The Related Discourses

1. The Aggregates

153 (41). Five Turns

1. Thus have I heard:[1] One time, the Buddha was staying at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in Jeta’s Grove of Śrāvastī.

2. It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “There are five acquired aggregates: The acquired aggregate of form … feeling … conception … volition … the acquired aggregate of consciousness. I truly know these five acquired aggregates in five ways: I truly know form … form’s formation … form’s enjoyment … form’s trouble … truly know form’s escape. Thus, I truly know feeling … conception … volition … consciousness … consciousness’s formation … consciousness’s enjoyment … consciousness’s trouble … truly know consciousness’s escape.

Form

3. “How is form truly known? All forms that exist, all four elements and forms made of the four elements, are called form. Form is thus truly known.

4. “How is form’s formation truly known? Delight and craving for form are called form’s formation. Form’s formation is thus truly known.

5. “How is form’s enjoyment truly known? Delight and pleasure that dependently arise from form are called form’s enjoyment. Form’s enjoyment is thus truly known.

6. “How is form’s trouble truly known? When form is impermanent, painful, and liable to change, this is called form’s trouble. Form’s trouble is thus truly known.

7. “How is form’s escape truly known? When desire for form is controlled, stopped, and transcended, this is called form’s escape. Form’s escape is thus truly known.

Feeling

8. “How is feeling truly known? There is the body of six feelings: Feeling that arises from eye contact … ear … nose … tongue … body … feeling that arises from mind contact. This is called feeling. Feeling is thus truly known.

9. “How is feeling’s formation truly known? The formation of contact is feeling’s formation. Feeling’s formation is thus truly known.

10. “How is feeling’s enjoyment truly known? Delight and pleasure that dependently arise from the six feelings are called feeling’s enjoyment. Feeling’s enjoyment is thus truly known.

11. “How is feeling’s trouble truly known? When feeling is impermanent, painful, and liable to change, this is called feeling’s trouble. Feeling’s trouble is thus truly known.

12. “How is feeling’s escape truly known? When desire for feeling is controlled, stopped, and transcended, this is called feeling’s escape. Feeling’s escape is thus truly known.

Conception

13. “How is conception truly known? There’s the body of six conceptions. What are the six? They are conception that arises from eye contact … ear … nose … tongue … body … conception that arises from mind contact. This is called conception. Conception is thus truly known.

14. “How is conception’s formation truly known? The formation of contact is conception’s formation. Conception’s formation is thus truly known.

15. “How is conception’s enjoyment truly known? Delight and pleasure that dependently arise from conception are called conception’s enjoyment. Conception’s enjoyment is thus truly known.

16. “How is conception’s trouble truly known? When conception is impermanent, painful, and liable to change, this is called conception’s trouble. Conception’s trouble is thus truly known.

17. “How is conception’s escape truly known? When desire for conception is controlled, stopped, and transcended, this is called conception’s escape. Conception’s escape is thus truly known.

Volition

18. “How is volition truly known? There’s the body of six intentions: Intention that arises from eye contact … ear … nose … tongue … body, and intention that arises from mind contact. This is called volition. Volition is thus truly known.

19. “How is volition’s formation truly known? The formation of contact is volition’s formation. Volition’s formation is thus truly known.

20. “How is volition’s enjoyment truly known? Delight and pleasure that dependently arise from volition are called volition’s enjoyment. Volition’s enjoyment is thus truly known.

21. “How is volition’s trouble truly known? When volition is impermanent, painful, and liable to change, this is called volition’s trouble. Volition’s trouble is thus truly known.

22. “How is volition’s escape truly known? When desire for volition is controlled, stopped, and transcended, this is called volition’s escape. Volition’s escape is thus truly known.

Consciousness

23. “How is consciousness truly known? There’s the six bodies of consciousnesses: The body of eye consciousness … ear … nose … tongue … body … the body of mind consciousness. This is called the bodies of consciousness. The bodies of consciousness are thus truly known.

24. “How is consciousness’s formation truly known? The formation of name and form is called consciousness’s formation. Consciousness’s formation is thus truly known.

25. “How is consciousness’s enjoyment truly known? Delight and pleasure that dependently arise from consciousness are called consciousness’s enjoyment. Consciousness’s enjoyment is thus truly known.

26. “How is consciousness’s trouble truly known? When consciousness is impermanent, painful, and liable to change, this is called consciousness’s trouble. Consciousness’s trouble is thus truly known.

27. “How is consciousness’s escape truly known? When desire for consciousness is controlled, stopped, and transcended, this is called consciousness’s escape. Consciousness’s escape is thus truly known.

28. “Monks, if an ascetic or priest knows and sees form in this way and knows and sees the way to part with desire for it in this way, this is called the correct heading. If someone is correctly headed, I say that they have entered. Feeling, conception, volition, and consciousness are likewise.

29. “If an ascetic or priest truly knows and sees form, then disillusionment with form arises. Parting with desire for it, they don’t produce contaminants, and the mind becomes liberated. If someone’s mind becomes liberated, then it’s consistent. It being consistent, the religious life is established. Someone established in the religious life is free of another’s control. This is called the end of suffering. Feeling, conception, volition, and consciousness is likewise.”

30. After the Buddha spoke this sūtra, the monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved.

Notes

1. This is sūtra no. 41 in the Taisho edition and no. 153 in Yinshun (T99.2.9b7-10a3). It’s parallel with SN 22.56. [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 10 November 2023