The Related Discourses
2. The Sense Fields
| （二一三） 二法 | 97 (213). Two Things |
|---|---|
| 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： 「當為汝等演說二法。 諦聽，善思。 何等為二？ 眼、色為二。 耳聲⋯鼻香⋯舌味⋯身觸⋯意法為二。 是名二法。 | 2. It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “I will give you a lecture about two things. Listen closely, and consider it well. What are the two? The eye and forms are two. The ear and sounds … the nose and odors … the tongue and flavors … the body and touches … the mind and notions are two. These are called two things. |
| 「若有沙門、婆羅門作如是說： 『是非二者。 沙門瞿曇所說二法，此非為二。 彼自以意說二法者，但有言說。』 問已不知。 增其疑惑，以非其境界故。 | 3. “Suppose an ascetic or brahmin were to say, ‘These are not two things. The ascetic Gautama claims they are two things, but these are not two. Those who use their own reasoning to say they are two things simply say this.’ When questioned, that ascetic or brahmin wouldn’t understand. Their confusion would increase because it’s not their area. |
| 「所以者何？ 緣眼、色，眼識生。 三事和合，緣觸。 觸生受，若苦、若樂、不苦不樂。 若於此受集、受滅、受味、受患、受離不如實知者，種貪欲身觸、種瞋恚身觸、種戒取身觸、種我見身觸，亦種殖增長諸惡不善法。 如是純大苦聚皆從集生。 如是耳⋯鼻⋯舌⋯身⋯意、法緣，生意識。 三事和合觸⋯廣說如上。 | 4. “Why is that? Visual awareness arises conditioned by the eye and forms. These three things combine to condition contact. Contact gives rise to feeling, whether it’s painful, pleasant, or neither painful nor pleasant. If someone doesn’t truly know the formation, cessation, enjoyment, trouble, and escape from feeling, they’ll plant greed for bodily contact, plant hatred of bodily contact, plant attachment to rules of bodily contact, plant self view of bodily contact, and plant the growth of bad and unskillful things. In this way, the whole mass of suffering forms and arises from that. In this way, the ear … nose … tongue … body … mind and notions condition the arising of mental awareness. These three things combine to condition contact … and so on as above. |
| 「復次，眼緣色，生眼識。 三事和合觸。 觸緣受，若苦、若樂、不苦不樂。 於此諸受集、滅、味、患、離如是知。 如是知已，不種貪欲身觸、不種瞋恚身觸、不種戒取身觸、不種我見身觸、不種諸惡不善法。 如是諸惡不善法滅，純大苦聚滅。 耳、鼻、舌、身、意法亦復如是。」 | 5. “Furthermore, visual awareness arises dependent on the eye and forms. These three things combined into contact. Contact conditions feeling, whether it’s painful, pleasant, or neither painful nor pleasant. The formation, cessation, enjoyment, trouble, and escape from these feelings is known in this way. Once they are known in this way, one doesn’t plant greed for bodily contact, doesn’t plant hatred of bodily contact, doesn’t plant attachment to rules of bodily contact, doesn’t plant self view of bodily contact, and doesn’t plant bad and unskillful things. Ceasing bad and unskillful things in this way, the whole mass of suffering ceases. The ear, nose, tongue, body, mind and ideas are likewise.” |
| 佛說此經已，諸比丘聞佛所說歡喜，奉行。 | 6. After the Buddha taught this sūtra, the monks who heard what the Buddha taught rejoiced and approved. |
Notes
This is sūtra no. 213 in the Taisho edition and no. 275 in Yinshun (T99.2.54a1-21). Its a partial parallel to SN 35.92.
This sūtra includes a treatment of how not understanding contact with sensory experience leads to suffering, and how its understanding leads to the cessation of the same. This is not found in SN 35.92. The two sūtras only share the initial statement about the senses and their objects being two things. [back]
Translator: Charles Patton
Last Revised: 15 April 2025
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