Dependent Arising 12: The Middle Way

yo ubhante viditvāna majjhe mantā na lippati taṁ brūmi mahāpurisoti sodha sibbanimaccagā “He who, having understood both ends with wisdom, does not get attached at the middle. I call him a Great Man. He has gone beyond the seamstress.” — Pārāyaṇa Vagga • What is the first end? • What is the second end? • What is the middle? • Who is the seamstress? Buddha: “One end is pleasant feeling, the second end is unpleasant or painful feeling and the middle is neither unpleasant nor pleasant feeling. Craving is the seamstress. “Insofar friends, does a monk understand by higher knowledge what is to be understood by higher knowledge, comprehend by full understanding what is to be comprehended by full understanding. Understanding by higher knowledge what is to be understood by higher knowledge, comprehending by full understanding what is to be comprehended by full understanding, he becomes an ender of suffering in this very life.”