MN # 38
The
Greater Discourse on the Destruction of Craving
Mahātaṇhāsankhaya Sutta
Dhamma
Talk by Bhante Vimalaramsi
DSMC
16-Oct-06
(SETTING)
1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Sāvatthi
in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.
2. Now on that occasion a pernicious view had arisen in a bhikkhu named
Sāti, son of a fisherman, thus:
BV: Apparently, he was the son of a fisherman, and hated fish, and hated the
smell of fish, so they call him the son of a fisherman, which in his mind
was not a good thing. (Laughs)
MN:
"As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, it is this same
consciousness that runs and wanders through the round of rebirths, not
another."
3. Several bhikkhus, having heard about this, went to the bhikkhu Sāti and
asked him: "Friend Sāti, is it true that such a pernicious view has arisen
in you?"
"Exactly so, friends. As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One,
it is this same consciousness that runs and wanders through the round of
rebirths, not another."
BV: This is one of the prevailing Brahman views, and that’s why he’s saying
that.
MN:
Then those bhikkhus, desiring to detach him from that pernicious view,
pressed and questioned and cross-questioned him thus: "Friend Sāti, do not
say so. Do not misrepresent the Blessed One; it is not good to misrepresent
the Blessed One. The Blessed One would not speak thus. For in many ways the
Blessed One has stated consciousness to be dependently arisen, since without
a condition there is no origination of consciousness."
Yet although pressed and questioned and cross-questioned by those bhikkhus
in this way, the bhikkhu Sāti, son of a fisherman, still obstinately adhered
to that pernicious view and continued to insist upon it.
4. Since the bhikkhus were unable to detach him from that pernicious view,
they went to the Blessed One, and after paying homage to him, they sat down
at one side and told him all that had occurred, adding: "Venerable sir,
since we could not detach the bhikkhu Sāti, son of a fisherman, from this
pernicious view, we have reported this matter to the Blessed One."
5. Then the Blessed One addressed a certain bhikkhu thus: "Come, [258]
bhikkhu, tell the bhikkhu Sāti, son of a fisherman, in my name that the
Teacher calls him."—"Yes, venerable sir," he replied, and he went to the
bhikkhu Sāti and told him: "The Teacher calls you, friend Sāti."
BV: During the time of the Buddha, they didn’t use the word Bhante. They
always used āvuso. It didn’t have anything to do with seniority and that
sort of thing. And now, a junior monk calls the senior monk Bhante. And the
senior monk calls the junior monk āvuso, which is friend. But during the
time of the Buddha, all of the monks just called each other friend. It
didn’t have anything to do with seniority.
MN:
"Yes, friend," he replied, and he went to the Blessed One, and after paying
homage to him, sat down at one side. The Blessed One then asked him: "Sāti,
is it true that the following pernicious view has arisen in you: 'As I
understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, it is this same
consciousness that runs and wanders through the round of rebirths, not
another'?"
"Exactly so, venerable sir. As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed
One, it is this same consciousness that runs and wanders through the round
of rebirths, not another."
"What is that consciousness, Sāti?"
"Venerable sir, it is that which speaks and feels and experiences here and
there the result of good and bad actions."
"Misguided man, to whom have you ever known me to teach the Dhamma in that
way? Misguided man, have I not stated in many ways consciousness to be
dependency arisen, since without a condition there is no origination of
consciousness? But you, misguided man, have misrepresented us by your wrong
grasp and injured yourself and stored up much demerit; for this will lead to
your harm and suffering for a long time."
6. Then the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus, what do you
think? Has this bhikkhu Sāti, son of a fisherman, kindled even a spark of
wisdom in this Dhamma and Discipline?"
"How could he, venerable sir? No, venerable sir."
When this was said, the bhikkhu Sāti, son of a fisherman, sat silent,
dismayed, with shoulders drooping and head down, glum, and without response.
Then, knowing this, the Blessed One told him: "Misguided man, you will be
recognised by your own pernicious view. I shall question the bhikkhus on
this matter."
7. Then the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus, do you
understand the Dhamma taught by me as this bhikkhu Sāti, [259] son of a
fisherman, does when he misrepresents us by his wrong grasp and injures
himself and stores up much demerit?"
"No, venerable sir. For in many discourses the Blessed One has stated
consciousness to be dependently arisen, since without a condition there is
no origination of consciousness."
BV: You got it?
S: ~
BV: Well, the potential of consciousness arises right after the formation.
It’s mind and body; it’s the six sense doors; and then when the six internal
senses hit the six external senses, then, that consciousness arises. But the
latent tendency for having consciousness arise, happened earlier than that.
Ok?
S: ~
BV: But when the color and form hit the good working eye, then
eye-consciousness arises. But the consciousness always has the potential to
arise, but it doesn’t arise until the conditions are right for it to arise,
and the conditions are the six internal sense doors and the six external
sense doors. And then when the meeting of these, occur, that consciousness
arises. And the meeting of these three things is called contact.
S: ~
BV: Well your external, is sound for the ear, taste for the tongue, odor for
the nose. It’s the color and form for the eye, and touch for the body, and
thought, for mind. With contact as condition, feeling arises. Feeling is
pleasant, painful, neither painful nor pleasant. These things happen fast,
and they’re very subtle. When you’re sitting in meditation, and you start to
see your mind move just a little bit and you relax right then, Dependent
Origination has already arose and passed away, a few hundred thousand times.
(Laughs)
So, the whole thing is, until those conditions are met, like mind, and
thought, mind object, they come together and then that mind consciousness
arises. Until that happens, there is no consciousness at all. There’s a
potential for consciousness, but the consciousness will not arise because it
is a conditioned phenomena. Ok?
Ok-
MN:
{"Good, bhikkhus. It is good that you understand the Dhamma taught by me
thus. For in many ways I have stated consciousness to be dependently arisen,
since without a condition there is no origination of consciousness. But this
bhikkhu Sāti, son of a fisherman, misrepresents us by his wrong grasp and
injures himself and stores up much demerit; for this will lead to the harm
and suffering of this misguided man for a long time.}
(CONDITIONALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS)
8. "Bhikkhus, consciousness is reckoned by the particular condition
dependent upon which it arises. When consciousness arises dependent on the
eye and forms, it is reckoned as eye-consciousness; when consciousness
arises dependent on the ear and sounds, it is reckoned as ear-consciousness;
when consciousness arises dependent on the nose and odours, [260] it is
reckoned as nose-consciousness; when consciousness arises dependent on the
tongue and flavours, it is reckoned as tongue-consciousness; when
consciousness arises dependent on the body and tangibles, it is reckoned as
body-consciousness; when consciousness arises dependent on the mind and
mind-objects, it is reckoned as mind-consciousness. Just as fire is reckoned
by the particular condition dependent on which it burns—when fire burns
dependent on logs, it is reckoned as a log fire; when fire burns dependent
on faggots, it is reckoned as a faggot fire; when fire burns dependent on
grass, it is reckoned as a grass fire; when fire burns dependent on cowdung,
it is reckoned as a cowdung fire; when fire burns dependent on chaff, it is
reckoned as a chaff fire; when fire burns dependent on rubbish, it is
reckoned as a rubbish fire—so too, consciousness is reckoned by the
particular condition dependent on which it arises. {When consciousness
arises dependent on the eye and forms, it is reckoned as
eye-consciousness...when consciousness arises dependent on the mind and
mind-objects, it is reckoned as mind-consciousness.}
(GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE ON BEING)
9. "Bhikkhus, do you see: This has come to be'?"—"Yes, venerable
sir."—"Bhikkhus, do you see: 'Its origination occurs with that as
nutriment'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."—"Bhikkhus, do you see: 'With the
cessation of that nutriment, what has come to be is subject to
cessation'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."
BV: So you take away the color and form, turn out the lights, then
eye-consciousness does not arise.
I got in a big discussion with a Mahayana monk, and he claimed that the
eye-consciousness does not depend on whether you have an eye in good working
order or not. Can you imagine? (Laughs) “No, eye-consciousness is still
there.”—“Well you can’t see anything.”—“Doesn’t matter. It’s still there.”
S: ~
BV: Well, If somebody is born and they don’t have an eye, they don’t have
the potential to see, in this lifetime, anyway. But we can’t say that about
being deaf, because they have machines now that you can hook up in back of
your skull, and you can hear, through your skin. And it’s just like
somebody’s right in the middle of your head, talking.
