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thus what was said, was said with reference to this. 312. ‘He is called the unsurpassed trainer of trainers, the tamer of persons’ – thus indeed was it said. With reference to what was this said? By an elephant trainer, monks, a tamed elephant, when guided, runs in only one direction – east or west, north or south. By a horse trainer, monks, a tamed horse, when guided, runs in only one direction – east or west, north or south. By an ox trainer, monks, a tamed ox, when guided, runs in only one direction – east or west, north or south. But by the Tathāgata, monks, the Arahant, the Fully Self-Awakened One, a tamed person, when guided, ranges in eight directions. Being with form, one sees forms – this is one direction; being without form internally, one sees forms externally – this is the second direction. he is intent on the beautiful—this is the third direction. With the complete transcending of perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, with the non-attention to perceptions of diversity, he enters and dwells in the sphere of infinite space, thinking, ‘Space is infinite’—this is the fourth direction. With the complete transcending of the sphere of infinite space, he enters and dwells in the sphere of infinite consciousness, thinking, ‘Consciousness is infinite’—this is the fifth direction. With the complete transcending of the sphere of infinite consciousness, he enters and dwells in the sphere of nothingness, thinking, ‘There is nothing’—this is the sixth direction. With the complete transcending of the sphere of nothingness, he enters and dwells in the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception—this is the seventh direction. With the complete transcending of the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, he enters and dwells in the cessation of perception and feeling—this is the eighth direction. By the Tathāgata, bhikkhus, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One, the tamed person is guided, and these eight directions are traversed. ‘He is called the unsurpassed tamer of persons, the charioteer of those to be trained’— what was said, it was said with reference to this.” This is what the Blessed One said. Delighted, those bhikkhus rejoiced in the Blessed One’s words. The Discourse on the Analysis of the Six Sense Bases, the seventh, is finished. 8. The Discourse on the Analysis of the Summary 313. Thus have I heard— On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling in Sāvatthī, at Jetavana, in Anāthapiṇḍika’s park. There, the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying, “Bhikkhus!” “Venerable sir,” those bhikkhus replied to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this: “I will teach you, bhikkhus, the analysis of the summary. Listen to it, attend carefully; I will speak.” “Yes, venerable sir,” those bhikkhus replied to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this: “In whatever way, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu examines, in whatever way he examines, his consciousness externally is not scattered, not diffused, internally it is not established, not clinging, not per It would be so. Outside, bhikkhus, when consciousness is not scattered, not diffused, inside, not established, not clinging, not agitated, in the future, the arising of suffering from birth, aging, and death does not occur. This the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One rose from his seat and entered the monastery. 314. Then, to those bhikkhus, not long after the Blessed One had departed, this thought occurred: "Friends, the Blessed One gave us a brief teaching, but without elaborating on its meaning, he rose from his seat and entered the monastery, saying: 'In such a way, bhikkhus, should a bhikkhu investigate, so that as he investigates, his consciousness outside is not scattered, not diffused, and inside, not established, not clinging, he would not be agitated. When, bhikkhus, consciousness outside is not scattered, not diffused, and inside, not established, not clinging, not agitated, in the future, the arising of suffering from birth, aging, and death does not occur.' Now, who might elaborate on the meaning of this brief teaching given by the Blessed One, the meaning of which was not elaborated upon?" Then, to those bhikkhus, this thought occurred: "Indeed, Venerable Mahākaccāna is praised by the Teacher and esteemed by discerning fellow practitioners; and Venerable Mahākaccāna is capable of elaborating on the meaning of this brief teaching given by the Blessed One, the meaning of which was not elaborated upon. What if we were to approach Venerable Mahākaccāna; and having approached him, question Venerable Mahākaccāna about this matter?" Then those bhikkhus approached Venerable Mahākaccāna; and having approached him, they exchanged greetings with Venerable Mahākaccāna. Having concluded their courteous and memorable talk, they sat down to one side. Seated to one side, those bhikkhus said to Venerable Mahākaccāna: "Friends Kaccāna, the Blessed One gave us a brief teaching, but without elaborating on its meaning..." having risen from his seat, without analyzing the meaning, he entered the monastery – ‘In such a way, monks, a bhikkhu should examine, so that as he examines, his consciousness externally is not scattered, not diffused, internally it is not established, not clinging, he does not tremble. Monks, when consciousness externally is not scattered, not diffused, and internally is not established, not clinging, not trembling, in the future, the arising of suffering, of birth, old age, and death, does not occur.’ To us, friend Kaccāna, after the Blessed One had not long departed, this thought occurred: ‘Indeed, friend, the Blessed One, having given a brief outline, without analyzing the meaning in detail, having risen from his seat, entered the monastery – “In such a way, monks, a bhikkhu should examine, so that as he examines, his consciousness externally is not scattered, not diffused, internally it is not established, not clinging, he does not tremble. Monks, when consciousness externally is not scattered, not diffused, and internally is not established, not clinging, not trembling, in the future, the arising of suffering, of birth, old age, and death, does not occur.”’ ‘Who now could analyze in detail the meaning of this brief outline given by the Blessed One, the meaning of which was not analyzed in detail?’ ‘To us, friend Kaccāna, this thought occurred: ‘Indeed, this Venerable Mahākaccāna is praised by the Teacher, and esteemed by discerning fellow practitioners. And Venerable Mahākaccāna is capable of analyzing in detail the meaning of this brief outline given by the Blessed One, the meaning of which was not analyzed in detail. What if we were to approach Venerable Mahākaccāna; having approached, we would ask Venerable Mahākaccāna about this matter’ – ‘May Venerable Mahākaccāna explain!’ 315. ‘Just as, friend, a man in search of heartwood, seeking heartwood, looking for heartwood, of a great standing tree full of heartwood, might pass over the root, pass over the trunk, You would seek the heartwood in branches and leaves. Just so, venerable ones, with the Teacher present, having passed over that Blessed One, you think we should be questioned about this matter. That Blessed One, friends, knowing, knows; seeing, sees. He has become the eye, has become knowledge, has become the Dhamma, has become the Divine. He is the speaker, the proclaimer, the bringer of meaning, the giver of the deathless, the master of Dhamma, the Tathāgata. And that was indeed the time when you should have questioned the Blessed One himself about this matter. As the Blessed One would explain to you, so you should have remembered it. 'Indeed, friend Kaccāna, the Blessed One, knowing, knows; seeing, sees. He has become the eye, has become knowledge, has become the Dhamma, has become the Divine. He is the speaker, the proclaimer, the bringer of meaning, the giver of the deathless, the master of Dhamma, the Tathāgata. And that was indeed the time when we should have questioned the Blessed One himself about this matter. As the Blessed One would explain to us, so we should have remembered it. But also, venerable Mahākaccāna, has been praised by the Teacher, and esteemed by his wise fellow practitioners. And venerable Mahākaccāna is able to elaborate in detail the meaning of this brief statement spoken by the Blessed One, whose meaning was not elaborated. May venerable Mahākaccāna elaborate, without making it a burden.' 'Then, friends, listen, pay close attention; I will speak.' 'Yes, friend,' those bhikkhus replied to venerable Mahākaccāna. Venerable Mahākaccāna said this: 'That which, friends, the Blessed One, having given a brief statement, without elaborating its meaning in detail, rose from his seat and entered the dwelling – in such a way, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu should examine, as he examines, his consciousness externally is not scattered, not dispersed, internally not established, and not agitated by clinging. When, bhikkhus, consciousness externally is not scattered, not dispersed, internally not established, not agitated by clinging, then in the future, birth, aging, death, suffering... the arising of self-identity does not occur.’ Friends, this is how I understand the detailed meaning of this brief statement uttered by the Blessed One, the meaning of which was not elaborated. 316. ‘‘And how, friends, is consciousness said to be scattered and diffused externally? Here, friends, when a monk sees a form with the eye, his consciousness follows the sign of the form, is caught up in the delight of the sign of the form, is bound by the delight of the sign of the form, is yoked to the fetter of the delight of the sign of the form. Thus, consciousness is said to be scattered and diffused externally. When he hears a sound with the ear… When he smells a smell with the nose… When he tastes a taste with the tongue… When he touches a tangible object with the body…