The Related Discourses

1. The Aggregates

（五一）壞法	163 (51). What’s Destroyed
如是我聞：一時，佛住舍衛國、祇樹、給孤獨園。	1. Thus have I heard:¹ One time, the Buddha was staying at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in Jeta’s Grove of Śrāvastī.
爾時，世尊告諸比丘：「我今為汝說壞、不壞法。諦聽，善思。當為汝說。	2. It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “Now, I will discuss for you the things that are destroyed and those are aren’t destroyed.² Listen closely, and consider it well. I will explain this for you.
「諸比丘，色是壞法，彼色滅涅槃是不壞法。受⋯想⋯行⋯識是壞法，彼識滅涅槃是不壞法。」	3. “Monks, form is something that’s destroyed, but the cessation and nirvāṇa of that form is not something that’s destroyed.³ Feeling … conception … volition … awareness is something that’s destroyed, but the cessation and nirvāṇa of that awareness is not something that’s destroyed.”
佛說此經已，諸比丘聞佛所說歡喜，奉行。	4. After the Buddha spoke this sūtra, the monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved.

This is sūtra no. 51 in the Taisho edition and no. 163 in Yinshun (T99.2.12b25-c1). It’s parallel with SN 22.32. The only significant difference is the choice of synonyms for the cessation of the aggregates. Here, a word like nirvāṇa occurs, but not in SN 22.32. [back]
destroyed. C. 壞, P. pabhaṅga, S. prabhanakti or prabhañjana (?). The Pali parallel has pabhaṅga, which is often interpreted as “fragile, brittle, perishable” but which can mean “destroyed.” 壞 often means simply “to be destroyed,” but it has the connotation of gradual destruction, so it often means something more like “decay, erode, ruin.” [back]
nirvāṇa. C. 涅槃. I believe here the C. may have translated a verbal adjective or participle with the same root as S. nirvāṇa. This passage shows, though, that nirvāṇa was not considered identical to cessation but rather a close synonym. The Pali parallel lists two other synonyms for cessation (nirodha): “pacification and disappearance” (vūpasama atthaṅgama). [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 14 September 2024