Hello again friends! 
It seems we’re never lacking in discussions related to jhānās and khandas and theories and such, so I wanted to share my personal quotations library from some of my favourite suttas on freedom, peace & virtue.
I know there’s various “What’s your favourite suttas” threads in the past, and I hope this serves as another as well. Feel free to use the format so people can copy-paste from each other and build their own libraries. If you decide to build your own library in this thread I can edit the first post to include your posts as well.
Also want to shout out Ven. @Snowbird’s 📚 Sutta Anthology Builder App which should come handy when actually making an e-book of this.
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Ud 5.5 - Taste of Dhamma is freedom.
Uposathasutta
The ocean has just one taste, the taste of salt. In the same way, this teaching and training has one taste, the taste of freedom. This is the sixth thing the mendicants love about this teaching and training.
DHP - The Buddhas - Avoid evil, embrace good, purify your mind.
Buddhavagga
Not to do any evil;
to embrace the good;
to purify one’s mind:
this is the instruction of the Buddhas.
Patient acceptance is the ultimate fervor.
Extinguishment is the ultimate, say the Buddhas.
No true renunciate injures another,
nor does an ascetic hurt another.
Not speaking ill nor doing harm;
restraint in the monastic code;
moderation in eating;
staying in remote lodgings;
commitment to the higher mind—
this is the instruction of the Buddhas.
AN 8.53 - Dhamma leads to unyoking, not yoking.
Saṁkhittasutta
“Sir, may the Buddha please teach me Dhamma in brief. When I’ve heard it, I’ll live alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute.”
“Gotamī, you might know that certain things lead to passion, not dispassion; to yoking, not to unyoking; to accumulation, not dispersal; to more desires, not fewer; to lack of contentment, not contentment; to crowding, not seclusion; to laziness, not energy; to being burdensome, not being unburdensome. Categorically, you should remember these things as not the teaching, not the training, and not the Teacher’s instructions.
You might know that certain things lead to dispassion, not passion; to unyoking, not to yoking; to dispersal, not accumulation; to fewer desires, not more; to contentment, not lack of contentment; to seclusion, not crowding; to energy, not laziness; to being unburdensome, not being burdensome. Categorically, you should remember these things as the teaching, the training, and the Teacher’s instructions.”
AN 3.65 - Know for yourself.
Kesamuttisutta
Please, Kālāmas, don’t go by oral transmission, don’t go by lineage, don’t go by testament, don’t go by canonical authority, don’t rely on logic, don’t rely on inference, don’t go by reasoned train of thought, don’t go by the acceptance of a view after deliberation, don’t go by the appearance of competence, and don’t think ‘The ascetic is our respected teacher.’
But when you know for yourselves: ‘These things are unskillful, blameworthy, criticized by sensible people, and when you undertake them, they lead to harm and suffering’, then you should give them up.
SNP 1.8 - This is what should be done by one skilled in goodness.
Mettasutta
Those who are skilled in the meaning of scripture
should practice as follows
to realize the state of peace.
Let them be able and upright, very upright,
easy to speak to, gentle and humble;
content and unburdensome,
unbusied, living lightly,
alert, with senses calmed,
courteous, not fawning on families.
Let them not do the slightest thing
that others might blame with reason.
May they be happy and safe!
May all beings be happy!
Whatever living creatures there are
with not a one left out—
frail or firm, long or large,
medium, small, tiny or round,
seen or unseen,
living far or near,
those who have been born
and those about to be born—
may all beings be happy!
Let none deceive another,
nor look down on anyone anywhere.
Though provoked or aggrieved,
let them not wish pain on each other.
Even as a mother would protect with her life
her child, her only child,
so too for all creatures
unfold a boundless heart.
With love for the whole world,
unfold a boundless heart:
above, below, all round,
unconstricted, without enemy or foe.
When standing, walking, sitting,
or lying down while yet unweary,
keep this ever in mind;
for this, they say, is a divine meditation
in this life.
Avoiding harmful views,
virtuous, accomplished in insight,
with desire for sensual pleasures dispelled,
they never return to a womb again.
SN55.7 - Don’t to unto others what you don’t like done to you.
Veḷudvāreyyasutta
It’s when a noble disciple reflects: ‘I want to live and don’t want to die; I want to be happy and recoil from pain. Since this is so, if someone were to take my life, I wouldn’t like that. But others also want to live and don’t want to die; they want to be happy and recoil from pain. So if I were to take the life of someone else, they wouldn’t like that either. The thing that is disliked by me is also disliked by others. Since I dislike this thing, how can I inflict it on someone else?’ Reflecting in this way, they give up killing living creatures themselves. And they encourage others to give up killing living creatures, praising the giving up of killing living creatures. So their bodily behavior is purified in three points.
MN 8 - Others may be unskillful, but here we will be skillful.
Sallekhasutta
‘Others will be cruel, but here we will not be cruel.’
‘Others will kill living creatures, but here we will not kill living creatures.’
‘Others will steal, but here we will not steal.’
‘Others will be unchaste, but here we will not be unchaste.’
‘Others will lie, but here we will not lie.’
