“Indeed, brahmins, you’re old, elderly and senior. And you haven’t done what is good and skillful, nor have you made a shelter from fear. This world is burning with old age, sickness, and death. But restraint here by way of body, speech, and mind is the shelter, asylum, island, refuge, and final haven for the departed.

When your house is on fire, you rescue the pot that’s useful, not the one that’s burnt.

And as the world is on fire with old age and death, you should rescue by giving, for what’s given is rescued.

The restraint practiced here—of body, speech, and mind—leads the departed to happiness, as the good deeds done while living.”

Numbered Discourses 3.53 6. Brahmins A Certain Brahmin

Then a brahmin went up to the Buddha, and exchanged greetings with him. Seated to one side he said to the Buddha: “Worthy Gotama, they speak of ‘a teaching apparent in the present life’. In what way is the teaching apparent in the present life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves?”

“A greedy person, overcome and overwhelmed by greed, intends to hurt themselves, hurt others, and hurt both. They experience mental pain and sadness. When greed has been given up, they don’t intend to hurt themselves, hurt others, and hurt both. They don’t experience mental pain and sadness. This is how the teaching is apparent in the present life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves.