42 (2) Five Fearful Animosities (2)
(This sutta is identical with the preceding one except that it is addressed to “a number of bhikkhus.”) [71]
43 (3) Suffering
At Sāvatthı̄. [72] “Bhikkhus, I will teach you the origin and the passing away of suffering. Listen to that and attend closely, I will speak.”123
“Yes, venerable sir,” the bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
“And what, bhikkhus, is the origin of suffering? In dependence on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving. This is the origin of suffering.
“In dependence on the ear and sounds ... In dependence on the nose and odours ... In dependence on the tongue and tastes ... In dependence on the body and tactile objects ... In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving. This is the origin of suffering.
“And what, bhikkhus, is the passing away of suffering? In dependence on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving comes cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence; with the cessation of existence, cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. This is the passing away of suffering.
“In dependence on the ear and sounds ... In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving comes cessation of clinging … cessation of existence … cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, aging-and-death, [73] sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. This is the passing away of suffering.”
44 (4) The World
At Sāvatthı̄. “Bhikkhus, I will teach you the origin and the passing away of the world. Listen to that and attend closely, I will speak.”124
“Yes, venerable sir,” the bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
“And what, bhikkhus, is the origin of the world? In dependence on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; 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. This, bhikkhus, is the origin of the world.
“In dependence on the ear and sounds ... In dependence on the nose and odours … In dependence on the tongue and tastes ... In dependence on the body and tactile objects ... In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging … existence … birth; with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be. This, bhikkhus, is the origin of the world.
“And what, bhikkhus, is the passing away of the world? In dependence on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving comes cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence; with the cessation of existence, cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. This, bhikkhus, is the passing away of the world.
“In dependence on the ear and sounds … [74] … In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving comes cessation of clinging … cessation of existence … cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. This, bhikkhus, is the passing away of the world.”
45 (5) At Ñātika
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Ñātika in the Brick Hall. Then, while the Blessed One was alone in seclusion, he uttered this Dhamma exposition:125 “In dependence on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging…. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.
“In dependence on the ear and sounds ... In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging…. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.
“In dependence on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving comes cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence…. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. [75]
“In dependence on the ear and sounds … In dependence on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling [comes to be]; with feeling as condition, craving. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving comes cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence…. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.”
Now on that occasion a certain bhikkhu was standing listening in on the Blessed One. The Blessed One saw him standing there listening in and said to him: “Did you hear that Dhamma exposition, bhikkhu?”
“Yes, venerable sir.”
“Learn that Dhamma exposition, bhikkhu, master it and remember it. That Dhamma exposition is beneficial and relevant to the fundamentals of the holy life.”
46 (6) A Certain Brahmin
At Sāvatthı̄. Then a certain brahmin approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to him:
“How is it, Master Gotama: is the one who acts the same as the one who experiences [the result]?”126
“‘The one who acts is the same as the one who experiences [the result]’: this, brahmin, is one extreme.” [76]
“Then, Master Gotama, is the one who acts one, and the one who experiences [the result] another?”
“‘The one who acts is one, and the one who experiences [the result] is another’: this, brahmin, is the second extreme. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma by the middle: ‘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.’”
When this was said, that brahmin said to the Blessed One: “Magnificent, Master Gotama!… I go for refuge to Master Gotama, and to the Dhamma, and to the Bhikkhu Saṅgha. From today let Master G
otama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”
47 (7) Jāṇussoṇi
At Sāvatthı̄. Then the brahmin Jāṇussoṇi approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to him:127
“How is it, Master Gotama: does all exist?”
“‘All exists’: this, brahmin, is one extreme.”
“Then, Master Gotama, does all not exist?”
“‘All does not exist’: this, brahmin, is the second extreme. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma by the middle….”
When this was said, the brahmin Jāṇussoṇi said to the Blessed One: [77] “Magnificent, Master Gotama!… From today let Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”
48 (8) A Cosmologist
At Sāvatthı̄. Then a brahmin who was a cosmologist128 approached the Blessed One … and said to him:
“How is it, Master Gotama: does all exist?”
“‘All exists’: this, brahmin, is the oldest cosmology.”129
“Then, Master Gotama, does all not exist?”
“‘All does not exist’: this, brahmin, is the second cosmology.”
“How is it, Master Gotama: is all a unity?”130
“‘All is a unity’: this, brahmin, is the third cosmology.”
“Then, Master Gotama, is all a plurality?”131
“‘All is a plurality’: this, brahmin, is the fourth cosmology. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma by the middle….”
When this was said, that brahmin said to the Blessed One: “Magnificent, Master Gotama!… From today let Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”
49 (9) The Noble Disciple (1)
At Sāvatthı̄. [78] “Bhikkhus, an instructed noble disciple does not think: ‘When what exists does what come to be? With the arising of what does what arise? [When what exists do volitional formations come to be? When what exists does consciousness come to be?]132 When what exists does name-and-form come to be?… When what exists does aging-and-death come to be?’