‘Others will speak divisively, but here we will not speak divisively.’
‘Others will speak harshly, but here we will not speak harshly.’
‘Others will talk nonsense, but here we will not talk nonsense.’
‘Others will be covetous, but here we will not be covetous.’
‘Others will have ill will, but here we will not have ill will.’
‘Others will have wrong view, but here we will have right view.’
‘Others will have wrong thought, but here we will have right thought.’
‘Others will have wrong speech, but here we will have right speech.’
‘Others will have wrong action, but here we will have right action.’
‘Others will have wrong livelihood, but here we will have right livelihood.’
‘Others will have wrong effort, but here we will have right effort.’
‘Others will have wrong mindfulness, but here we will have right mindfulness.’
‘Others will have wrong immersion, but here we will have right immersion.’
‘Others will have wrong knowledge, but here we will have right knowledge.’
‘Others will have wrong freedom, but here we will have right freedom.’
‘Others will be overcome with dullness and drowsiness, but here we will be rid of dullness and drowsiness.’
‘Others will be restless, but here we will not be restless.’
‘Others will have doubts, but here we will have gone beyond doubt.’
‘Others will be irritable, but here we will be without anger.’
‘Others will be acrimonious, but here we will be without acrimony.’
‘Others will be offensive, but here we will be inoffensive.’
‘Others will be contemptuous, but here we will be without contempt.’
‘Others will be jealous, but here we will be without jealousy.’
‘Others will be stingy, but here we will be without stinginess.’
‘Others will be devious, but here we will not be devious.’
‘Others will be deceitful, but here we will not be deceitful.’
‘Others will be pompous, but here we will not be pompous.’
‘Others will be arrogant, but here we will not be arrogant.’
‘Others will be hard to admonish, but here we will not be hard to admonish.’
‘Others will have bad friends, but here we will have good friends.’
‘Others will be negligent, but here we will be diligent.’
‘Others will be faithless, but here we will have faith.’
‘Others will be conscienceless, but here we will have a sense of conscience.’
‘Others will be imprudent, but here we will be prudent.’
‘Others will be unlearned, but here we will be well learned.’
‘Others will be lazy, but here we will be energetic.’
‘Others will be unmindful, but here we will be mindful.’
‘Others will be witless, but here we will be accomplished in wisdom.’
‘Others will be attached to their own views, holding them tight, and refusing to let go, but here we will not be attached to our own views, not holding them tight, but will let them go easily.’
AN10.1 - Purpose of virtue is extinguishment.
Kimatthiyasutta
"So, Ānanda, the purpose and benefit of skillful ethics is not having regrets. Joy is the purpose and benefit of not having regrets. Rapture is the purpose and benefit of joy. Tranquility is the purpose and benefit of rapture. Bliss is the purpose and benefit of tranquility. Immersion is the purpose and benefit of bliss. Truly knowing and seeing is the purpose and benefit of immersion. Disillusionment and dispassion is the purpose and benefit of truly knowing and seeing. Knowledge and vision of freedom is the purpose and benefit of disillusionment and dispassion. So, Ānanda, skillful ethics progressively lead up to the highest.”
DHP 165 - No one can purify another.
The Self
For it is by oneself that evil’s done,
one is corrupted by oneself.
It’s by oneself that evil’s not done,
one is purified by oneself.
Purity and impurity are personal matters,
no one can purify another.
SN 45.2 - Good friendship is the whole of the holy path.
Upaḍḍhasutta
This is the entire holy life, Ānanda, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. When a bhikkhu has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.
Snp 4.8 - Desiring debate leads to suffering.
Pasūrasutta
“Here alone is purity,” they say,
denying that there is purification in other teachings.
Speaking of the beauty
in that which they depend on,
each one is dogmatic about
their own idiosyncratic interpretation.
Desiring debate, they plunge into an assembly,
where each takes the other as a fool.
Relying on others they state their contention,
desiring praise while claiming to be skilled.
Addicted to debating in the midst of the assembly,
their need for praise makes them nervous.
But when they’re repudiated they get embarrassed;
upset at criticism, they find fault in others.
If their doctrine is said to be weak,
and judges declare it repudiated,
the loser weeps and wails,
moaning, “They beat me.”
When these arguments come up among ascetics,
they get excited or dejected.
Seeing this, refrain from contention,
for the only purpose is praise and profit.
But if, having declared their doctrine,
they are praised there in the midst of the assembly,
they laugh and gloat because of it,
having got what they wanted.
Their pride is their downfall,
yet they speak from conceit and arrogance.
Seeing this, one ought not get into arguments,
for those who are skilled say this is no way to purity.
As a warrior, after feasting on royal food,
goes roaring, looking for someone to fight—
go off and find an opponent, Sūra,
for here, as before, there is no-one to fight.
When someone argues about a view they’ve adopted,
saying, “This is the only truth,”
say to them, “Here you’ll have no adversary
when a dispute has come up.”
There are those who live far from the crowd,
not countering views with view.
Who is there to argue with you, Pasūra,
among those who grasp nothing here as the highest?
And so you come along speculating,
thinking up theories in your mind.
