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1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One
was living at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. There
he addressed the bhikkhus
thus: “Bhikkhus.” ― “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Blessed One
said this:
2. “Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu
makes a declaration of final knowledge thus: ‘I understand: Birth
is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has
been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.’
3. “That bhikkhu’s words should neither be approved nor
disapproved. Without approving or disapproving, a question should
be put thus: ‘Friend, there are four kinds of expression rightly
proclaimed by the Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and
fully enlightened. What four? Telling the seen as it is seen;
telling the heard as it is heard; telling the sensed as it is
sensed; telling the cognized as it is cognized. These, friend, are
the four kinds of expression rightly proclaimed by the Blessed One
who knows and sees, accomplished and fully enlightened. How does
the venerable one know, how does he see, regarding these four kinds
of expression, so that through not clinging his mind is liberated
from the taints?’
4. “Bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu is one with taints destroyed, who
has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the
burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and
is completely liberated through final knowledge, this is the nature
of his answer:
“‘Friends, regarding the seen I abide unattracted, unrepelled,
independent, detached, free, dissociated, with a mind rid of
barriers. Regarding the heard...Regarding the sensed...Regarding
the cognized I abide unattracted, unrepelled, independent,
detached, free, dissociated, with a mind rid of barriers. It is by
knowing thus, seeing thus, regarding these four kinds of
expression, that through not clinging my mind is liberated from the
taints.’
5. “Saying ‘good’, one may delight and rejoice in that bhikkhu’s
words. Having done so, a further question may be put thus:
“‘Friend, there are these five aggregates affected by clinging,
rightly proclaimed by the Blessed One who knows and sees,
accomplished and fully enlightened. What five? They are the
material form aggregate affected by clinging, the feeling aggregate
affected by clinging, the perception aggregate affected by
clinging, the formations aggregate affected by clinging, and the
consciousness aggregate affected by clinging. These, friend, are
the five aggregates affected by clinging, rightly proclaimed by the
Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully enlightened.
How does the venerable one know, how does he see, regarding these
five aggregates affected by clinging, so that through not clinging
his mind is liberated from the taints?’
6. “Bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu is one with taints destroyed...and
is completely liberated through final knowledge, this is the nature
of his answer:
“‘Friends, having known material form to be feeble, fading away,
and comfortless, with the destruction, fading away, cessation,
giving up, and relinquishing of attraction and clinging regarding
material form, of mental standpoints, adherences, and underlying
tendencies regarding material form, I have understood that my mind
is liberated.
“‘Friends, having known feeling...Having known
perception...Having known formations...Having known consciousness
to be feeble, fading away, and comfortless, with the destruction,
fading away, cessation, giving up, and relinquishing of attraction
and clinging regarding consciousness, of mental standpoints,
adherences, and underlying tendencies regarding consciousness, I
have understood that my mind is liberated.
“‘It is by knowing thus, seeing thus, regarding these five
aggregates affected by clinging, that through not clinging my mind
is liberated from the taints.’
7. “Saying ‘good’, one may delight and rejoice in that bhikkhu’s
words. Having done so, a further question may be put thus:
“‘Friend, there are these six elements rightly proclaimed by the
Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully enlightened.
What six? They are the earth element, the water element, the fire
element, the air element, the space element, and the consciousness
element. These, friend, are the six elements rightly proclaimed by
the Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully
enlightened. How does the venerable one know, how does he see,
regarding these six elements, so that through not clinging his mind
is liberated from the taints?’
8. “Bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu is one with taints destroyed...and
is completely liberated through final knowledge, this is the nature
of his answer:
“‘Friends, I have treated the earth element as not self, with no
self based on the earth element. And with the destruction, fading
away, cessation, giving up, and relinquishing of attraction and
clinging based on the earth element, of mental standpoints,
adherences, and underlying tendencies based on the earth element, I
have understood that my mind is liberated.
“‘Friends, I have treated the water element...the fire
element...the air element...the space element...the consciousness
element as not self, with no self based on the consciousness
element. And with the destruction, fading away, cessation, giving
up, and relinquishing of attraction and clinging based on the
consciousness element, of mental standpoints, adherences, and
underlying tendencies based on the consciousness element, I have
understood that my mind is liberated.
“‘It is by knowing thus, seeing thus, regarding these six
elements, that through not clinging my mind is liberated from the
taints.’
9. “Saying ‘good’, one may delight and rejoice in that bhikkhu’s
words. Having done so, a further question may be put thus:
“‘But, friend, there are these six internal and external bases
rightly proclaimed by the Blessed One who knows and sees,
accomplished and fully enlightened. What six? They are the eye and
forms, the ear and sounds, the nose and odors, the tongue and
flavors, the body and tangibles, the mind and mind-objects. These,
friend, are the six internal and external bases rightly proclaimed
by the Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully
enlightened. How does the venerable one know, how does he see,
regarding these six internal and external bases, so that through
not clinging his mind is liberated from the taints?’
