The Related Discourses
2. The Sense Fields
| （二〇三） 知見無明 | 76 (203). Knowing and Seeing Ignorance |
|---|---|
| 如是我聞： 一時，佛住毘舍離、耆婆拘摩羅藥師菴羅園。 | 1. Thus I have heard:1 One time, the Buddha was staying in Doctor Jīvaka Kumāra’s Mango Park of Vaiśālī.2 |
| 爾時，世尊告諸比丘： 「若有比丘能斷一法者，則得正智，能自記說： 『我生已盡，梵行已立，所作已作。』 自知不受後有。」 | 2. It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “If there is a monk who can end one thing, then he will attain right knowledge and be able to claim about himself: ‘My births have been ended, the religious practice has been established, and the task has been accomplished.’ He himself knows that he won’t be subject to a later existence.” |
| 諸比丘白佛言： 「世尊是法根、法眼、法依。 唯願演說！ 諸比丘聞已，當受奉行。」 | The monks said to the Buddha, “The Bhagavān is the root of the Dharma, the eye of the Dharma, and the basis of the Dharma. Please explain this in detail! After hearing it, the monks will accept and approve of it.” |
| 佛告諸比丘： 「諦聽，善思！當為汝說。 諸比丘，云何一法斷故⋯乃至⋯不受後有？ 所謂無明。 離欲明生。 得正智，能自記說： 『我生已盡，梵行已立，所作已作。』 自知不受後有。」 | 3. The Buddha told the monks, “Listen closely, and consider it well! I will explain it for you. Monks, by ending what one thing … up to … they won’t be subject to a later existence? That thing is ignorance. Insight arises when one becomes free of desire. Having attained right knowledge, a monk can claim about himself: ‘My births have ended, the religious life has been established, and the task has been accomplished.’ He himself knows that he won’t be subject to a later existence.” |
| 時，有異比丘從坐起。 整衣服，偏袒右肩，為佛作禮，右膝著地，合掌。 白佛言： 「世尊，云何知、云何見無明，離欲，明生？」 | 4. A certain monk then rose from his seat. He adjusted his robes to bare his right shoulder, bowed to the Buddha, and knelt down on his right knee with his palms together. He then said to the Buddha, “Bhagavān, how does one know and see ignorance to become free of desire and produce insight?” |
| 佛告比丘： 「當正觀察眼無常。 若色、眼識、眼觸、眼觸因緣生受，若苦、若樂、不苦不樂，彼亦正觀無常。 耳、鼻、舌、身、意亦復如是。 比丘，如是知、如是見無明，離欲明生。」 | 5. The Buddha told that monk, “One should correctly contemplate the eye as impermanent. Whether it’s form, visual awareness, visual contact, or painful, pleasant, and neither painful nor pleasant feelings that arise as a result of visual contact, they are correctly contemplated as impermanent, too. The ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are likewise. Monk, knowing and seeing ignorance in this way, one becomes free of desire and produces insight.” |
| 佛說此經已，諸比丘聞佛所說歡喜，奉行。 | 6. After the Buddha spoke this sūtra, the monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved. |
Notes
This is sūtra no. 203 in the Taisho edition and no. 254 in Yinshun (T99.2.52a10-26). The second half of this sūtra is similar to SN 35.165. Here, a certain monks asks about knowing and seeing ignorance, while he asks about wrong view in SN 35.165. [back]
Doctor Jīvaka Kumāra’s Mango Park. C. 耆婆拘摩羅藥師、菴羅園 (EMC. ʒɪi-bua kɪu-mua-la + “doctor” + •əm-la + “park” = G. jiva kumara *bheṣajaguru amravana), P. jīvakambavana. Theravāda sources place this grove near Rājagṛha rather than Vaiśālī. Here, Jīvaka’s full name and profession are given. Pali sources give his full name as P. jīvaka komārabhacca, and the Divyāvadāna calls him S. jīvaka kumārabhūta. Here, his title is simply G. kumara (“youth” or “prince”). See his entry in the Dictionary of Pali Proper Names for more about this layman in Theravāda sources. [back]
Translator: Charles Patton
Last Revised: 31 January 2025
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