1 At one time Venerable Sāriputta and Venerable Mahākoṭṭhita were staying near Varanasi in the deer park at Isipatana. …
Mahākoṭṭhita said to Sāriputta:
“Reverend Sāriputta, they speak of this thing called ‘ignorance’. What is ignorance? And how is an ignoramus defined?”
2 “Reverend, it’s when an unlearned ordinary person doesn’t truly understand form, which is liable to originate … liable to vanish … liable to originate and vanish, as form which is liable to originate and vanish.
They don’t truly understand feeling … perception … choices … consciousness, which is liable to originate … liable to vanish … liable to originate and vanish, as consciousness which is liable to originate and vanish.
This is called ignorance. And this is how an ignoramus is defined.”