English
has the base of nothingness as its highest, for a monk of limited wisdom here who has not penetrated to a higher liberation.” The fourth. 5. The Saṅgārava Sutta 236. Thus have I heard. The Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī. Then the brahmin Saṅgārava approached the Blessed One. He went to him. Having approached, he exchanged greetings with the Blessed One. Having concluded the courteous and memorable talk, he sat down to one side. Seated to one side, the brahmin Saṅgārava said this to the Blessed One: "What, good Gotama, is the reason, what the cause, whereby sometimes even mantras long recited do not come to mind, much less those not recited? And what, good Gotama, is the reason, what the cause, whereby sometimes even mantras long unrecited do come to mind, much less those recited?" "Brahmin, when one dwells with a mind overcome by sensual desire, overpowered by sensual desire, and does not truly understand the escape from arisen sensual desire, at that time one does not truly know or see one's own welfare, at that time one does not truly know or see the welfare of others, at that time one does not truly know or see the welfare of both; even mantras long recited do not come to mind, much less those not recited. "Just as, brahmin, a bowl of water mixed with lac, or with turmeric, or with blue dye, or with crimson dye. There, a man with good sight, looking at his own reflection, would not truly know or see it. Even so, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind overcome by sensual desire, overpowered by sensual desire, and does not truly understand the escape from arisen sensual desire, at that time one does not truly know or see one's own welfare, at that time one does not truly know or see the welfare of others, at that time one does not truly know or see the welfare of both; even mantras long recited do not come to mind, much less those not recited. "Furthermore, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind overcome by ill will, overpowered by ill will, and does not truly understand the escape from arisen ill will, at that time one does not truly know or see one's own welfare, the welfare of others... One's own welfare... others' welfare... the welfare of both... at that time, he does not know, he does not see, as it really is. Even long-recited texts do not become clear, much less those not recited. Just as, brahmin, a pot of water heated by fire, boiling, full of steam. There, a sharp-eyed man, looking at his own face's reflection, would not know, would not see, as it really is. Just so, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind overcome by ill-will, pervaded by ill-will, and does not truly understand the escape from arisen ill-will. One's own welfare at that time, one does not know, one does not see, as it really is. Others' welfare at that time... the welfare of both at that time, one does not know, one does not see, as it really is. Even long-recited texts do not become clear, much less those not recited. Furthermore, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind overcome by sloth and torpor, pervaded by sloth and torpor, and does not truly understand the escape from arisen sloth and torpor. One's own welfare at that time, one does not know, one does not see, as it really is. Others' welfare... the welfare of both at that time, one does not know, one does not see, as it really is. Even long-recited texts do not become clear, much less those not recited. Just as, brahmin, a pot of water covered with moss and water plants. There, a sharp-eyed man, looking at his own face's reflection, would not know, would not see, as it really is. Just so, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind overcome by sloth and torpor, pervaded by sloth and torpor, and does not truly understand the escape from arisen sloth and torpor. One's own welfare at that time, one does not know, one does not see, as it really is. Others' welfare... the welfare of both at that time, one does not know, one does not see, as it really is. does not know, does not see. Even mantras recited for a long time do not become clear, much less those not recited. And further, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind overcome by restlessness and remorse, obsessed by restlessness and remorse, and does not truly understand the escape from the arisen restlessness and remorse, at that time, one does not truly know or see one's own welfare. Nor the welfare of others, at that time, one does not truly know or see. Nor the welfare of both, at that time, one does not truly know or see. Even mantras recited for a long time do not become clear, much less those not recited. Just as, brahmin, a bowl of water, stirred by the wind, agitated, disturbed, full of waves. A man with good sight, looking at his own reflection there, would not truly know or see it. In the same way, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind overcome by restlessness and remorse, obsessed by restlessness and remorse, and does not truly understand the escape from the arisen restlessness and remorse, at that time, one does not truly know or see one's own welfare. Nor the welfare of others, at that time, one does not truly know or see. Nor the welfare of both, at that time, one does not truly know or see. Even mantras recited for a long time do not become clear, much less those not recited. And further, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind overcome by doubt, obsessed by doubt, and does not truly understand the escape from the arisen doubt, at that time, one does not truly know or see one's own welfare. Nor the welfare of others, at that time, one does not truly know or see. Nor the welfare of both, at that time, one does not truly know or see. Even mantras recited for a long time do not become clear, much less those not recited. Just as, brahmin, a bowl of water, turbid, stirred up, muddy, placed in the dark. A man with good sight, looking at his own reflection there, would not truly know or see it. In the same way, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind overcome by doubt... One dwells overcome by doubt, and when doubt has arisen, one does not understand as it really is the escape from it. At that time, one does not know or see one's own welfare as it really is. At that time, one does not know or see the welfare of others as it really is. At that time, one does not know or see the welfare of both as it really is. Even mantras recited for a long time do not become clear, much less those not recited. This, indeed, brahmin, is the reason, this is the cause, why at times even mantras recited for a long time do not become clear, much less those not recited. But, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind not overcome by sensual desire, not obsessed by sensual desire, and understands as it really is the escape from sensual desire when it has arisen, at that time, one knows and sees one's own welfare as it really is. At that time, one knows and sees the welfare of others as it really is. At that time, one knows and sees the welfare of both as it really is. Even mantras not recited for a long time become clear, much less those recited. Just as, brahmin, a pot of water not mixed with lac, or turmeric, or indigo, or crimson. A clear-sighted man, looking at the reflection of his own face therein, would know and see it as it really is. In the same way, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind not overcome by sensual desire, not obsessed by sensual desire, and understands as it really is the escape from sensual desire when it has arisen... Furthermore, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind not overcome by ill will, not obsessed by ill will, and understands as it really is the escape from ill will when it has arisen, at that time, one knows and sees one's own welfare as it really is. (and) the welfare of others... (and) the welfare of both... Even mantras not recited for a long time become clear, much less those recited. Just as, brahmin, a pot of water not heated by fire, not boiling, not producing steam, therein... A man with eyes, observing his own face's reflection, would know and see it as it really is. Even so, brahmin, at such a time, one dwells with a mind not encompassed by ill-will, not overcome by ill-will, and the escape from arisen ill-will one knows as it really is. One's own welfare at that time one knows and sees as it really is, another's welfare... both's welfare... Even long-unrecited mantras become clear, how much more so those recited. Furthermore, brahmin, at such a time, one dwells with a mind not encompassed by sloth and torpor, not overcome by sloth and torpor, and the escape from arisen sloth and torpor one knows as it really is. One's own welfare at that time one knows and sees as it really is, another's welfare... both's welfare... Even long-unrecited mantras become clear, how much more so those recited. Just as, brahmin, a bowl of water not covered with moss and algae. There, a man with eyes, observing his own face's reflection, would know and see it as it really is. Even so, brahmin, at such a time, one dwells with a mind not encompassed by sloth and torpor, not overcome by sloth and torpor, and the escape from arisen sloth and torpor one knows as it really is. One's own welfare at that time one knows and sees as it really is, another's welfare... both's welfare... Even long-unrecited mantras become clear, how much more so those recited. Furthermore, brahmin, at such a time, one dwells with a mind not encompassed by restlessness and remorse, not overcome by restlessness and remorse, and the escape from arisen restlessness and remorse one knows as it really is. One's own welfare at that time one knows and sees as it really is, another's welfare... both's welfare... Even long-unrecited mantras become clear, how much more so those recited. Just as, brahmin, a bowl of water not stirred by wind, not agitated, not swirling, not wavy... is produced. There, a man with sight, observing his own facial reflection, would know and see it as it truly is. Just so, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind