In MN140 there is the inspiring statement:
‘They have four foundations, standing on which the streams of identification don’t flow. And when the streams of identification don’t flow, they’re called a sage at peace.’
‘Yattha ṭhitaṁ maññassavā nappavattanti, maññassave kho pana nappavattamāne muni santoti vuccatī’ti—
SuttaCentral
The grammar in the translation is a little confusing. I guess the “they” is the implied subject of “standing on” (it surely isn’t the streams). So, spelling it out, I think it’s saying:
‘They have four foundations. [When they stand on these four foundations] the streams of identification don’t flow. And when the streams of identification don’t flow, they’re called a sage at peace.’
Apart from this subject issue (which could be solved by some reordering - see Bhikkhu Bodhi’s attempt below) the simile sounds logically clumsy. How does standing on a foundation halt a stream? Standing on a foundation would prevent one being swept away by a stream, it wouldn’t stop the stream itself (you’d need a dam to do that!).
Here’s Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation:
The tides of conceiving do not sweep over one who stands upon these foundations, and when the tides of conceiving no longer sweep over him he is called a sage at peace.
Sorry if this sounds picky. I was studying this sutta with group of friends this week, and I found it very useful to have both translations to work with. I really appreciated this, and the subsequent paragraph:
For this is the ultimate noble generosity, namely,
Eso hi, bhikkhu, paramo ariyo cāgo yadidaṁ—
letting go of all attachments.
sabbūpadhipaṭinissaggo.