12.4. Vipassī

At Savatthi.

“Bhikkhus, before his enlightenment, while he was still a bodhisatta, not yet fully enlightened, it occurred to Vipassī, the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One: ‘Alas, this world has fallen into trouble, in that it is born, ages, and dies, it passes away and is reborn, yet it does not understand the escape from this suffering headed by aging-and-death. When now will an escape be discerned from this suffering headed by aging-and-death?’ … [6–9] …

“‘Cessation, cessation’—thus, bhikkhus, in regard to things unheard before there arose in the Bodhisatta Vipassī vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge, and light.”