Suppose a sal, axlewood, or sandan tree was choked and enveloped by three camel’s foot creepers. Then along comes a person with a spade and basket. They’d cut the creeper out by the roots, dig them up, and pull them out, down to the fibers and stems. Then they’d split the creeper apart, cut up the parts, and chop it into splinters. They’d dry the splinters in the wind and sun, burn them with fire, and reduce them to ashes. Then they’d whisk away the ashes in a strong wind, or glide them down a swift stream. So those camel’s foot creepers would be cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, and obliterated, unable to arise in the future. In the same way, for such an individual, bad unskillful qualities born of greed, hate, and delusion are cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future. In this very life they’re happy, free of distress, anguish, and fever, and they’re also extinguished in this very life.
These are the three skillful roots.”
Numbered Discourses 3.70 7. The Great Chapter Sabbath
So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in the stilt longhouse of Migāra’s mother in the Eastern Monastery. Then Visākhā, Migāra’s mother, went up to the Buddha, bowed, and sat down to one side. The Buddha said to her, “So, Visākhā, where are you coming from in the middle of the day?” “Today, sir, I’m observing the sabbath.”