I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at
Savatthi, in
Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the
monks: "Monks!"
"Yes, lord," the monks replied.
The Blessed One
said, "Monks, the ending of the fermentations is for one who knows
& sees, I tell you, not for one who does not know & does
not see. For one who knows what & sees what? Appropriate
attention & inappropriate attention. When a monk attends
inappropriately, unarisen fermentations arise, and arisen
fermentations increase. When a monk attends appropriately, unarisen
fermentations do not arise, and arisen fermentations are abandoned.
There are fermentations to be abandoned by seeing, those to be
abandoned by restraining, those to be abandoned by using, those to
be abandoned by tolerating, those to be abandoned by avoiding,
those to be abandoned by destroying, and those to be abandoned by
developing.
"[1]
And what are the fermentations to be abandoned by seeing? There is
the case where an uninstructed, run-of-the-mill person — who has no
regard for noble ones, is not well-versed or disciplined in their
Dhamma; who has no regard for men of integrity, is not well-versed
or disciplined in their Dhamma — does not discern what ideas are
fit for attention or what ideas are unfit for attention. This being
so, he does not attend to ideas fit for attention and attends
[instead] to ideas unfit for attention.
"And what are the ideas unfit for attention that he attends to?
Whatever ideas such that, when he attends to them, the unarisen
fermentation of sensuality arises in him, and the arisen
fermentation of sensuality increases; the unarisen fermentation of
becoming arises in him, and arisen fermentation of becoming
increases; the unarisen fermentation of ignorance arises in him,
and the arisen fermentation of ignorance increases. These are the
ideas unfit for attention that he attends to.
"And what are the ideas fit for attention that he does not
attend to? Whatever ideas such that, when he attends to them, the
unarisen fermentation of sensuality does not arise in him, and the
arisen fermentation of sensuality is abandoned; the unarisen
fermentation of becoming does not arise in him, and arisen
fermentation of becoming is abandoned; the unarisen fermentation of
ignorance does not arise in him, and the arisen fermentation of
ignorance is abandoned. These are the ideas fit for attention that
he does not attend to. Through his attending to ideas unfit for
attention and through his not attending to ideas fit for attention,
both unarisen fermentations arise in him, and arisen fermentations
increase.
"This is how he
attends inappropriately: 'Was I in the past? Was I not in the
past? What was I in the past? How was I in the past? Having been
what, what was I in the past? Shall I be in the future? Shall I not
be in the future? What shall I be in the future? How shall I be in
the future? Having been what, what shall I be in the future?' Or
else he is inwardly perplexed about the immediate present: 'Am I?
Am I not? What am I? How am I? Where has this being come from?
Where is it bound?'
"As he attends inappropriately in this way, one of six kinds of
view arises in him: The view I have a self arises in him
as true & established, or the view I have no self...
or the view It is precisely by means of self that I perceive
self... or the view It is precisely by means of self that
I perceive not-self... or the view It is precisely by
means of not-self that I perceive self arises in him as true
& established, or else he has a view like this: This very
self of mine — the knower that is sensitive here & there to the
ripening of good & bad actions — is the self of mine that is
constant, everlasting, eternal, not subject to change, and will
stay just as it is for eternity. This is called a thicket of
views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of
views, a fetter of views. Bound by a fetter of views, the
uninstructed run-of-the-mill person is not freed from birth, aging,
& death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, &
despair. He is not freed, I tell you, from suffering &
stress.
"The well-instructed disciple of the noble ones — who has regard
for noble ones, is well-versed & disciplined in their Dhamma;
who has regard for men of integrity, is well-versed &
disciplined in their Dhamma — discerns what ideas are fit for
attention and what ideas are unfit for attention. This being so, he
does not attend to ideas unfit for attention and attends [instead]
to ideas fit for attention.
"And what are the ideas unfit for attention that he does not
attend to? Whatever ideas such that, when he attends to them, the
unarisen fermentation of sensuality arises in him, and the arisen
fermentation of sensuality increases; the unarisen fermentation of
becoming arises in him, and arisen fermentation of becoming
increases; the unarisen fermentation of ignorance arises in him,
and the arisen fermentation of ignorance increases. These are the
ideas unfit for attention that he does not attend to.
"And what are the ideas fit for attention that he does attend
to? Whatever ideas such that, when he attends to them, the unarisen
fermentation of sensuality does not arise in him, and the arisen
fermentation of sensuality is abandoned; the unarisen fermentation
of becoming does not arise in him, and the arisen fermentation of
becoming is abandoned; the unarisen fermentation of ignorance does
not arise in him, and the arisen fermentation of ignorance is
abandoned. These are the ideas fit for attention that he does
attend to. Through his not attending to ideas unfit for attention
and through his attending to ideas fit for attention, unarisen
fermentations do not arise in him, and arisen fermentations are
abandoned.
"He attends appropriately, This is stress... This is the
origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress... This is
the way leading to the cessation of stress. As he attends
appropriately in this way, three fetters are abandoned in him:
identity-view, doubt, and grasping at precepts & practices.
These are called the fermentations to be abandoned by seeing.
"[2]
And what are the fermentations to be abandoned by restraining?
