: ‘This is peaceful; this is sublime—that is, the stilling of all activities, the letting go of all attachments, the ending of craving, fading away, cessation, extinguishment.’

That’s how, Ānanda, a mendicant might gain a state of immersion such that there’s no ego, possessiveness, or underlying tendency to conceit for this conscious body; and no ego, possessiveness, or underlying tendency to conceit for all external stimuli; and that they’d live having achieved the freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom where ego, possessiveness, and underlying tendency to conceit are no more.

And Ānanda, this is what I was referring to in ‘The Way to the Far Shore’, in ‘The Questions of Puṇṇaka’ when I said:

‘Having appraised the world high and low,

there is nothing in the world that disturbs them.

Peaceful, unclouded, untroubled,

with no need for hope—

they’ve crossed over rebirth and old age, I declare.’”

In this profound teaching, Venerable Ānanda approaches the Buddha with a question about the possibility of achieving a state of immersion free from ego, possessiveness, and the underlying tendency to conceit. The Buddha affirms that such a state is indeed attainable. He explains that this state can be reached when a mendicant recognizes and embraces the peace and sublimity found in the stilling of all activities, the letting go of all attachments, the ending of craving, fading away, cessation, and extinguishment. This state represents the ultimate freedom of heart and wisdom, where the binds of ego, possessiveness, and conceit are completely dissolved.