“It is in such a way, bhikkhus, that there is nonagitation through nonclinging.”
9 (9) Impermanent in the Three Times
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, form is impermanent, both of the past and the future, not to speak of the present. Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple is indifferent towards form of the past; he does not seek delight in form of the future; and he is practising for revulsion towards form of the present, for its fading away and cessation.
“Feeling is impermanent … Perception is impermanent … Volitional formations are impermanent … Consciousness is impermanent, both of the past and the future, not to speak of the present. Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple is indifferent towards consciousness of the past; he does not seek delight in consciousness of the future; and he is practising for revulsion towards consciousness of the present, for its fading away and cessation.”
10 (10) Suffering in the Three Times
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, form is suffering, both of the past and the future, not to speak of the present. [20] Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple is indifferent towards form of the past; he does not seek delight in form of the future; and he is practising for revulsion towards form of the present, for its fading away and cessation.
“Feeling is suffering … Perception is suffering … Volitional formations are suffering … Consciousness is suffering, both of the past and the future, not to speak of the present. Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple is indifferent towards consciousness of the past; he does not seek delight in consciousness of the future; and he is practising for revulsion towards consciousness of the present, for its fading away and cessation.”
11 (11) Nonself in the Three Times
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, form is nonself, both of the past and the future, not to speak of the present. Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple is indifferent towards form of the past; he does not seek delight in form of the future; and he is practising for revulsion towards form of the present, for its fading away and cessation.
“Feeling is nonself … Perception is nonself … Volitional formations are nonself … Consciousness is nonself, both of the past and the future, not to speak of the present. Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple is indifferent towards consciousness of the past; he does not seek delight in consciousness of the future; and he is practising for revulsion towards consciousness of the present, for its fading away and cessation.”
[21] II. IMPERMANENT
12 (1) Impermanent
Thus have I heard. At Sāvatthī…. There the Blessed One said this:
“Bhikkhus, form is impermanent, feeling is impermanent, perception is impermanent, volitional formations are impermanent, consciousness is impermanent. Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple experiences revulsion towards form, revulsion towards feeling, revulsion towards perception, revulsion towards volitional formations, revulsion towards consciousness. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion [his mind] is liberated. When it is liberated there comes the knowledge: ‘It’s liberated.’ 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.’”
13 (2) Suffering
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, form is suffering, feeling is suffering, perception is suffering, volitional formations are suffering, consciousness is suffering. Seeing thus … He understands: ‘… there is no more for this state of being.’”
14 (3) Nonself
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, form is nonself, feeling is nonself, perception is nonself, volitional formations are nonself, consciousness is nonself. Seeing thus … He understands: ‘… there is no more for this state of being.’” [22]
15 (4) What is Impermanent
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, form is impermanent. What is impermanent is suffering. What is suffering is nonself. What is nonself should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’
“Feeling is impermanent…. Perception is impermanent…. Volitional formations are impermanent…. Consciousness is impermanent. What is impermanent is suffering. What is suffering is nonself. What is nonself should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’
“Seeing thus … He understands: ‘… there is no more for this state of being.’”
16 (5) What is Suffering
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, form is suffering. What is suffering is nonself. What is nonself should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’
“Feeling is suffering…. Perception is suffering…. Volitional formations are suffering…. Consciousness is suffering. What is suffering is nonself. What is nonself should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’
“Seeing thus … He understands: ‘… there is no more for this state of being.’”
17 (6) What is Nonself
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, form is nonself. What is nonself [23] should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’
“Feeling is nonself…. Perception is nonself…. Volitional formations are nonself…. Consciousness is nonself. What is nonself should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’
“Seeing thus … He understands: ‘… there is no more for this state of being.’”
18 (7) Impermanent with Cause
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, form is impermanent. The cause and condition for the arising of form is also impermanent. As form has originated from what is impermanent, how could it be permanent?
