[At Saavatthii the Brahman U.n.naabha said to the Buddha:] "There are these five sense faculties, good Gotama, of different spheres, different action, and they do not share in each other's sphere of action. Which five? The sense of sight, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching.[1] As these five faculties are of different scope and range, and do not share in each other's sphere of action, what is their resort,[2] and who profits from their combined activity?"[3]
"There are, Brahman, these five sense-faculties... which do not share in each other's sphere of action. Mind is their resort, and it is mind that profits from their combined activity."
"But, good Gotama, what is mind's resort?"
"Mind's resort, Brahman, is mindfulness."[4]
"Then, good Gotama, what is the resort of mindfulness?"[5]
"The resort of mindfulness, Brahman, is liberation."
"Then, good Gotama, what is the resort of liberation?"
"The resort of liberation is Nibbaana."
"Then, good Gotama, what is the resort of Nibbaana?"
"That question goes too far Brahman. No answer can encompass it. The aim of the holy life, Brahman, is immersion[6] in Nibbaana, it has Nibbaana for its final end, Nibbaana for its conclusion."
The Brahman U.n.naabha was delighted with the words of the Blessed One and rejoiced in them. He rose, saluted the Blessed One and departed. Not long after his departure the Blessed One said to the monks:
"Monks, imagine a house or a pavilion with a peaked roof, with a window to the east. When the sun rises and its rays strike through the window, what do they rest on?"
"On the western wall, Lord."
"Just so, monks, the faith of the Brahman U.n.naabha is settled on the Tathaagata, rooted in him, established in him. It is strong, and cannot be uprooted by any recluse or Brahman, deva or Maara, Brahmaa or anyone else in the world.
"Monks, if the Brahman U.n.naabha were to die now,[7] there is no fetter to bind the Brahman U.n.naabha and cause him to return to this world."[8]
"The dewdrop slips into the shining sea."