English
is wind, belonging to wind, grasped, such as – upward-going winds, downward-going winds, winds in the abdomen, winds in the bowels, winds coursing through the limbs, in-breath and out-breath, and so on, or whatever else, internally, individually, is wind, belonging to wind, grasped – this is called, monk, the internal wind element. Indeed, whatever internal wind element there is, and whatever external wind element there is, it is just the wind element. 'This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self' – thus should this be seen as it really is with right wisdom. Having thus seen this as it really is with right wisdom, one becomes disenchanted with the wind element, one's mind becomes dispassionate towards the wind element. 353. And what, monk, is the space element? The space element may be internal, may be external. And what, monk, is the internal space element? Whatever internally, individually, is space, belonging to space, grasped, such as – ear-holes, nose-holes, the mouth-opening, and by which what is eaten, drunk, chewed, and tasted is swallowed, and where what is eaten, drunk, chewed, and tasted remains, and by which what is eaten, drunk, chewed, and tasted goes to the lower part – goes out, or whatever else internal, personal, space, spatial, an opening, open, a void, void-like, untouched by flesh and blood, appropriated – this, monk, is called the internal space element. And whatever internal space element, and whatever external space element, that is just the space element. 'This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self' – thus this should be seen as it really is with right wisdom. Having seen this as it really is with right wisdom, one becomes disenchanted with the space element, one's mind becomes dispassionate towards the space element. 354. Furthermore, only consciousness remains, purified, cleansed. And with that consciousness, what does one discern? One discerns 'pleasure', one discerns 'pain', one discerns 'neither-pain-nor-pleasure'. Monk, dependent on a pleasant feeling contact, a pleasant feeling arises. Experiencing a pleasant feeling, one discerns, 'I am experiencing a pleasant feeling.' 'With the cessation of that very pleasant feeling contact, whatever feeling related to it, the pleasant feeling that arose dependent on the pleasant feeling contact, that ceases, that subsides,' one discerns. 355. Monk, dependent on a painful feeling contact, a painful feeling arises. Experiencing a painful feeling, one discerns, 'I am experiencing a painful feeling.' 'With the cessation of that very painful feeling contact, whatever feeling related to it, the painful feeling that arose dependent on the painful feeling contact, that ceases, that subsides,' one discerns. 356. Monk, dependent on a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling contact, a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling arises. Experiencing a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, one discerns, 'I am experiencing a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling.' 'With the cessation of that very neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling contact, whatever feeling related to it, the neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling that arose dependent on the neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling contact, that ceases... ceases, it is appeased, he understands. 357. Just as, monk, from the rubbing together, the coming together of two pieces of wood, heat arises, fire is produced. From the separation, the scattering of those very two pieces of wood, that resulting heat it ceases, it is appeased. Even so, monk, dependent on pleasant feeling contact, pleasant feeling arises. He, experiencing pleasant feeling, understands, ‘I experience pleasant feeling.’ With the cessation of that very pleasant feeling contact, that resulting feeling, the pleasant feeling that arose dependent on pleasant feeling contact, it ceases, it is appeased, he understands. 358. Dependent on painful feeling contact, monk, painful feeling arises. He, experiencing painful feeling, understands, ‘I experience painful feeling.’ With the cessation of that very painful feeling contact, that resulting feeling, the painful feeling that arose dependent on painful feeling contact, it ceases, it is appeased, he understands. 359. Dependent on neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling contact, monk, neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling arises. He, experiencing neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, understands, ‘I experience neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling.’ With the cessation of that very neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling contact, that resulting feeling, the neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling that arose dependent on neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling contact, it ceases, it is appeased, he understands. 