MN:
10. "Bhikkhus, does doubt arise when one is uncertain thus: 'Has this come
to be'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."—"Bhikkhus, does doubt arise when one is
uncertain thus: 'Does its origination occur with that as nutriment'?"—"Yes,
venerable sir."— "Bhikkhus, does doubt arise when one is uncertain thus:
'With the cessation of that nutriment, is what has come to be subject to
cessation'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."
11. "Bhikkhus, is doubt abandoned in one who sees as it actually is with
proper wisdom thus: 'This has come to be'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."—"Bhikkhus,
is doubt abandoned in one who sees as it actually is with proper wisdom
thus: 'Its origination occurs with that as nutriment'?"—"Yes, venerable
sir."—"Bhikkhus, is doubt abandoned in one who sees as it actually is with
proper wisdom thus: 'With the cessation of that nutriment, what has come to
be is subject to cessation'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."
12. "Bhikkhus, are you thus free from doubt here: 'This has come to
be'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."—"Bhikkhus, are you thus free from doubt here:
'Its origination occurs with that as nutriment'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."—"Bhikkhus,
are you thus free from doubt here: 'With the cessation of that nutriment,
what has come to be is subject to cessation'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."
13. "Bhikkhus, has it been seen well by you as it actually is with proper
wisdom thus: 'This has come to be'?"
BV: So he must be talking to some pretty advanced monks.
MN:
—"Yes, venerable sir."—"Bhikkhus, has it been seen well by you as it
actually is with proper wisdom thus: 'Its origination occurs with that as
nutriment'?"—"Yes, venerable sir."—"Bhikkhus, has it been seen well by you
as it actually is with proper wisdom thus: 'With the cessation of that
nutriment, what has come to be is subject to cessation'?"—"Yes, venerable
sir."
14. "Bhikkhus, purified and bright as this view is, if you adhere to it,
cherish it, treasure it, and treat it as a possession, would you then
understand that the Dhamma has been taught as similar to a raft, being for
the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of grasping?"—"No,
venerable sir."—"Bhikkhus, purified and bright as this view is, [261] if you
do not adhere to it, cherish it, treasure it, and treat it as a possession,
would you then understand that the Dhamma has been taught as similar to a
raft, being for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of
grasping?"—"Yes, venerable sir."
(NUTRIMENT AND DEPENDENT ORIGINATION)
15. "Bhikkhus, there are these four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance
of beings that already have come to be and for the support of those seeking
a new existence. What four? They are: physical food as nutriment, gross or
subtle; contact as the second; mental volition as the third; and
consciousness as the fourth.
BV: Do you see that as nurtiment?
S: ~
BV: Physical food is nutriment. Contact, is nutriment. Mental volition, is
nutriment. Consciousness, is nutriment.
MN:
16. "Now, bhikkhus, these four kinds of nutriment have what as their source,
what as their origin, from what are they born and produced? These four kinds
of nutriment have craving as their source, craving as their origin; they are
born and produced from craving. And this craving has what as its source...?
Craving has feeling as its source...And this feeling has what as its
source...? Feeling has contact as its source...And this contact has what as
its source...? Contact has the sixfold base as its source...And this sixfold
base has what as its source...? The sixfold base has mentality-materiality
as its source...And this mentality-materiality has what as its source...?
Mentality-materiality has consciousness as its source...And this
consciousness has what as its source...? Consciousness has formations as its
source...And these formations have what as their source, what as their
origin, from what are they born and produced? Formations have ignorance as
their source, ignorance as their origin; they are born and produced from
ignorance.
BV: What’s ignorance? Not knowing, applying and realizing the Four Noble
Truths. Let’s go through the whole ball of wax.
This is from the Saṁyutta Nikāya, number two, two, the Analysis of Dependent
Origination
SN:12:2
2 (2)
Analysis of Dependent Origination
At Savatthi. “Bhikkhus, I will teach you dependent origination and I will
analyse it for you. Listen to that and attend closely, I will speak.”
“Yes, venerable sir,” those bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
“And what, bhikkhus, is dependent origination? With ignorance as condition,
volitional formations [come to be]; with volitional formations,
consciousness; with consciousness as condition, name-and-form; with
name-and-form as condition, the six sense bases; with the six sense bases as
condition, contact; with contact as condition, feeling; with feeling as
condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging; with clinging as
condition, existence; with existence as condition, birth; with birth as
condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and
despair come to be. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.
“And what, bhikkhus, is aging-and-death? The aging of the various beings in
the various orders of beings, their growing old, brokenness of teeth,
greyness of hair, wrinkling of skin, decline of vitality, degeneration of
the faculties: this is called aging. [3] The passing away of the various
beings from the various orders of beings, their perishing, breakup,
disappearance, mortality, death, completion of time, the breakup of the
aggregates, the laying down of the carcass: this is called death.2
Thus this aging and this death are together called aging-and-death.
“And what, bhikkhus, is birth? The birth of the various beings into the
various orders of beings, their being born, descent [into the womb],
production, the manifestation of the aggregates, the obtaining of the sense
bases. This is called birth.3
“And what,
bhikkhus, is existence? There are these three kinds of existence:
sense-sphere existence, form-sphere existence, formless-sphere existence.
This is called existence.4
“And what, bhikkhus, is clinging? There are these four kinds of clinging:
clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, clinging to rules and
vows, clinging to a doctrine of self. This is called clinging.5
BV: Now this is where,
the clinging to views. That’s where all of the concepts, ideas, stories, and
what all. Now, this when it’s talking about clinging to a doctrine of a
self, that doesn’t mean that that’s exactly where that belief starts. That’s
where it turns into concept.
SN:
“And what, bhikkhus, is craving? There are these six classes of craving:
craving for forms, craving for sounds, craving for odours, craving for
tastes, craving for tactile objects, craving for mental phenomena. This is
called craving.
BV: And they always
manifest as tension and tightness.
SN:
“And what, bhikkhus, is feeling? There are these six classes of feeling:
feeling born of eye-contact, feeling born of ear-contact, feeling born of
nose-contact, feeling born of tongue-contact, feeling born of body-contact,
feeling born of mind-contact. This is called feeling.
“And what, bhikkhus, is contact? There are these six classes of contact:
eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact,
mind-contact. This is called contact.
“And what, bhikkhus, are the six sense bases? The eye base, the ear base,
the nose base, the tongue base, the body base, the mind base. These are
called the six sense bases.
“And what, bhikkhus, is name-and-form? Feeling, perception, volition,
contact, attention: this is called name. The four [4] great elements and the
form derived from the four great elements: this is called form. Thus this
name and this form are together called name-and-form.6
BV: Feeling is mental.
That’s a mentality. So you have feeling, perception, volition, contact and
attention. These are all considered to be part of mentality. And any of the
four great elements that come together to make material form as basically
what it’s saying is the materiality.
SN:
“And what, bhikkhus, is consciousness? There are these six classes of
consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness,
tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mind-consciousness This is called
consciousness.
“And what, bhikkhus, are the volitional formations? There are these three
kinds of volitional formations: the bodily volitional formation, the verbal
volitional formation, the mental volitional formation. These are called the
volitional formations.7
“And what, bhikkhus, is ignorance? Not knowing suffering, not knowing the
origin of suffering, not knowing the cessation of suffering, not knowing the
way leading to the cessation of suffering. This is called ignorance.8
{“Thus, bhikkhus, with ignorance as condition, volitional formations [come
to be]; with volitional formations as condition, consciousness.... Such is
the origin of this whole mass of suffering. But with the remainderless
fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional
formations; with the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of
consciousness.... Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.”9
}
BV: There’s another
interesting part here. This is called the origination. And I’m not going to
read the whole thing through, but this gives you an idea that, the
Bodhisatta was working on this stuff a long time before he became
enlightened.
SN:12:10
10
(10) Gotama the Great Sakyan Sage
(i.
Origination)
“Bhikkhus, before my enlightenment, while I was still a bodhisatta, not yet
fully enlightened, it occurred to me: ‘Alas, this world has fallen into
trouble, in that it is born, ages, and dies, it passes away and is reborn,
yet it does not understand the escape from this suffering [headed by]
aging-and-death. When now will an escape be discerned from this suffering
[headed by] aging-and-death?’