“Rather, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple has knowledge about this that is independent of others: ‘When this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises. [When there is ignorance, volitional formations come to be. When there are volitional formations, consciousness comes to be.] When there is consciousness, name-and-form comes to be…. When there is birth, aging-and-death comes to be.’ He understands thus: ‘In such a way the world originates.’
“Bhikkhus, an instructed noble disciple does not think: ‘When what does not exist does what not come to be? With the cessation of what does what cease? [When what does not exist do volitional formations not come to be? When what does not exist does consciousness not come to be?] When what does not exist does name-and-form not come to be?… When what does not exist does aging-and-death not come to be?’”
“Rather, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple has knowledge about this that is independent of others: ‘When this does not exist, that does not come to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases. [When there is no ignorance, volitional formations do not come to be. When there are no volitional formations, consciousness does not come to be.] When there is no consciousness, name-and-form does not come to be…. When there is no birth, aging-and-death does not come to be.’ He understands thus: ‘In such a way the world ceases.’ [79]
“Bhikkhus, when a noble disciple thus understands as they really are the origin and the passing away of the world, he is then called a noble disciple who is accomplished in view, accomplished in vision, who has arrived at this true Dhamma, who sees this true Dhamma, who possesses a trainee’s knowledge, a trainee’s true knowledge, who has entered the stream of the Dhamma, a noble one with penetrative wisdom, one who stands squarely before the door to the Deathless.”
50 (10) The Noble Disciple (2)
(This sutta is identical with the preceding one except that the passages enclosed in brackets there as absent in some editions are here clearly included in all editions.) [80]
VI. SUFFERING (OR THE TREE)133
51 (1) Thorough Investigation
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthı̄ in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus!”
“Venerable sir!” those bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
“Bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu is making a thorough investigation, in what way should he thoroughly investigate for the utterly complete destruction of suffering?”134
“Venerable sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, guided by the Blessed One, [81] take recourse in the Blessed One. It would be good if the Blessed One would clear up the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from him, the bhikkhus will remember it.”
“Then listen and attend closely, bhikkhus, I will speak.”
“Yes, venerable sir,” the bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
“Here, bhikkhus, when he makes a thorough investigation, a bhikkhu thoroughly investigates thus: ‘The many diverse kinds of suffering that arise in the world [headed by] aging-and-death: what is the source of this suffering, what is its origin, from what is it born and produced? When what exists does aging-and-death come to be? When what does not exist does aging-and-death not come to be?’
“As he thoroughly investigates he understands thus: ‘The many diverse kinds of suffering that arise in the world [headed by] aging-and-death: this suffering has birth as its source, birth as its origin; it is born and produced from birth. When there is birth, aging-and-death comes to be; when there is no birth, aging-and-death does not come to be.’
“He understands aging-and-death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading on that is in conformity with its cessation.135 He practises that way and conducts himself accordingly. This is called a bhikkhu who is practising for the utterly complete destruction of suffering, for the cessation of aging-and-death.
“Then, investigating further, he thoroughly investigates thus: ‘What is the source of this birth, what is its origin, from what is it born and produced?… What is the source of this existence?… this clinging?… this craving?… this feeling?… this contact?… these six sense bases?… this name-and-form?… this consciousness? … What is the source of these volitional formations, what is their origin, from what are they born and produced? When what exists do volitional formations come to be? When what does not exist do volitional formations not come to be?’
“As he thoroughly investigates he understands thus: ‘Volitional formations have ignorance as their source, ignorance as their origin; they are born and produced from ignorance. [82] When there is ignorance, volitional formations come to be; when there is no ignorance, volitional formations do not come to be.’
“He understands volitional formations, their origin, their cessation, and the way leading on that is in conformity with their cessation. He practises that way and conducts himself accordingly. This is called a bhikkhu who is practising for the utterly complete destruction of suffering, for the cessation of volitional formations.
“Bhikkhus, if a person immersed in ignorance generates a meritorious volitional formation, consciousness fares on to the meritorious; if he generates a demeritorious volitional formation, consciousness fares on to the demeritorious; if he generates an imperturbable volitional formation, consciousness fares on to the imperturbable.136 But when a bhikkhu has abandoned ignorance and aroused true knowledge, then, with the fading away of ignorance and the arising of true knowledge, he does not generate a meritorious volitional formation, or a demeritorious volitional formation, or an imperturbable volitional formation. Since he does not generate or fashion volitional formations, he does not cling to anything in the world. Not clinging,
he is not agitated.137 Not being agitated, he personally attains Nibbāna. He understands: ‘Destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being.’
“If he feels a pleasant feeling,138 he understands: ‘It is impermanent’; he understands: ‘It is not held to’; he understands: ‘It is not delighted in.’ If he feels a painful feeling, he understands: ‘It is impermanent’; he understands: ‘It is not held to’; he understands: ‘It is not delighted in.’ If he feels a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, he understands: ‘It is impermanent’; he understands: ‘It is not held to’; he understands: ‘It is not delighted in.’
The Connected Discourses of the Buddha Page 62