English
Sāriputta, monks, rightly turns the unsurpassed Wheel of Dhamma set in motion by the Tathāgata." The Blessed One said this. Delighted, those monks rejoiced in the Blessed One's words. The Anupada Sutta, the first, is finished. 2. The Chabbisodhana Sutta 98. Thus have I heard: At one time the Blessed One was staying at Sāvatthī, in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park. There the Blessed One addressed the monks, saying: called out – “Monks!” “Venerable sir,” those monks replied to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this – “Here, monks, a monk declares final knowledge – ‘Destroyed is birth, lived is the holy life, done is what was to be done, there is no more for this state of being,’ he understands. His statement, monks, should neither be approved nor rejected. Without approving, without rejecting, a question should be asked – ‘These four modes of expression, friend, were well declared by the Blessed One, the Knower, the Seer, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One. Which four? In what is seen, speaking of what is seen; in what is heard, speaking of what is heard; in what is sensed, speaking of what is sensed; in what is cognized, speaking of what is cognized – These, friend, are the four modes of expression well declared by the Blessed One, the Knower, the Seer, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One. How does the venerable one know, how does he see, that in these four modes of expression, his mind is liberated from the taints without clinging?’ For a monk whose taints are destroyed, monks, who has lived the holy life, done what was to be done, laid down the burden, attained his own goal, whose fetters of existence are utterly destroyed, who is rightly liberated by final knowledge, this is the proper way to explain – ‘In what is seen, friend, I dwell without grasping, without attachment, unreliant, unentangled, liberated, disjoined, with a mind made boundless. In what is heard, friend… In what is sensed, friend… In what is cognized, friend, I dwell without grasping, without attachment, unreliant, unentangled, liberated, disjoined, with a mind made boundless. Thus, friend, knowing thus, seeing thus, in these four modes of expression, my mind is liberated from the taints without clinging.’ His statement, monks, should be approved and rejoiced in as ‘Good!’ Having approved and rejoiced in his statement as ‘Good!’, a further question should be asked. 99. “‘These five clinging-aggregates, friend, were well declared by the Blessed One, the Knower, the Seer, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One. Which five? Namely – The aggregate of clinging to form, The aggregate of clinging to feeling, The aggregate of clinging to perception, The aggregate of clinging to mental formations, The aggregate of clinging to consciousness – These, indeed, friend, The five aggregates of clinging, Were well-expounded by that Blessed One, The knowing, the seeing, The Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One. How, then, for the venerable one, knowing, How, seeing, Is the mind liberated from the taints, Without clinging to these five aggregates of clinging? For a monk, O monks, whose taints are destroyed, Who has lived the holy life, Who has done what was to be done, Who has laid down the burden, Who has attained his own true goal, Whose fetters of existence are utterly destroyed, Who is rightly liberated through perfect knowledge – This is the proper way to declare: ‘Form, indeed, friend, Having known it to be powerless, Fading away, without solace, Whatever clinging and grasping in form, Mental determinations, adherences, and underlying tendencies, From their destruction, fading away, cessation, Relinquishment, and giving up, I understand my mind to be liberated. Feeling, indeed, friend... Perception, indeed, friend... Mental formations, indeed, friend... Consciousness, indeed, friend, Having known it to be powerless, Fading away, without solace, Whatever clinging and grasping in consciousness, Mental determinations, adherences, and underlying tendencies, From their destruction, fading away, cessation, Relinquishment, and giving up, I understand my mind to be liberated. Thus, indeed, for me, friend, Knowing thus, seeing thus, In these five aggregates of clinging, Without clinging, The mind is liberated from the taints.’ That monk's statement, O monks, 'Excellent!' should be rejoiced in, Should be approved of. Having rejoiced in and approved of the statement 'Excellent!', A further question should be asked. 