360. Furthermore, only equanimity remains, pure, thoroughly cleansed, soft, workable, and radiant. Just as, monk, a skilled goldsmith or a goldsmith’s apprentice would set up a furnace, having set up a furnace, would smear the mouth of the furnace, having smeared the mouth of the furnace, taking the raw gold with tongs, would place it in the mouth of the furnace, would blow on it from time to time, would sprinkle it with water from time to time... He should blow, from time to time he should observe. That gold becomes well-purified, thoroughly purified, with impurities removed, with dross completely taken away, and soft, and workable, and radiant. For whatever kind of ornament he desires – whether for a headband, whether for earrings, whether for a necklace, whether for a gold garland – that purpose it serves him. Even so, bhikkhu, then equanimity alone remains, purified, cleansed, soft, workable, and radiant. 361. He thus understands: ‘If I were to apply this equanimity, thus purified, thus cleansed, to the sphere of infinite space, and develop a mind in accordance with that; thus this equanimity of mine, dependent on that, sustained by that, would remain for a long, long time. If I were to apply this equanimity, thus purified, thus cleansed, to the sphere of infinite consciousness, and develop a mind in accordance with that; thus this equanimity of mine, dependent on that, sustained by that, would remain for a long, long time. If I were to apply this equanimity, thus purified, thus cleansed, to the sphere of nothingness, and develop a mind in accordance with that; thus this equanimity of mine, dependent on that, sustained by that, would remain for a long, long time. If I were to apply this equanimity, thus purified, thus cleansed, to the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, and develop a mind in accordance with that; thus this equanimity of mine, dependent on that, sustained by that, would remain for a long, long time.’ 362. He thus understands: ‘If I were to apply this equanimity, thus purified, thus cleansed, to the sphere of infinite space, and develop a mind in accordance with that; this is conditioned. If I were to apply this equanimity, thus purified, thus cleansed, to the sphere of infinite consciousness, and develop a mind in accordance with that; this is conditioned. I should develop it; this is conditioned. If I were to bring this equanimity, thus purified, thus cleansed, to the dimension of nothingness, and develop a mind in accordance with that; this is conditioned. If I were to bring this equanimity, thus purified, thus cleansed, to the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, and develop a mind in accordance with that; this is conditioned. He neither fabricates that, nor intends it for becoming or non-becoming. Not fabricating, not intending for becoming or non-becoming, he grasps nothing in the world; not grasping, he is not agitated; not agitated, he is personally unbound. He understands: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what was to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being.’ 363. If he feels a pleasant feeling, he understands: ‘It is impermanent,’ he understands: ‘It is not clung to,’ he understands: ‘It is not delighted in.’ If he feels a painful feeling, he understands: ‘It is impermanent,’ he understands: ‘It is not clung to,’ he understands: ‘It is not delighted in.’ If he feels a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, he understands: ‘It is impermanent,’ he understands: ‘It is not clung to,’ he understands: ‘It is not delighted in.’ 364. If he feels a pleasant feeling, he feels it disjoined; if he feels a painful feeling, he feels it disjoined; if he feels a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, he feels it disjoined. As he feels a feeling ending with the body, he understands: ‘I feel a feeling ending with the body’; as he feels a feeling ending with life, he understands: ‘I feel a feeling ending with life’; he understands: ‘With the breaking up of the body, after death, with the exhaustion of life, all feelings, not delighted in, will become cool right here.’ 365. Just as, bhikkhu, a lamp burns dependent on oil and dependent on a wick; with the exhaustion of that oil and that wick, and with no other supply, ] without fuel, it is extinguished; even so, bhikkhu, experiencing a feeling that ends with the body, he understands: ‘I experience a feeling that ends with the body.’ Experiencing a feeling that ends with life, he understands: ‘I experience a feeling that ends with life.’ He understands: ‘With the breaking up of the body, after death, with the exhaustion of life, all feelings, not delighted in, will become cool right here.’ Therefore, a bhikkhu endowed in this way is endowed with this supreme foundation of wisdom. For this, bhikkhu, is the supreme noble wisdom: the knowledge of the destruction of all suffering. 366. “His liberation, established in truth, is unshakeable. For that, bhikkhu, is false which is of a deceptive nature; that is true which is of an undeceptive nature: Nibbāna. Therefore, a bhikkhu endowed in this way is endowed with this supreme foundation of truth. For this, bhikkhu, is the supreme noble truth: Nibbāna, which is of an undeceptive nature. 367. “And for him,