10. “Bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu is one with taints destroyed...and
is completely liberated through final knowledge, this is the nature
of his answer:
“‘Friends, with the destruction, fading away, cessation, giving
up, and relinquishing of desire, lust, delight, craving,
attraction, and clinging, and of mental standpoints, adherences,
and underlying tendencies regarding the eye, forms,
eye-consciousness, and things cognizable [by the mind] through
eye-consciousness, I have understood that my mind is liberated.
“‘With the destruction, fading away, cessation, giving up, and
relinquishing of desire, lust, delight, craving, attraction, and
clinging, and of mental standpoints, adherences, and underlying
tendencies regarding the ear, sounds, ear-consciousness, and things
cognizable [by the mind] through ear-consciousness... regarding the
nose, odors, nose-consciousness, and things cognizable [by the
mind] through nose-consciousness... regarding the tongue, flavors,
tongue-consciousness, and things cognizable [by the mind] through
tongue-consciousness... regarding the body, tangibles,
body-consciousness, and things cognizable [by the mind] through
body-consciousness... regarding the mind, mind-objects,
mind-consciousness, and things cognizable [by the mind] through
mind-consciousness, I have understood that my mind is
liberated.
“‘It is by knowing thus, seeing thus, regarding these five
aggregates affected by clinging, that through not clinging my mind
is liberated from the taints.’
11. “Saying ‘good’, one may delight and rejoice in that
bhikkhu’s words. Having done so, a further question may be put
thus:
“‘But, friend, how does the venerable one know, how does he see,
so that in regard to this body with its consciousness and all
external signs, I-making, mine-making, and the underlying tendency
to conceit have been eradicated in him?’
12. “Bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu is one with taints destroyed...and
is completely liberated through final knowledge, this is the nature
of his answer:
“‘Friends, formerly when I lived the home life I was ignorant.
Then the Tathāgata or his disciple taught me the Dhamma. On
hearing the Dhamma I acquired faith in the Tathāgata. Possessing
that faith, I considered thus: “Household life is crowded and
dusty; life gone forth is wide open. It is not easy while living in
a home to lead the holy life utterly perfect and pure as a polished
shell. Suppose I shave off my hair and beard, put on the yellow
robe, and go forth from the home life into homelessness.” On a
later occasion, abandoning a small or a large fortune, abandoning a
small or a large circle of relations, I shaved off my hair and
beard, put on the yellow robe, and went forth from the home life
into homelessness.
13-17. “‘Having thus gone forth and possessing the bhikkhus’
training and way of life...(as Sutta
51, §§14-19)...I purified my mind from
doubt.
18. “‘Having thus abandoned these five hindrances, imperfections
of the mind that weaken wisdom, quite secluded from sensual
pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I entered upon and
abided in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by applied and
sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion.
With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, I entered upon
and abided in the second jhāna...With the fading away as well of
rapture...I entered upon and abided in the third jhāna...With the
abandoning of pleasure and pain...I entered upon and abided in the
fourth jhāna, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of
mindfulness due to equanimity.
19. “‘When my concentrated mind was thus purified, bright,
unblemished, rid of imperfections, malleable, wieldy, steady, and
attained to imperturbability, I directed it to knowledge of the
destruction of the taints. I directly knew as it actually is: “This
is suffering”...“This is the origin of suffering”...“This is the
cessation of suffering”...“This is the way leading to the cessation
of suffering.” I directly knew as it actually is: “These are the
taints”...“This is the origin of the taints”...“This is the
cessation of the taints”...“This is the way leading to the
cessation of the taints.”
20. “‘When I knew and saw thus, my mind was liberated from the
taint of sensual desire, from the taint of being, and from the
taint of ignorance. When it was liberated there came the knowledge:
“It is liberated.” I directly knew: “Birth is destroyed, the holy
life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no
more coming to any state of being.”
“‘It is by knowing thus, seeing thus, friends, that in regard to
this body with its consciousness and all external signs, I-making,
mine-making, and the underlying tendency to conceit have been
eradicated in me.’
21. “Saying ‘good,’ bhikkhus, one may delight and rejoice in
that bhikkhu’s words. Having done so, one should say to him: ‘It is
a gain for us, friend, it is a great gain for us, friend, that we
see such a companion in the holy life as the venerable one.’”
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied
and delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
Majjhima Nikāya 112
Part Three– The Final Fifty Discourses
(Uparipaṇṇāsapāḷi)
The Division at Devadaha
(Devadahavagga)
Translated by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi
Contributed by Chris Burke