“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists does aging-and-death
come to be? By what is aging-and-death conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through
careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom:13
‘When there is birth, aging-and-death comes to be; aging-and-death has birth
as its condition.’14
BV: Now he had breakthroughs all the through, when he was, taking apart and
analysing, how this process works. He already had a mind that could get into
the eighth absorption jhāna. He could keep his attention on something very,
very minute, to see how it worked, and that’s how he came up with it.
There’s another thing in here that I think we ought to hear.
SN:12:3
3 (3) The
Two Ways
At
Savatthi “Bhikkhus, I will teach you the wrong way and the right way. Listen
to that and attend closely, I will speak.”
“Yes, venerable sir,” those bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
“And what, bhikkhus, is the wrong way? With ignorance as condition,
volitional formations [come to be]; with volitional formations as condition,
consciousness.... Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. This,
bhikkhus, is called the wrong way. [5]
“And what, bhikkhus, is the right way? With the remainderless fading away
and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional formations; with
the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of consciousness.... Such
is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. This, bhikkhus, is called
the right way.”
BV: Now what’s the difference? One way is showing you
the cause and effect, and how to perpetuate the problem and the other one is
showing you how to let go of the problem. So, this is kind of an important
sutta, I think. And when you read sutta number ten in the Majjhima Nikāya,
Sāriputta goes through All of the links of Dependent Origination, and he
starts at aging and death, and goes down to ignorance, so he was teaching
the right way. That’s kind of an interesting phenomenon.
MN 38:
(FORWARD EXPOSITION ON ARISING)
17. "So, bhikkhus, with ignorance as condition, formations [come to be];
with formations as condition, consciousness; with consciousness as
condition, mentality-materiality; with mentality-materiality as condition,
the sixfold base; with the sixfold base as condition, contact; with contact
as condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as
condition, clinging; with clinging as condition, being; with being as
condition, birth; with birth as condition, ageing and death, sorrow,
lamentation, pain, grief, and despair come to be. Such is the origin of this
whole mass of suffering.
(REVERSE ORDER QUESTIONNAIRE ON ARISING)
18. "'With birth as condition, ageing and death': so it was said. Now,
bhikkhus, do ageing and death have birth as condition or not, or how do you
take it in this case?"
"Ageing and death have birth as condition, venerable sir. Thus we take it in
this case: 'With birth as condition, ageing and death.'"
"'With being as condition, birth': so it was said. Now, bhikkhus, does birth
have being as condition or not, or how do you take it in this case?"
"Birth has being as condition, [262] venerable sir. Thus we take it in this
case: 'With being as condition, birth.'"
"'With clinging as condition, being': so it was said. Now, bhikkhus, does
being have clinging as condition or not, or how do you take it in this
case?"
"Being has clinging as condition, venerable sir. Thus we take it in this
case: 'With clinging as condition, being.'"
"'With craving as condition, clinging': so it was said. Now, bhikkhus, does
clinging have craving as condition or not, or how do you take it in this
case?"
"Clinging has craving as condition, venerable sir. Thus we take it in this
case: 'With craving as condition, clinging.'"
"'With feeling as condition, craving': so it was said. Now, bhikkhus, does
craving have feeling as condition or not, or how do you take it in this
case?"
"Craving has feeling as condition, venerable sir. Thus we take it in this
case: 'With feeling as condition, craving.'"
"'With contact as condition, feeling': so it was said. Now, bhikkhus, does
feeling have contact as condition or not, or how do you take it in this
case?"
"Feeling has contact as condition, venerable sir. Thus we take it in this
case: 'With contact as condition, feeling.'"
'"With the sixfold base as condition, contact': so it was said. Now,
bhikkhus, does contact have the sixfold base as condition or not, or how do
you take it in this case?"
"Contact has the sixfold base as condition, venerable sir. Thus we take it
in this case: 'With the sixfold base as condition, contact.'"
"'With mentality-materiality as condition, the sixfold base': so it was
said. Now, bhikkhus, does the sixfold base have mentality-materiality as
condition or not, or how do you take it in this case?"
"The sixfold base has mentality-materiality as condition, venerable sir.
Thus we take it in this case: 'With mentality-materiality as condition, the
sixfold base.'"
"'With consciousness as condition, mentality-materiality': so it was said.
