In short: This short saying is one of the few places where the Buddha speaks positively about nibbāna. Older translations render it "there is an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned". Bhikkhu Sujato translates:
There is, mendicants, freedom from rebirth, freedom from what has been produced, made, and conditioned. If there were no freedom from rebirth… you would find no escape here from rebirth, from what has been produced, made, and conditioned.
What it means
The saying is an argument from hope: because there is something not born, not made, not conditioned, an escape from suffering is possible. It complements the definition of nirvana as "the ending of greed, hate, and delusion". See what is nirvana?
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The full text in Pāli and English
Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato, from SuttaCentral (UD8.3). Ellipses (…) are abbreviations in the original. Notes are ANEW's.
| Pāli | English |
|---|---|
| Evaṁ me sutaṁ— | So I have heard. |
| ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. | At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. |
| Tena kho pana samayena bhagavā bhikkhū nibbānapaṭisaṁyuttāya dhammiyā kathāya sandasseti samādapeti samuttejeti sampahaṁseti. | Now at that time the Buddha was educating, encouraging, firing up, and inspiring the mendicants with a Dhamma talk about extinguishment. |
| Tedha bhikkhū aṭṭhiṁ katvā, manasi katvā, sabbaṁ cetaso samannāharitvā, ohitasotā dhammaṁ suṇanti. | And those mendicants were paying attention, applying the mind, concentrating wholeheartedly, and actively listening. |
| Atha kho bhagavā etamatthaṁ viditvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ udānaṁ udānesi: | Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment: |
| “Atthi, bhikkhave, ajātaṁ abhūtaṁ akataṁ asaṅkhataṁ. | “There is, mendicants, freedom from rebirth, freedom from what has been produced, made, and conditioned. |
| No cetaṁ, bhikkhave, abhavissa ajātaṁ abhūtaṁ akataṁ asaṅkhataṁ, nayidha jātassa bhūtassa katassa saṅkhatassa nissaraṇaṁ paññāyetha. | If there were no freedom from rebirth, freedom from what has been produced, made, and conditioned, then you would find no escape here from rebirth, from what has been produced, made, and conditioned. |
| Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi ajātaṁ abhūtaṁ akataṁ asaṅkhataṁ, tasmā jātassa bhūtassa katassa saṅkhatassa nissaraṇaṁ paññāyatī”ti. | But since there is freedom from rebirth, freedom from what has been produced, made, and conditioned, an escape is found from rebirth, from what has been produced, made, and conditioned.” |
| Tatiyaṁ. |
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Questions people ask
What does 'there is an unborn' mean?
In Ud 8.3 the Buddha says there is an unborn, unmade, unconditioned (Sujato: 'freedom from rebirth, freedom from what has been produced, made, and conditioned'), and that because of it, escape from suffering is possible.