sn.45.3 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

Sāriputta

At Savatthī. Then the Venerable Sāriputta approached the Blessed One … and said to him:

“Venerable sir, this is the entire holy life, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship.”

“Good, good, Sāriputta! This is the entire holy life, Sāriputta, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. When a bhikkhu has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.

“And how, Sāriputta, does a bhikkhu who has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path?”

The rest as in the preceding sutta.

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh

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Sāriputta

At Sāvatthī.
Then Sāriputta went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:
“Sir, good friends, companions, and associates are the whole of the spiritual life.”
“Good, good, Sāriputta!
Good friends, companions, and associates are the whole of the spiritual life.
A mendicant with good friends, companions, and associates can expect to develop and cultivate the noble eightfold path.
And how does a mendicant with good friends develop and cultivate the noble eightfold path?
It’s when a mendicant develops right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion, which rely on seclusion, fading away, and cessation, and ripen as letting go.
That’s how a mendicant with good friends develops and cultivates the noble eightfold path.
And here’s another way to understand how good friends are the whole of the spiritual life.
For, by relying on me as a good friend, sentient beings who are liable to rebirth, old age, and death, to sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress are freed from all these things.
This is another way to understand how good friends are the whole of the spiritual life.”