Now, bhikkhus, does mentality-materiality have consciousness as condition or
not, or how do you take it in this case?"
"Mentality-materiality has consciousness as condition, venerable sir. Thus
we take it in this case: 'With consciousness as condition,
mentality-materiality.'"
"'With formations as condition, consciousness': so it was said. Now,
bhikkhus, does consciousness have formations as condition or not, or how do
you take it in this case?"
"Consciousness has formations as condition, venerable sir. Thus we take it
in this case: 'With formations as condition, consciousness.'"
"'With ignorance as condition, formations': so it was said. Now, bhikkhus,
do formations have ignorance as condition or not, or how do you take it in
this case?"
"Formations have ignorance as condition, venerable sir. Thus we take it in
this case: 'With ignorance as condition, formations.'"
(RECAPITULATION ON ARISING)
19. "Good, bhikkhus. So you say thus, and I also say thus: 'When this
exists, that comes to be; [263] with the arising of this, that arises.' That
is, with ignorance as condition, formations [come to be]; with formations as
condition, consciousness; with consciousness as condition,
mentality-materiality; with mentality-materiality as condition, the sixfold
base; with the sixfold base as condition, contact; with contact as
condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as
condition, clinging; with clinging as condition, being; with being as
condition, birth; with birth as condition, ageing and death, sorrow,
lamentation, pain, grief, and despair come to be. Such is the origin of this
whole mass of suffering.
(FORWARD EXPOSITION ON CESSATION)
20. "But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes
cessation of formations; with the cessation of formations, cessation of
consciousness; with the cessation of consciousness, cessation of
mentality-materiality; with the cessation of mentality-materiality,
cessation of the sixfold base; with the cessation of the sixfold base,
cessation of contact; with the cessation of contact, cessation of feeling;
with the cessation of feeling, cessation of craving; with the cessation of
craving, cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of
being; with the cessation of being, cessation of birth; with the cessation
of birth, ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair
cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.
(REVERSE ORDER QUESTIONNAIRE ON CESSATION)
21. '"With the cessation of birth, cessation of ageing and death': so it was
said. Now, bhikkhus, do ageing and death cease with the cessation of birth
or not, or how do you take it in this case?"
"Ageing and death cease with the cessation of birth, venerable sir. Thus we
take it in this case: 'With the cessation of birth, cessation of ageing and
death.'"
"'With the cessation of being, cessation of birth'…'With the cessation of
clinging, cessation of being'…'With the cessation of craving, cessation of
clinging'…'With the cessation of feeling, cessation of craving'…'With the
cessation of contact, cessation of feeling' [264]…'With the cessation of the
sixfold base, cessation of contact'…'With the cessation of
mentality-materiality, cessation of the sixfold base'…'With the cessation of
consciousness, cessation of mentality-materiality''…With the cessation of
formations, cessation of consciousness'…'With the cessation of ignorance,
cessation of formations': so it was said. Now, bhikkhus, do formations cease
with the cessation of ignorance or not, or how do you take it in this case?"
"Formations cease with the cessation of ignorance, venerable sir. Thus we
take it in this case: 'With the cessation of ignorance, cessation of
formations.'"
(RECAPITULATION ON CESSATION)
22. "Good, bhikkhus. So you say thus, and I also say thus: 'When this does
not exist, that does not come to be; with the cessation of this, that
ceases.' That is, with the cessation of ignorance comes cessation of
formations; with the cessation of formations, cessation of consciousness;
with the cessation of consciousness, cessation of mentality-materiality;
with the cessation of mentality-materiality, cessation of the sixfold base;
with the cessation of the sixfold base, cessation of contact; with the
cessation of contact, cessation of feeling; with the cessation of feeling,
cessation of craving; with the cessation of craving, cessation of clinging;
with the cessation of clinging, cessation of being; with the cessation of
being, cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, ageing and death,
sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair cease. Such is the cessation
of this whole mass of suffering.
(PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE)
23. "Bhikkhus, knowing and seeing in this way, [265] would you run back to
the past thus: 'Were we in the past? Were we not in the past? What were we
in the past? How were we in the past? Having been what, what did we become
in the past?'?"—"No, venerable sir."—"Knowing and seeing in this way, would
you run forward to the future thus: 'Shall we be in the future? Shall we not
be in the future? What shall we be in the future? How shall we be in the
future? Having been what, what shall we become in the future?'?"—"No,
venerable sir."—"Knowing and seeing in this way, would you now be inwardly
perplexed about the present thus: 'Am I? Am I not? What am I? How am I?