“Feeling is impermanent…. Perception is impermanent…. Volitional formations are impermanent…. Consciousness is impermanent. The cause and condition for the arising of consciousness is also impermanent. As consciousness has originated from what is impermanent, how could it be permanent?
“Seeing thus … He understands: ‘… there is no more for this state of being.’”
19 (8) Suffering with Cause
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, form is suffering. The cause and condition for the arising of form is also suffering. As form has originated from what is suffering, how could it be happiness?
“Feeling is suffering…. Perception is suffering…. Volitional formations are suffering…. [24] Consciousness is suffering. The cause and condition for the arising of consciousness is also suffering. As consciousness has originated from what is suffering, how could it be happiness?
“Seeing thus … He understands: ‘… there is no more for this state of being.’”
20 (9) Nonself with Cause
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, form is nonself. The cause and condition for the arising of form is also nonself. As form has originated from what is nonself, how could it be self?
“Feeling is nonself…. Perception is nonself…. Volitional formations are nonself…. Consciousness is nonself. The cause and condition for the arising of consciousness is also nonself. As consciousness has originated from what is nonself, how could it be self?
“Seeing thus … He understands: ‘… there is no more for this state of being.’”
21 (10) Ānanda
At Sāvatthī. Then the Venerable Ānanda approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him:
“Venerable sir, it is said, ‘cessation, cessation.’ Through the cessation of what things is cessation spoken of?”
“Form, Ānanda, is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen, subject to destruction, to vanishing, to fading away, to cessation. Through its cessation, cessation is spoken of.
“Feeling is impermanent … Perception is impermanent … Volitional formations are impermanent … [25
] … Consciousness is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen, subject to destruction, to vanishing, to fading away, to cessation. Through its cessation, cessation is spoken of.
“It is through the cessation of these things, Ānanda, that cessation is spoken of.”
III. THE BURDEN
22 (1) The Burden
At Sāvatthī…. There the Blessed One said this:
“Bhikkhus, I will teach you the burden, the carrier of the burden, 35 the taking up of the burden, and the laying down of the burden. Listen to that….
“And what, bhikkhus, is the burden? It should be said: the five aggregates subject to clinging. What five? The form aggregate subject to clinging, the feeling aggregate subject to clinging, the perception aggregate subject to clinging, the volitional formations aggregate subject to clinging, the consciousness aggregate subject to clinging. This is called the burden.36
“And what, bhikkhus, is the carrier of the burden? It should be said: the person, this venerable one of such a name and clan. This is called the carrier of the burden.37 [26]
“And what, bhikkhus, is the taking up of the burden? It is this craving that leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there; that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for extermination. This is called the taking up of the burden.38
“And what, bhikkhus, is the laying down of the burden? It is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, non-reliance on it. This is called the laying down of the burden.”39
This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this:“The five aggregates are truly burdens,
The burden-carrier is the person.
Taking up the burden is suffering in the world,
Laying the burden down is blissful.
Having laid the heavy burden down
Without taking up another burden,
Having drawn out craving with its root,
One is free from hunger, fully quenched.”40
23 (2) Full Understanding
At Sāvatthī. [27] “Bhikkhus, I will teach you things that should be fully understood and also full understanding. Listen to that….
“And what, bhikkhus, are the things that should be fully understood? Form, bhikkhus, is something that should be fully understood; feeling … perception … volitional formations … consciousness is something that should be fully understood. These are called the things that should be fully understood.
“And what, bhikkhus, is full understanding? The destruction of lust, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion. This is called full understanding.”41
24 (3) Directly Knowing
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, without directly knowing and fully understanding form, without becoming dispassionate towards it and abandoning it, one is incapable of destroying suffering. Without directly knowing and fully understanding feeling … perception … volitional formations … consciousness, without becoming dispassionate towards it and abandoning it, one is incapable of destroying suffering.