100. ‘‘‘These six elements, friend, Were well-expounded by that Blessed One, The knowing, the seeing, The Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One. Which six? The earth element, The water element, The fire element, The wind element, The space element, The consciousness element – These, indeed, friend, The six elements, Were well-expounded by that Blessed One, The knowing, the seeing, The Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One. How, then, for the venerable one, knowing For him, how knowing, how seeing, in these six elements, without clinging, is the mind liberated from the taints? For a monk, bhikkhus, whose taints are destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, attained his own true goal, whose fetters of existence are utterly destroyed, who is rightly liberated through final knowledge, this is the proper way to declare: ‘The earth element, friend, I did not regard as self, nor myself as dependent on the earth element. And those clingings and attachments of the mind, its biases, its adherences, its underlying tendencies, dependent on the earth element, with their destruction, dispassion, cessation, relinquishment, letting go, I know my mind is liberated. The water element, friend, I... The fire element, friend, I... The wind element, friend, I... The space element, friend, I... The consciousness element, friend, I did not regard as self, nor myself as dependent on the consciousness element. And those clingings and attachments of the mind, its biases, its adherences, its underlying tendencies, dependent on the consciousness element, with their destruction, dispassion, cessation, relinquishment, letting go, I know my mind is liberated. It is thus, friend, for me knowing, thus seeing, in these six elements, without clinging, my mind is liberated from the taints.’ That monk's, bhikkhus, statement ‘It is good!’ should be approved, should be rejoiced in. Having approved and rejoiced in the statement ‘It is good!’, a further question should be asked. 101. ‘There are these six, friend, internal and external sense bases rightly declared by the Blessed One, the Knower, the Seer, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One. Which six? The eye and forms, the ear and sounds, the nose and odors, the tongue and tastes, the body and tactile objects, the mind and mental phenomena – These, friend, are the six internal and external sense bases rightly declared by the Blessed One, the Knower, the Seer, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One. But for the venerable one, how knowing, how seeing, in these six internal and external Is the mind liberated from defilements, without clinging to the sense bases? For a monk, bhikkhus, whose defilements are destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, attained his own true goal, utterly destroyed the fetters of existence, and is rightly liberated through final knowledge— this is his proper way of explaining: ‘Friend, regarding the eye, regarding forms, regarding eye-consciousness, regarding phenomena cognizable by eye-consciousness, the desire, the passion, the delight, the craving, and the approaches, the clingings, the mental fixations, the adherences, the underlying tendencies, from their destruction, their dispassion, their cessation, their relinquishment, their letting go, I know my mind is liberated. Regarding the ear, friend, regarding sounds, regarding ear-consciousness... Regarding the nose, friend, regarding odors, regarding nose-consciousness... Regarding the tongue, friend, regarding tastes, regarding tongue-consciousness... Regarding the body, friend, regarding tactile objects, regarding body-consciousness... Regarding the mind, friend, regarding mental phenomena, regarding mind-consciousness, regarding phenomena cognizable by mind-consciousness, the desire, the passion, the delight, the craving, and the approaches, the clingings, the mental fixations, the adherences, the underlying tendencies, from their destruction, their dispassion, their cessation, their relinquishment, their letting go, I know my mind is liberated. It is thus, friend, knowing thus, seeing thus, that my mind is liberated from defilements, without clinging to these six internal and external sense bases.’ That monk's statement, bhikkhus, ‘It is well,’ should be approved, should be rejoiced in. Having approved and rejoiced in the statement, ‘It is well,’ a further question should be asked. 102. ‘How, venerable sir, knowing what, seeing what, are the underlying tendencies of ‘I-making,’ ‘mine-making,’ and conceit uprooted in this conscious body and in all external signs?’ For a monk, bhikkhus, whose defilements are destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, attained his own true goal, utterly destroyed the fetters of existence, and is rightly liberated through final knowledge— this is his proper way of explaining: ‘Formerly, friend, when I was a householder, I was ignorant. Then the Tathāgata, or a Tathāgata’s or a visiting disciple taught the Dhamma. Having heard that Dhamma, I gained faith in the Tathāgata. Being endowed with that gain of faith, I reflected thus: “Confined is the household life, a path of dust; the open air is renunciation. It is not easy for one living in a house to practice the holy life fully perfect, fully pure, polished like a conch shell. What if I were to shave off my hair and beard, put on saffron robes,