Where has this being come from? Where will it go?"?"—"No, venerable sir."
24. "Bhikkhus, knowing and seeing in this way, would you speak thus: 'The
Teacher is respected by us. We speak as we do out of respect for the
Teacher'?"—"No, venerable sir."— "Knowing and seeing in this way, would you
speak thus: 'The Recluse says this, and we speak thus at the bidding of the
Recluse'?" No, venerable sir."—"Knowing and seeing in this way, would you
acknowledge another teacher?"—"No, venerable sir."—"Knowing and seeing in
this way, would you return to the observances, tumultuous debates, and
auspicious signs of ordinary recluses and brahmins, taking them as the core
[of the holy life]?"—"No, venerable sir."—"Do you speak only of what you
have known, seen, and understood for yourselves?"—"Yes, venerable sir."
25. "Good, bhikkhus. So you have been guided by me with this Dhamma, which
is visible here and now, immediately effective, inviting inspection, onward
leading, to be experienced by the wise for themselves. For it was with
reference to this that it has been said: 'Bhikkhus, this Dhamma is visible
here and now, immediately effective,
BV: I like that one.
MN:
inviting inspection, onward leading, to be experienced by the wise for
themselves.'
(THE ROUND OF EXISTENCE: CONCEPTION TO MATURITY)
26. "Bhikkhus, the descent of the embryo takes place through the union of
three things. Here, there is the union of the mother and father, but the
mother is not in season, and the gandhaba is not present—in this case no
[266] descent of an embryo takes place. Here, there is the union of the
mother and father, and the mother is in season, but the gandhabba is not
present—in this case too no descent of the embryo takes place. But when
there is the union of the mother and father, and the mother is in season,
and the gandhabba is present, through the union of these three things the
descent of the embryo takes place.
27. "The mother then carries the embryo in her womb for nine or ten months
with much anxiety, as a heavy burden. Then, at the end of nine or ten
months, the mother gives birth with much anxiety, as a heavy burden. Then,
when the child is born, she nourishes it with her own blood; for the
mother's breast-milk is called blood in the Noble One's Discipline.
28. "When he grows up and his faculties mature, the child plays at such
games as toy ploughs, tipcat, somersaults, toy windmills, toy measures, toy
cars, and a toy bow and arrow.
29. "When he grows up and his faculties mature [still further], the youth
enjoys himself provided and endowed with the five cords of sensual pleasure,
with forms cognizable by the eye...sounds cognizable by the ear...odours
cognizable by the nose...flavours cognizable by the tongue...tangibles
cognizable by the body that are wished for, desired, agreeable and likeable,
connected with sensual desire, and provocative of lust.
(THE CONTINUATION OF THE ROUND)
30. "On seeing a form with the eye, he lusts after it if it is pleasing; he
dislikes it if it is unpleasing. He abides with mindfulness of the body
unestablished, with a limited mind, and he does not understand as it
actually is the deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom wherein those
evil unwholesome states cease without remainder. Engaged as he is in
favouring and opposing, whatever feeling he feels—whether pleasant or
painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant—he delights in that feeling,
welcomes it, and remains holding to it. As he does so, delight arises in
him. Now delight in feelings is clinging. With his clinging as condition,
being [comes to be]; with being as condition, birth; with birth as
condition, ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair
come to be. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.
"On hearing a sound with the ear…On smelling an odour with the nose…On
tasting a flavour with the tongue…On touching a tangible with the body…On
cognizing a mind-object with the mind, [267] he lusts after it if it is
pleasing; he dislikes it if it is unpleasing…Now delight in feelings is
clinging. With his clinging as condition, being [comes to be]; with being as
condition, birth; with birth as condition, ageing and death, sorrow,
lamentation, pain, grief, and despair come to be. Such is the origin of this
whole mass of suffering.
