on generosity, morality, and heaven; on the downside, degradation, and defilement of worldly pleasures; and he revealed the benefits of renunciation. When the Buddha knew that his mind was ready, supple, without hindrances, joyful, and confident, he revealed the teaching unique to the Buddhas: suffering, its origin, its end, and the path. And just as a clean and stainless cloth absorbs dye properly, so too, while he was sitting right there, Belaṭṭha Kaccāna experienced the stainless vision of the Truth: “Anything that has a beginning has an end.” He had seen the Truth, had reached, understood, and penetrated it. He had gone beyond doubt and uncertainty, had attained to confidence, and had become independent of others in the Teacher’s instruction. He then said to the Buddha, “Wonderful, sir, wonderful! Just as one might set upright what’s overturned, or reveal what’s hidden, or show the way to one who’s lost, or bring a lamp into the darkness so that one with eyes might see what’s there— just so has the Buddha made the Teaching clear in many ways. I go for refuge to the Buddha, the Teaching, and the Sangha of monks. Please accept me as a lay follower who’s gone for refuge for life.”