A hateful person … A deluded person, overcome by delusion, intends to hurt themselves, hurt others, and hurt both. They experience mental pain and sadness. When delusion 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, too, is how extinguishment is apparent in the present life.
When you experience the ending of greed, hate, and delusion without remainder, that’s how extinguishment is apparent in the present life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves.”
“Excellent, worthy Gotama! Excellent! … From this day forth, may the worthy Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”
Numbered Discourses 3.56 6. Brahmins Breaking Apart
Then a certain well-to-do brahmin went up to the Buddha, and seated to one side he said to him: “Worthy Gotama, I have heard that brahmins of the past who were elderly and senior, the tutors of tutors, said: ‘In the old days this world was so full of humans you’d think they were squashed together. The villages, towns, and capital cities were no more than a chicken’s flight apart.’ What is the cause, worthy Gotama, what is the reason why these days human numbers have dwindled, a decline in population is evident, and whole villages, towns, cities, and countries have disappeared?”