There is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, dwells
restrained with the restraint of the eye-faculty. The
fermentations, vexation, or fever that would arise if he were to
dwell unrestrained with the restraint of the eye-faculty do not
arise for him when he dwells restrained with the restraint of the
eye-faculty.
Reflecting appropriately, he dwells restrained with the
restraint of the ear-faculty...
Reflecting appropriately, he dwells restrained with the
restraint of the nose-faculty...
Reflecting appropriately, he dwells restrained with the
restraint of the tongue-faculty...
Reflecting appropriately, he dwells restrained with the
restraint of the body-faculty...
Reflecting appropriately, he dwells restrained with the
restraint of the intellect-faculty. The fermentations, vexation, or
fever that would arise if he were to dwell unrestrained with the
restraint of the intellect-faculty do not arise for him when he
dwells restrained with the restraint of the intellect-faculty.
These are called the fermentations to be abandoned by
restraining.
"[3]
And what are the fermentations to be abandoned by using? There is
the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, uses the robe
simply to counteract cold, to counteract heat, to counteract the
touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, & reptiles; simply for
the purpose of covering the parts of the body that cause shame.
"Reflecting appropriately, he uses almsfood, not playfully, nor
for intoxication, nor for putting on bulk, nor for beautification;
but simply for the survival & continuance of this body, for
ending its afflictions, for the support of the holy life, thinking,
'Thus will I destroy old feelings [of hunger] and not create new
feelings [from overeating]. I will maintain myself, be blameless,
& live in comfort.'
"Reflecting appropriately, he uses lodging simply to counteract
cold, to counteract heat, to counteract the touch of flies,
mosquitoes, wind, sun, & reptiles; simply for protection from
the inclemencies of weather and for the enjoyment of seclusion.
"Reflecting appropriately, he uses medicinal requisites that are
used for curing the sick simply to counteract any pains of illness
that have arisen and for maximum freedom from disease.
"The fermentations, vexation, or fever that would arise if he
were not to use these things [in this way] do not arise for him
when he uses them [in this way]. These are called the fermentations
to be abandoned by using.
"[4]
And what are the fermentations to be abandoned by tolerating? There
is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, endures. He
tolerates cold, heat, hunger, & thirst; the touch of flies,
mosquitoes, wind, sun, & reptiles; ill-spoken, unwelcome words
& bodily feelings that, when they arise, are painful, racking,
sharp, piercing, disagreeable, displeasing, & menacing to life.
The fermentations, vexation, or fever that would arise if he were
not to tolerate these things do not arise for him when he tolerates
them. These are called the fermentations to be abandoned by
tolerating.
"[5]
And what are the fermentations to be abandoned by avoiding? There
is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, avoids a wild
elephant, a wild horse, a wild bull, a wild dog, a snake, a stump,
a bramble patch, a chasm, a cliff, a cesspool, an open sewer.
Reflecting appropriately, he avoids sitting in the sorts of
unsuitable seats, wandering to the sorts of unsuitable habitats,
and associating with the sorts of bad friends that would make his
knowledgeable friends in the holy life suspect him of evil conduct.
The fermentations, vexation, or fever that would arise if he were
not to avoid these things do not arise for him when he avoids them.
These are called the fermentations to be abandoned by avoiding.
"[6]
And what are the fermentations to be abandoned by destroying? There
is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, does not
tolerate an arisen thought of sensuality. He abandons it, destroys
it, dispels it, & wipes it out of existence.
Reflecting appropriately, he does not tolerate an arisen thought
of ill will...
Reflecting appropriately, he does not tolerate an arisen thought
of cruelty...
Reflecting appropriately, he does not tolerate arisen evil,
unskillful mental qualities. He abandons them, destroys them,
dispels them, & wipes them out of existence. The fermentations,
vexation, or fever that would arise if he were not to destroy these
things do not arise for him when he destroys them. These are called
the fermentations to be abandoned by destroying.
"[7]
And what are the fermentations to be abandoned by developing? There
is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, develops
mindfulness as a factor for Awakening dependent on
seclusion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in letting go. He
develops analysis of qualities as a factor for
Awakening... persistence as a factor for Awakening...
rapture as a factor for Awakening... serenity as
a factor for Awakening... concentration as a factor for
Awakening... equanimity as a factor for Awakening
dependent on seclusion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in
letting go. The fermentations, vexation, or fever that would arise
if he were not to develop these qualities do not arise for him when
he develops them. These are called the fermentations to be
abandoned by developing.
"When a monk's fermentations that should be abandoned by seeing
have been abandoned by seeing, his fermentations that should be
abandoned by restraining have been abandoned by restraining, his
fermentations that should be abandoned by using have been abandoned
by using, his fermentations that should be abandoned by tolerating
have been abandoned by tolerating, his fermentations that should be
abandoned by avoiding have been abandoned by avoiding, his
fermentations that should be abandoned by destroying have been
abandoned by destroying, his fermentations that should be abandoned
by developing have been abandoned by developing, then he is called
a monk who dwells restrained with the restraint of all the
fermentations. He has severed craving, thrown off the fetters, and
— through the right penetration of conceit — has made an end of
suffering & stress."
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks
delighted in the Blessed One's words.