The Related Discourses
1. The Aggregates
| （二六七） 無知 | 50 (267). Lack of Knowledge (2) |
|---|---|
| 如是我聞：一時，佛住舍衛國、祇樹、給孤獨園。 | 1. Thus I have 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：「眾生於無始生死，無明所蓋，愛結所繫，長夜輪迴生死，不知苦際。諸比丘！譬如狗繩繫著柱，結繫不斷故，順柱而轉，若住、若臥，不離於柱。如是凡愚眾生，於色不離貪欲、不離愛、不離念、不離渴、輪迴於色，隨色轉，若住、若臥，不離於色。如是受、想、行、識，隨受、想、行、識轉，若住、若臥不離於識。 | 2. It was then that the Buddha addressed the monks, “Sentient beings don’t know the extent of suffering who circulate through beginningless births and deaths while shrouded by ignorance and tied up by the bond of craving. Monks, take the example of a dog that’s tied to a post with a rope. Because it hasn’t broken that bond that ties it, the dog turns around the post. Whether it stands or lies down, it doesn’t leave the post. In this way, ordinary, foolish sentient beings circle form and turn around form while they aren’t free of greed, craving, thought, and thirst for form. Whether they stand or lie down, they don’t leave form. In this way, they turn around feeling … conception … volition … awareness. Whether they stand or lie down, they don’t leave awareness. |
| 「諸比丘！當善思惟觀察於心。所以者何？長夜心為貪欲使染，瞋恚、愚癡使染故。比丘！心惱故眾生惱，心淨故眾生淨。比丘！我不見一色種種如斑色鳥，心復過是。所以者何？彼畜生心種種故，色種種。 | 3. “Monks, one should contemplate and observe the mind well. Why is that? Because the mind has been affected by greed … hatred … affected by delusion for a long night. Monks, sentient beings are troubled because their minds are troubled, and sentient beings are purified because their minds are purified. Monks, I don’t see a single form as varied as that of a multi-colored bird, but its mind goes beyond that. Why is that? That animal’s form is diverse because its mind is diverse.2 |
| 「是故，比丘！當善思惟觀察於心。諸比丘！長夜心貪欲所染，瞋恚、愚癡所染，心惱故眾生惱，心淨故眾生淨。比丘當知，汝見嗟蘭那鳥種種雜色不？」 | 4. “Therefore, monks, you should contemplate and observe the mind well. Monks, the mind has been affected by greed … hatred … affected by delusion for a long night. Sentient beings are troubled because their minds are troubled, and sentient beings are purified because their minds are purified. Monks, have you seen the diverse and varied colors of the cāraṇa bird?”3 |
| 答言：「曾見。世尊！」 | They answered, “We’ve seen it, Bhagavān.” |
| 佛告比丘：「如嗟蘭那鳥種種雜色，我說彼心種種雜亦復如是。所以者何？彼嗟蘭那鳥心種種故其色種種。是故，當善觀察思惟於心，長夜種種貪欲、瞋恚、愚癡所染，心惱故眾生惱，心淨故眾生淨。 | 5. The Buddha told the monks, “I say that cāraṇa bird has diverse and varied colors because its mind is diverse and varied, too. Why is that? Because its mind is diverse, that cāraṇa bird’s color is diverse. Therefore, you should examine and contemplate the mind well, for it has been affected by diverse greeds, hatreds, and delusions for a long night. Sentient beings are troubled because their minds are troubled, and sentient beings are purified because their minds are purified. |
| 譬如畫師、畫師弟子，善治素地，具眾彩色，隨意圖畫種種像類。 | 6. They’re like an artist or an artist’s apprentice who skillfully arranges a white cloth on the ground, prepares a variety of pigments, and paints a variety of images as he likes. |
| 「如是，比丘！凡愚眾生不如實知色、色集、色滅、色味、色患、色離，於色不如實知故，樂著於色；樂著色故，復生未來諸色。如是凡愚不如實知受、想、行、識、識集、識滅、識味、識患、識離。不如實知故，樂著於識；樂著識故，復生未來諸識。當生未來色、受、想、行、識故，於色不解脫，受、想、行、識不解脫，我說彼不解脫生、老、病、死、憂、悲、惱、苦。 | 7. “In this way, monks, ordinary sentient beings don’t truly know form, the formation of form, cessation of form, trouble of form, or escape from form. Because they don’t truly know form, they delight in form. Because they delight in form, they are reborn with future forms. In this way, ordinary, foolish sentient beings don’t truly know feeling … conception … volition … awareness, the formation of awareness, cessation of awareness, trouble of awareness, and escape from awareness. Because they don’t truly know awareness, they delight in awareness. Because they delight in awareness, they are reborn with future instances of awareness. Because they will be born with future form … feeling … conception … volition … awareness, they aren’t freed from form … feeling … conception … volition … aren’t freed from awareness. I say that they aren’t freed from birth, old age, illness, death, sorrow, lamentation, trouble, and pain. |
