The Related Discourses
1. The Aggregates
| （三〇） 輸屢那 | 36 (30). Śroṇa |
|---|---|
| 如是我聞： 一時，佛住王舍城、迦蘭陀竹園。 爾時，尊者舍利弗在耆闍崛山中。 | 1. Thus I have heard:1 The Buddha was staying at the Squirrels’ Bamboo Grove of Rājagṛha. Venerable Śāriputra was on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa at the time. |
| 時，有長者子名輸屢那，日日遊行。 到耆闍崛山，詣尊者舍利弗。 問訊起居已，却坐一面。 語舍利弗言： 「若諸沙門、婆羅門於無常色、變易、不安隱色言： 『我勝』、『我等』、『我劣』。 何故沙門、婆羅門作如是想而不見真實？ 若沙門、婆羅門於無常、變易、不安隱受⋯想⋯行⋯識而言： 『我勝』、『我等』、『我劣』。 何故沙門、婆羅門作如是想而不見真實？ | 2. There was then a prominent man’s son named Śroṇa2 who went for walks every day. He went to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa and visited Venerable Śāriputra there. After asking how he were doing, Śroṇa2 withdrew to sit to one side. He said to Śāriputra, “Suppose ascetics and brahmins say this about forms that are impermanent, changing, and insecure: ‘I am better,’ ‘I am equal,’ or ‘I am inferior.’ Why would an ascetic or brahmin form such an idea and not see them truly? Suppose an ascetic or brahmin says about feelings … conceptions … volitions … awarenesses that are impermanent, changing, and insecure: ‘I am better,’ ‘I am equal,’ or ‘I am inferior.’ Why would an ascetic or brahmin form such an idea and not see them truly? |
| 「若沙門、婆羅門於無常色、不安隱色、變易言： 『我勝』、『我等』、『我劣』。 何所計而不見真實？ 於無常、變易、不安隱受⋯想⋯行⋯識言： 『我勝』、『我等』、『我劣』。 何所計而不見真實？」 | 3. “Suppose an ascetic or brahmin says about forms that are impermanent, changing, and insecure: ‘I am better,’ ‘I am equal,’ or ‘I am inferior.’ How do they imagine that and not see them truly? Suppose they say about feelings … conceptions … volitions … awarenesses that are impermanent, changing, and insecure: ‘I am better,’ ‘I am equal,’ or ‘I am inferior.’ How do they imagine that and not see them truly?” |
| 「輸屢那，於汝意云何？ 色為常，為無常耶？」 | 4. “Śroṇa, what do you think? Is form permanent or impermanent?” |
| 答言： 「無常。」 | He replied, “Impermanent.” |
| 「輸屢那，若無常，為是苦耶？」 | 5. “Śroṇa, if something is impermanent, is that painful?” |
| 答言： 「是苦。」 | He replied, “It’s painful.” |
| 「輸屢那，若無常、苦，是變易法。 於意云何？ 聖弟子於中見色是我、異我、相在不？」 | 6. “Śroṇa, if something is impermanent and painful, it’s subject to change. What do you think? Would a noble disciple see form as self, different from self, or that either is present in the other?” |
| 答言： 「不也。」 | He replied, “No.” |
| 「輸屢那，於意云何？ 受⋯想⋯行⋯識為常、為無常？」 | 7. “Śroṇa, what do you think? Is feeling … conception … volition … awareness permanent or impermanent?” |
| 答言： 「無常。」 | He replied, “Impermanent.” |
| 「若無常，是苦耶？」 | 8. “If something is impermanent, is that painful?” |
| 答言： 「是苦。」 | He replied, “It’s painful.” |
| 「輸屢那，識若無常、苦，是變易法。 於意云何？ 聖弟子於中見識是我、異我、相在不？」 | 9. “Śroṇa, if awareness is impermanent and painful, then it’s subject to change. What do you think? Would a noble disciple see awareness as self, different from self, or that either is present in the other?” |
| 答言： 「不也。」 | He replied, “No.” |
| 「輸屢那，當知色，若過去、若未來、若現在，若內、若外，若麁、若細，若好、若醜，若遠、若近，彼一切色不是我、不異我、不相在。 是名如實知。 | 10. “Śroṇa, you should know that whatever forms there are, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, crude or fine, beautiful or ugly, or distant or near, all those forms are not self, not different from self, and neither is present in the other. This is called truly knowing them. |
| 「如是受⋯想⋯行⋯識，若過去、若未來、若現在，若內、若外，若麁、若細，若好、若醜，若遠、若近，彼一切識不是我、不異我、不相在。 是名如實知。 | 11. “Thus, whatever feelings … conceptions … volitions … awarenesses there are, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, crude or fine, beautiful or ugly, or distant or near, all those awarenesses are not self, not different from self, and neither is present in the other. This is called truly knowing them. |
