Translating Classical Buddhism to Modern English

The Related Discourses

3. Causation

(二八九) 無聞 7 (289). Untaught
如是我聞： 一時，佛住王舍城、迦蘭陀竹園。 1. Thus I have heard:1 One time, the Buddha was staying at the Karandaka Bamboo Park of Rājagṛha.
爾時，世尊告諸比丘： 「愚癡、無聞凡夫於四大身厭患，離欲，背捨而非識。 所以者何？ 見四大身有增、有減、有取、有捨，而於心、意、識，愚癡無聞凡夫不能生厭、離欲、解脫。 所以者何？ 彼長夜於此保，惜，繫我。 若得、若取，言： 『是我、我所、相在。』 是故，愚癡、無聞凡夫不能於彼生厭、離欲、背捨。 2. It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “Foolish, untaught, ordinary men become disillusioned with, free of desire for, and abandon the body of the four basic elements but not awareness. Why is that? They see that the body of the four basic elements has its increase, decrease, acquisition, and loss, but an foolish, untaught ordinary man is unable to become disillusioned with, free of desire for, or be liberated from the heart, mind, and awareness. Why is that? They’ve protected, valued, and tied themselves to it for a long night. Whether ascertained or grasped, they say: ‘This is me, it belongs to me, and both is present in the other.’ Therefore, a foolish, untaught ordinary man is unable to become disillusioned with, free desire of, and abandon it.
「愚癡、無聞凡夫寧於四大身繫我、我所，不可於識繫我、我所。 所以者何？ 四大色身或見十年住⋯二十⋯三十⋯乃至⋯百年，若善消息、或復小過。 彼心、意、識日夜時刻，須臾轉變，異生、異滅。 猶如獼猴遊林樹間，須臾處處。 攀捉枝條，放一、取一。 彼心、意、識亦復如是，異生、異滅。 3. “A foolish, untaught ordinary man should rather tie himself and what belongs to himself to the body of the four basic elements and not tie himself and what belongs to himself to awareness. Why is that? He might observe the form body of four basic elements lasting ten … twenty … thirty … or a hundred years, whether it’s a good time or he makes some minor mistakes. His heart, mind, and awareness changes with each moment during day and night, arising as one thing and perishing as another. It’s like a monkey wandering in a forest, staying momentarily in place or another. It climbs on branches and twigs, releasing one and grasping another. That man’s heart, mind, and awareness are likewise, arising as one thing and perishing as another.
「多聞、聖弟子於諸緣起善思惟觀察。 所謂樂觸緣生樂受。 樂受覺時，如實知樂受覺。 彼樂觸滅，樂觸因緣生受亦滅、止、清涼、息、沒。 如樂受，苦觸⋯喜觸⋯憂觸⋯捨觸因緣生捨受。 捨受覺時，如實知捨受覺。 彼捨觸滅，彼捨觸因緣生捨受亦滅、止、清涼、息、沒。 4. “The well-versed, noble disciple considers and observes well the dependent arising of things. That is, a pleasant feeling arises dependent on a pleasant contact. When they notice that pleasant feeling, they truly know that they have noticed a pleasant feeling. When that pleasant contact ceases, the pleasant feeling that dependently arose from that pleasant contact also ceases. It stops, cools, subsides, and disappears.2 Like that pleasant feeling, a painful contact … happy contact … sad contact … indifferent contact dependently gives rise to an indifferent feeling. When the disciple notices that indifferent feeling, they truly know that they’ve noticed an indifferent feeling. When that indifferent contact ceases, the indifferent feeling that dependently arose from that indifferent contact also ceases. It stops, cools, subsides, and disappears.
彼如是思惟： 『此受觸生、觸樂、觸縛。 彼彼觸樂故，彼彼受樂。 彼彼觸樂滅，彼彼受樂亦滅、止、清涼、息、沒。』 5. “That disciple would contemplate it in this way: ‘These feelings arise from contact, enjoy contact, and are tied to contact. Because this or that contact is pleasant, this or that feeling is pleasant. When this or that contact that’s pleasant ceases, this or that feeling that’s pleasant also ceases. It stops, cools, subsides, and disappears.’
如是，多聞、聖弟子於色生厭，於受⋯想⋯行⋯識生厭。 厭故不樂。 不樂故解脫。 解脫，知見： 『我生已盡，梵行已立，所作已作。 自知不受後有。』」 6. “Thus, the well-versed, noble disciple becomes disillusioned with form, disillusioned with feeling … conception … volition … and awareness. Because of this disillusionment, they don’t enjoy them. Because they don’t enjoy them, they’re liberated. Being liberated, they know and see: ‘My births have been ended, the religious practice has been established, and the task has been accomplished. I myself know that I won’t be subject to a later existence.’”
佛說此經已，諸比丘聞佛所說歡喜，奉行。 7. After the Buddha spoke this sūtra, the monks who heard what he taught rejoiced and approved.

Notes

  1. This is sūtra no. 289 in the Taisho edition and no. 470 in Yinshun (T99.2.81c4-29). It’s parallel with SN 12.61-2, two Sanskrit fragments (SuttaCentral SF 156-7). EĀ 9.4 makes a similar analogy of the mind being quick like a monkey picking up sticks and dropping them, but there isn’t anything more to that sūtra.
    The first half of this sūtra matches SN 12.61 quite well, but the second half matches SN 12.62 minus the analogy of a burning fire. Instead, the Buddha describes the way the noble disciple regards the arising and ceasing of feelings. This is the only difference between this sūtra and the next. SN 12.61 and 62, on the other hand, have different second halves. SN 12.61 recites the twelve links of dependent origination, while SN 12.62 describes the dependent origination of feelings.
    The S. fragment SF156 matches this C. version quite closely, indicating that it originates from the same or a very closely related canon. [back]
  2. stops, cools, subsides, and disappears. C. 止、清涼、息、沒, S. nirudhyante vyupaśamanti śītībhavanty astaṁgacchanti. This series of verbs doesn’t occur in SN 12.61-2, but we find parallel verbs in SF156-7 that mean “(they) cease (= G. nirodha?), subside (~ G. uvaśaṃmadi?), cool (= G. śidibhodi), and disappear (= G. astagacchati).” The difference here is that the second and third verbs have been transposed.
    There is a similar series of four descriptors for the ceasing of feeling and contact in DN 15, but there they are attributes of impermanent things as “liable to end, vanish, fade away, and cease” (P. khayadhammā vayadhammā virāgadhammā nirodhadhammā). [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 12 May 2024

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