[Udaya:]

To the one in jhana
	seated dustless,
		passionless,
	his task done,
	effluent-free,
		gone to the beyond
		of all phenomena,
I've come with a question.
Tell me the gnosis of emancipation,
	the breaking open
	of ignorance.

[The Buddha:]

The abandoning
	both of sensual desires,
	& of unhappiness,
the dispelling of sloth,
the warding off of anxieties,
equanimity-&-mindfulness purified,
	with inspection of mental qualities
	swift in the forefront:
That I call the gnosis of emancipation, 1
	the breaking open
	of ignorance. 2

[Udaya:]

With what
	is the world fettered?
With what
	is it examined?
Through the abandoning of what
	is there said to be
		Unbinding?

[The Buddha:]

With delight
	the world's fettered.
With directed thought
	it's examined.
Through the abandoning of craving
	is there said to be
		Unbinding.

[Udaya:]

Living mindful in what way
does one bring consciousness
		to a halt?
We've come questioning
	to the Blessed One.
Let us hear your words.

[The Buddha:]

Not relishing feeling,
	inside or out:
One living mindful in this way
	brings consciousness
		to a halt. 3

Notes

1. For a discussion of the "gnosis of emancipation" — the state of knowledge consisting of mental absorption coupled with an analysis of mental states, see AN 9.36 and Section III.F in The Wings to Awakening.

2. AN 3.33 contains a discussion of this verse. The Buddha tells Ven. Sariputta that one should train oneself such that "with regard to this conscious body, there will be no 'I'-making or 'mine'-making or obsession of conceit, such that with regard to all external themes [topics of concentration] there will be no 'I'-making or 'mine'-making or obsession of conceit, and that we will enter & remain in the awareness-release & discernment-release in which there is no 'I'-making or 'mine'-making or obsession of conceit." When one has trained in this way, he says, one is called a person who has cut through craving, unraveled the fetter, who has, through the right penetration of conceit, put an end to suffering & stress. He then states that it was in connection to this state that he uttered this verse.

3. For a discussion of "bringing consciousness to a halt" — showing that it is not an annihilation of consciousness, but rather the ending of its proliferating activity — see SN 22.53.