| 「輸屢那，如是於色、受、想、行、識生厭，離欲、解脫。 解脫知見： 『我生已盡，梵行已立，所作已作。』 自知不受後有。」 | 12. “In this way, Śroṇa, one becomes disillusioned, becomes free of desire for, and becomes liberated from form, feeling, conception, volition, and awareness. Being liberated, they know and see: ‘My births have been ended, the religious practice has been established, and the task has been accomplished.’ They themselves know they won’t be subject to a later existence.” |
| 時，舍利弗說是經已，長者子輸屢那遠塵離垢，得法眼淨。 時，長者子輸屢那見法得法，不由於他，於正法中，得無所畏。 從坐起，偏袒右肩，胡跪合掌。 白舍利弗言： 「我今已度！ 我從今日歸依佛、歸依法、歸依僧，為優婆塞。 我從今日已，盡壽命，清淨歸依三寶。」 | 13. After Śāriputra taught this sūtra, that prominent man’s son Śroṇa was removed from dust, free of defilement, and his Dharma vision became clear. Śroṇa then saw and attained the Dharma, and he became confident in the correct Dharma without relying on someone else. He rose from his seat, adjusted his robes to bare his right shoulder, and crouched with his palms together. He said to Śāriputra, “I’ve been freed today! From this day on, I take refuge in the Buddha, take refuge in the Dharma, and take refuge in the Saṅgha as a layman. From today until the end of my life, I will be pure in my devotion to these three jewels.” |
| 時，長者子輸屢那聞舍利弗所說歡喜，踊躍。 作禮而去。 | 14. When the prominent man Śroṇa heard what Śāriputra had taught, he rejoiced and celebrated. He then bowed and departed. |
Notes
This is sūtra no. 30 in the Taisho edition and no. 36 in Yinshun (T99.2.6a24-c3, Y30.38a8-39a13). It’s parallel to SN 22.49 and a Sanskrit fragment (SF 89). The discourse presented by these parallels is essentially the same, but here in SĀ and in the S. fragment, it’s taught by Śāriputra rather than by the Buddha.
The next two sūtras are variants of this one. In the next sūtra, Śāriputra gives Śroṇa a teaching that analyzes the aggregates along the lines of the four truths (e.g., form, its formation, its cessation, and the path to its cessation). In SĀ 1.38, the path to cessation is replaced with enjoyment, trouble, and escape. These teachings replace Śroṇa’s question found here in SĀ 1.36, but the argument about the impermanence, painfulness, and selflessness of the aggregates is repeated in both variants. [back]
Śroṇa. C. 輸屢那 (EMC. ʃɪu-lɪu-na), G. śroṇa, P. soṇa, S. śroṇa. The BHS parallel for this sūtra sometimes spells his name chroṇa and sometimes śroṇa. The C. translit. includes the -r- sound, so it appears to match the usu. S. pronunciation that’s also found in a G. attestation. [back]
removed from dust, free of defilement, and his Dharma vision became clear. C. 遠塵離垢，得法眼淨, G. ?, P. virajaṁ vītamalaṁ dhammacakkhuṁ udapādi, S. virajo vigatamalaṁ dharmeṣu dharmacakṣur utpannam. The translation of this expression in SĀ consistently differs from both the P. and S., mainly in adding that his Dharma vision became clear (得法眼淨). In the Indic parallels, it simply “arose” (P. udapādi, S. utpanna).
The phrasing in Chinese also makes it difficult to read 遠塵 and 離垢 as adjectives. Instead, they look like verb phrases describing the clarification of his vision: “removed from dust (遠塵) and free of defilement (離垢), his Dharma vision became clear (得法眼淨).”</p>It’s also worth mentioning that the passage in SF89 inserts the plural locative form of dharma before dharmacakṣu, making it mean something like “Dharma vision in dharmas arose.” Sujato translated the Sanskrit expression as “the stainless, immaculate vision of the principles of the teachings arose.” [back]
Translator: Charles Patton
Last Revised: 17 April 2026
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