The Related Discourses

2. The Sense Fields

123-125 (230). Samṛddhi

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

2. There was then a monk named Samṛddhi who went to the Buddha, bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet, and withdrew to sit at one side. He said to the Buddha, “Bhagavān, there’s what’s called ‘the world’ (2.123) … ‘a sentient being’ (2.124) … ‘Māra’ (2.125). What is it that’s called ‘the world’ … ‘a sentient being’ … ‘Māra’?”

3. The Buddha told Samṛddhi, “It refers to the eye, form, visual consciousness, visual contact, feelings that dependently arise from visual contact, and inner experiences that are painful, pleasant, or neither painful nor pleasant. It refers to the ear … nose … tongue … body … mind, notions, cognitive consciousness, cognitive contact, and feelings that dependently arise from cognitive contact, and inner experiences that are painful, pleasant, or neither painful nor pleasant. This is called ‘the world’ … ‘a sentient being’ … ‘Māra.’ Why is that? The six sense fields form, and then contact forms … The whole mass of suffering forms.[2]

4. “Samṛddhi, suppose there’s no eye, no form, no visual consciousness, no visual contact, no feelings that dependently arise from visual contact, and no inner experiences that are painful, pleasant, or neither painful nor pleasant. There’s no ear … nose … tongue … mind, notions, cognitive consciousness, cognitive contact, feelings that dependently arise from cognitive contact, or inner experiences that are painful, pleasant, or neither painful nor pleasant. Then, there’s no world … no sentient being … no Māra, nor what’s supposed to be the world … a sentient being … Māra. Why is that? When the six sense fields cease, then contact ceases … The whole mass of suffering ceases.”

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

Notes

1. This is sūtra no. 230 in the Taisho edition and no. 301-303 in Yinshun (T99.2.56a24-b10). It’s parallel to SN 35.68. [back]
2. The full passage would presumably include the remaining chain of dependent origination, i.e. feeling, craving, clinging, existence, birth, old age, illness, death, grief, sorrow, pain, and trouble have been omitted. [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 10 November 2023