| 「有多聞聖弟子如實知色、色集、色滅、色味、色患、色離。如實知故，不樂著於色；以不樂著故，不生未來色。如實知受、想、行、識、識集、識滅、識味、識患、識離。如實知故，不染著於識；不樂著故，不生未來諸識。不樂著於色、受、想、行、識故，於色得解脫，受、想、行、識得解脫，我說彼等解脫生、老、病、死、憂、悲、惱、苦。」 | 8. “There are well-versed noble disciples who truly know form, the formation of form, cessation of form, trouble of form, and escape from form. Because they truly know form, they don’t delight in form. Because they don’t delight in form, they aren’t reborn with future forms. In this way, they truly know feeling … conception … volition … awareness, the formation of awareness, cessation of awareness, trouble of awareness, and escape from awareness. Because they truly know awareness, they don’t delight in awareness. Because they don’t delight in awareness, they aren’t reborn with future instances of awareness. Because they won’t be born with future form … feeling … conception … volition … awareness, they are freed from form … feeling … conception … volition … freed from awareness. I say that they are freed from birth, old age, illness, death, sorrow, lamentation, trouble, and pain.” |
| 佛說此經已，時諸比丘聞佛所說，歡喜奉行。 | 9. After he taught this sūtra, the monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved. |
Notes
- This is sūtra no. 267 in the Taisho edition and no. 50 in Yinshun (T99.2.69c2-70a11). It’s a variant of the previous one (which is parallel to SN 22.99) and parallel with SN 22.100. The main feature of both this version and SN 22.100 is the metaphor of the dog tied to a post, which limits its range of movement. This metaphor is then used to illustrate how sentient beings are trapped in domains defined by the five aggregates until they escape rebirth. The P. version says the dog sits near the post, while this version uses an expression that means the dog orbits (turns around) the post.
The next metaphor, which asserts that diversity of form is the result of diversity of mind, uses the example of a colorful bird. The P. version is unclear whether the metaphor is about a bird or a painting, though the meaning is not impacted much by it. I discuss the language issues in the notes below. [back] - I don’t see a single form as varied as a multi-colored bird, but its mind goes beyond that. … That animal’s form is diverse because its mind is diverse. C. 我不見一色種種如斑色鳥，心復過是。⋯彼畜生心種種故，色種種。 P. Diṭṭhaṁ vo, bhikkhave, caraṇaṁ nāma cittan”ti? … Tampi kho, bhikkhave, caraṇaṁ nāma cittaṁ citteneva cittitaṁ. Tenapi kho, bhikkhave, caraṇena cittena cittaññeva cittataraṁ. The P. passage here is confusing since the word for both “mind” and “colorful” is P. citta (whereas, they are citta and citra respectively in S.). It does indicate that P. caraṇa is a proper name, but this term is also confusing because it can mean “conduct” or “painting.” The C. passage makes it clear what these words were intended to mean, or at least presents us with an interpretation that’s coherent. In any case, the P. version will reference animals when this passage is repeated, giving us more confidence that it indeed should be read like the C. version. See the next note for more on the language issues involved. [back]
- cāraṇa bird. C. 嗟蘭那鳥 (EMC. tsiă-lan-na + “bird” = G. carana?). In the P. passage, cāraṇa again appears to be a standalone noun meaning “colorful painting.” Here, however, it’s the name of a bird that apparently was quite colorful and looked like it was painted. I can’t help but notice a couple hints at what has happened here in my search for clues about it.
First, P./S. vāraṇa occurs in a few places in Pali and Sanskrit sources as a kind of bird. This word was at times confused with cāraṇa as evidenced by the variant reading in Therāgatha 19.1, where vāraṇika occurs as an alt. reading for cāraṇika.
Another consideration is that C. translators sometimes appended words like “country” or “bird” to Indic proper nouns as a interlineal comment for readers unfamiliar with the names involved. It may be that the original didn’t specify that cāraṇa was a bird, but the translator understood it as such.
Thus, the issue seems to be one of interpretation, but also possibly a case of words changing in pronunciation over time and becoming confused. The P. tradition may have forgotten that cāraṇa could be the name of a bird, and it wouldn’t be apparent to lexicographers if the usage was rare and the intended meaning was not indicated by context. [back]
Translator: Charles Patton
Last Revised: 04 April 2024
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