“Bhikkhus, by directly knowing and fully understanding form, by becoming dispassionate towards it and abandoning it, one is capable of destroying suffering. By directly knowing and fully understanding feeling … perception … volitional formations … consciousness, by becoming dispassionate towards it and abandoning it, one is capable of destroying suffering.”42
25 (4) Desire and Lust
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, abandon desire and lust for form. Thus that form will be abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that it is no more subject to future arising.
“Abandon desire and lust for feeling … for perception … for volitional formations … for consciousness. Thus that consciousness will be abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that it is no more subject to future arising.”
26 (5) Gratification (1)
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, before my enlightenment, while I was still a bodhisatta, not yet fully enlightened, it occurred to me: ‘What is the gratification, what is the danger, what is the escape in the case of form? What is the gratification, what is the danger, what is the escape in the case of feeling … perception … volitional formations … consciousness?’43 [28]
“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on form: this is the gratification in form. That form is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change: this is the danger in form. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust for form: this is the escape from form.
“‘The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on feeling … in dependence on perception … in dependence on volitional formations … in dependence on consciousness: this is the gratification in consciousness. That consciousness is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change: this is the danger in consciousness. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust for consciousness: this is the escape from consciousness.’
“So long, bhikkhus, as I did not directly know as they really are the gratification, the danger, and the escape in the case of these five aggregates subject to clinging, I did not claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world with its devas, Māra, and Brahmā, in this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its devas and humans. But when I directly knew all this as it really is, then I claimed to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world with … its devas and humans.
“The knowledge and vision arose in me: ‘Unshakable is my liberation of mind; this is my last birth; now there is no more renewed existence.’” [29]
27 (6) Gratification (2)
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, I set out seeking the gratification in form. Whatever gratification there is in form—that I discovered. I have clearly seen with wisdom just how far the gratification in form extends.
“Bhikkhus, I set out seeking the danger in form. Whatever danger there is in form—that I discovered. I have clearly seen with wisdom just how far the danger in form extends.
“Bhikkhus, I set out seeking the escape from form. Whatever escape there is from form—that I discovered. I have clearly seen with wisdom just how far the escape from form extends.
“Bhikkhus, I set out seeking the gratification in … the danger in … the escape from feeling … from perception … from volitional formations … from consciousness. Whatever escape there is from consciousness—that I discovered. I have clearly seen with wisdom just how far the escape from consciousness extends.
“So long, bhikkhus, as I did not directly know as they really are the gratification, the danger, and the escape in the case of these five aggregates subject to clinging, I did not claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world with its devas, Māra, and Brahmā, in this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its devas and humans. But when I directly knew all this as it really is, then I claimed to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world with … its devas and humans.
“The knowledge and vision arose in me: ‘Unshakable is my liberation of mind; this is my last birth; now there is no more renewed existence.’”
28 (7) Gratification (3)
At Sāvatthī. “Bhikkhus, if there were no gratification in form, [30] beings would not become enamoured with it; but because there is gratification in form, beings become enamoured with it. If there were no danger in form, beings would not experience revulsion towards it; but because there is danger in form, beings experience revulsion towards it. If there were no escape from form, beings would not escape from it; but because there is an escape from form, beings escape from it.
“Bhikkhus, if there were no gratification in feeling … in perception … in volitional formations … in consciousness, beings would not become enamoured with it … but because there is an escape from consciousness, beings escape from it.
> “So long, bhikkhus, as beings have not directly known as they really are the gratification as gratification, the danger as danger, and the escape as escape in the case of these five aggregates subject to clinging, they have not escaped from this world with its devas, Māra, [31] and Brahmā, from this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its devas and humans; they have not become detached from it, released from it, nor do they dwell with a mind rid of barriers. But when beings have directly known all this as it really is, then they have escaped from this world with … its devas and humans; they have become detached from it, released from it, and they dwell with a mind rid of barriers.”
The Connected Discourses of the Buddha Page 94