Now that you’ve challenged
someone who is cleansed,
ou’ll not be able to respond.
AN 7.61 - Nothing is worth insisting on.
Pacalāyamānasutta
So you should train like this: ‘I won’t get into arguments.’ That’s how you should train. When there’s an argument, you can expect there’ll be lots of talking. When there’s lots of talking, people become restless. Being restless, they lose restraint. And without restraint the mind is far from immersion. Moggallāna, I don’t praise all kinds of closeness. Nor do I criticize all kinds of closeness. I don’t praise closeness with laypeople and renunciates. I do praise closeness with those lodgings that are quiet and still, far from the madding crowd, remote from human settlements, and fit for retreat.”
When he said this, Venerable Moggallāna asked the Buddha, “Sir, how do you briefly define a mendicant who is freed through the ending of craving, who has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal, and is best among gods and humans?”
“Take a mendicant who has heard: ‘Nothing is worth insisting on.’ When a mendicant has heard that nothing is worth insisting on, they directly know all things. Directly knowing all things, they completely understand all things. Completely understanding all things, when they experience any kind of feeling—pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral—they meditate observing impermanence, dispassion, cessation, and letting go in those feelings. Meditating in this way, they don’t grasp at anything in the world. Not grasping, they’re not anxious. Not being anxious, they personally become extinguished.
They understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.’ That’s how I briefly define a mendicant who is freed through the ending of craving, who has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal, and is best among gods and humans.”
SNP 4.3 - Cleansed one has no formulated views, they are not involved.
Duṭṭhaṭṭhakasutta
Some speak with malicious intent,
while others speak set on truth.
When disputes come up a sage does not get involved,
which is why they’ve no barrenness at all.
How can you transcend your own view
when you’re led by preference, dogmatic in belief?
Inventing your own undertakings,
you’d speak according to your notion.
Some, unasked, tell others
of their own precepts and vows.
They have an ignoble nature, say those who are skilled,
since they speak on themselves of their own accord.
A mendicant, peaceful, quenched,
never boasts “thus am I” of their precepts.
They have a noble nature, say those who are skilled,
who have no pretensions regarding anything in the world.
For one who formulates and creates teachings,
and promotes them despite their defects,
if they see an advantage for themselves,
they become dependent on that,
relying on unstable peace.
It’s not easy to get over dogmatic views
adopted after judging among the teachings.
That’s why, among all these dogmas, a person
rejects one teaching and takes up another.
The cleansed one has no formulated view
at all in the world about the different realms.
Having given up illusion and conceit,
by what path would they go? They are not involved.
For one who is involved gets embroiled
in disputes about teachings—
but how to dispute with the uninvolved?
About what?
For picking up and putting down
is not what they do;
they have shaken off all views in this very life.
SN47.8 - Attend to your mind like a cook attending his master and take the hint.
Sūdasutta
Suppose an astute, competent, skillful cook was to serve a ruler or their minister with an extravagant variety of curries: superbly sour, bitter, pungent, and sweet; hot and mild, and salty and bland.
And that cook took their master’s hint: ‘Today my master preferred this sauce, or he reached for it, or he took a lot of it, or he praised it. Today my master preferred the sour or bitter or pungent or sweet or hot or mild or salty sauce. Or he preferred the bland sauce, or he reached for the bland one, or he took a lot of it, or he praised it.’
That astute, competent, skillful cook gets presented with clothes, wages, and bonuses. Why is that? Because they take their master’s hint.
In the same way, an astute, competent, skillful mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. As they meditate observing an aspect of the body, their mind enters immersion, and their corruptions are given up. They take the hint. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings … mind … principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. As they meditate observing an aspect of principles, their mind enters immersion, and their corruptions are given up. They take the hint.
That astute, competent, skillful mendicant gets blissful meditations in this very life, and they get mindfulness and situational awareness. Why is that? Because they take their mind’s hint.”
SN 2.26 - Without reaching the end of the world, there’s no release from suffering.
Rohitassasutta
The end of the world can never
be reached by traveling.
But without reaching the end of the world,
there’s no release from suffering.
So an intelligent person, understanding the world,
has completed the spiritual journey
and gone to the end of the world.
A calm one, knowing the end of the world,
does not long for this world or the next.
AN 1.328 - Don’t approve even a tiny bit of continued existence.
Finger snap
“Just as, mendicants, even a tiny bit of fecal matter still stinks, so too I don’t approve of even a tiny bit of continued existence, not even as long as a finger-snap.
Just as even a tiny bit of urine, or spit, or pus, or blood still stinks, so too I don’t approve of even a tiny bit of continued existence, not even as long as a finger-snap.”
AN 9.34 - Extinguishment is bliss.
Nibbānasukhasutta
At one time Venerable Sāriputta was staying near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground.
There he addressed the mendicants: “Reverends, extinguishment is bliss! Extinguishment is bliss!”
When he said this, Venerable Udāyī said to him, “But Reverend Sāriputta, what’s blissful about it, since nothing is felt?”
“The fact that nothing is felt is precisely what’s blissful about it."