(THE ENDING OF THE ROUND: THE GRADUAL TRAINING)
31-38. "Here, bhikkhus, a Tathāgata appears in the world, accomplished,
fully enlightened...(as Sutta 27, §§17-18) [268-69]...he purifies his mind
from doubt. [270]
39. "Having thus abandoned these five hindrances, imperfections of the mind
that weaken wisdom, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from
unwholesome states, he enters upon and abides in the first jhāna…With the
stilling of applied and sustained thought, he enters upon and abides in the
second jhāna…With the fading away as well of rapture…he enters upon and
abides in the third jhāna…With the abandoning of pleasure and pain…he enters
upon and abides in the fourth jhāna…which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and
purity of mindfulness due to equanimity.
(THE ENDING OF THE ROUND: FULL CESSATION)
40. "On seeing a form with the eye, he does not lust after it if it is
pleasing; he does not dislike it if it is unpleasing. He abides with
mindfulness of the body established, with an immeasurable mind, and he
understands as it actually is the deliverance of mind and deliverance by
wisdom wherein those evil unwholesome states cease without remainder. Having
thus abandoned favouring and opposing, whatever feeling he feels, whether
pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, he does not delight in
that feeling, welcome it, or remain holding to it. As he does not do so,
delight in feelings ceases in him. With the cessation of his delight comes
cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of being;
with the cessation of being, cessation of birth; with the cessation of
birth, ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair
cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.
"On hearing a sound with the ear…On smelling an odour with the nose…On
tasting a flavour with the tongue…On touching a tangible with the body…On
cognizing a mind-object with the mind, he does not lust after it if it is
pleasing; he does not dislike it if it is unpleasing…With the cessation of
his delight comes cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging,
cessation of being; with the cessation of being, cessation of birth; with
the cessation of birth, ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief,
and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.
(CONCLUSION)
41. "Bhikkhus, remember this deliverance in the destruction of craving as
taught in brief by me; but [remember] the bhikkhu Sāti, [271] son of a
fisherman, as caught up in a vast net of craving, in the trammel of
craving."
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted
in the Blessed One's words.
BV: 33
Good to
hear that every now and then. Keeps it fresh in your mind. It’s real
important to be able to recognize when the feeling arises, and as soon as
that you notice the feeling arise, if you can relax right then, you don’t
have the rest of this mass of suffering arise any more. But that happens
quick. There’s no getting around it. As you continue on with softening, and
opening up your heart and starting to see more and more clearly how the
process works, you start letting go of old habitual tendencies of mind being
hard when something doesn’t happen in the way that you think it should, and
this is how you let go of the suffering. Look at how, the habitual tendency
arises, and how the pain arises right after that. And, it’s nothing but self
responsibility, because you feel the pain arising in you, it’s your pain,
and it’s your pain because of the craving and clinging and habitual
tendency. As you let go of that more and more, you stop reacting in the same
way that you reacted, and you start responding more with this clear mind.
It’s tricky stuff, because it does happen so fast, and you have these old
habitual tendencies, and something doesn’t happen quite like they want, it’s
right there. And then you start looking at how your mind starts getting into
repeat thoughts. Any time you see repeat thoughts, there is attachment.
Fastest way to get over that? Laugh. Laugh at your mind for being crazy. But
really it isn’t anything.The more you can develop your sense of humor, and
sense of fun, with the meditation, the faster your progress becomes. So.
Let’s
share some merit then.
May
suffering ones, be suffering free
And the
fear struck, fearless be
May the
grieving shed all grief
And may
all beings find relief.
May all
beings share this merit that we have thus acquired
For the
acquisition of all kinds of happiness.
May
beings inhabiting space and earth
Devas and
nagas of mighty power
Share
this merit of ours.
May they
long protect the Buddha's dispensation.
Sadhu . .
. Sadhu . . . Sadhu
Sutta
translations (C) Bhikkhu Bodhi 1995, 2001. All sections of the suttas are
Reprinted from The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of
the Majjhima Nikaya or © Bhikkhu Bodhi 2000, The Connected Discourses of the
Buddha: A translation of the Samyutta Nikaya with permission of Wisdom
Publications, 199 Elm Street, Somerville, MA 02144 U.S.A,
www.wisdompubs.org
Text last edited: 08-Mar-08
Berlin-1 Apr 09
Bogor Dec 10
Vietnamese