English
He sought, searched, and investigated the piercing of great perversion, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the extraction of the great dart of craving, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the untangling of the great tangle of views, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the bringing down of the great banner of conceit, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the calming of great volitional formations, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the crossing over of the great flood, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the laying down of the great burden, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the cutting off of the great cycle of transmigration, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the extinguishing of great torment, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the calming of great feverishness, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the raising of the great banner of Dhamma, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the great foundations of mindfulness, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the great right exertions, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the great faculties, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the great powers, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the great factors of awakening, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the great Noble Eightfold Path, therefore he is a seer. He sought, searched, and investigated the great ultimate goal, the Deathless Nibbāna, therefore he is a seer. Or, he is sought, searched for, and investigated by beings of great power – "Where is the Buddha? Where is the Blessed One? Where is the God of gods? Where is the Bull among men?" – therefore he is a seer. And up to the third time, the Divine Seer answers, so I have heard. Therefore, that Brahmin said – "Twice I questioned Sakka, The Seer did not answer me; And up to the third time, the Divine Seer, answers, so I have heard." This world, the other world, the Brahma world with its devas; Your view they do not know, of Gotama, the glorious. "This world, the other world." "This world" means the human world. "The other world" means, excluding the human world, all is the other world – this world, the other world. "The Brahma world with its devas" means the world with devas, with Māra, with Brahmā, with ascetics and brahmins, the populace with devas and humans – the Brahma world with its devas. "Your view they do not know" means your view, your patience, your inclination, your doctrine, your intention, your purpose, the world does not know – "This one has such a view, such patience, such an inclination, such a doctrine, such an intention, such a purpose" – it does not know, it does not see, it does not perceive, it does not comprehend, it does not find, it does not obtain – your view they do not know. "Of Gotama, the glorious" means the Blessed One has attained glory, thus glorious. Or, the Blessed One is honored, respected, esteemed, revered, venerated, and is a recipient of robes, alms food, lodgings, medicines for the sick, and other requisites, thus glorious – of Gotama, the glorious. Therefore, that brahmin said: "This world, the other world, the Brahma world with its devas; Your view they do not know, of Gotama, the glorious." 87. To one so supremely seeing, I have come with a question; How looking upon the world, the King of Death does not see? "To one so supremely seeing" means to one so supremely seeing, foremost seeing, best seeing, excellent seeing, chief seeing, highest seeing, ultimate seeing – to one so supremely seeing. "I have come with a question" means I have come seeking a question... ...this is a burden for you, thus also, I have come with a question. "How looking upon the world" means how looking upon the world, reflecting upon, weighing, crossing over, making clear, making manifest – how looking upon the world. "The King of Death does not see" means the King of Death does not see, does not perceive, does not comprehend, does not find, does not obtain – the King of Death does not see. Then that brahmin said: One with such excellent vision, I have come with a question: How, looking upon the world, does the King of Death not see? 88. Look upon the world as empty, Mogharāja, ever mindful. Having removed the view of self, thus you may cross beyond death. Looking upon the world in this way, the King of Death does not see. "Look upon the world as empty." "World" means the hell-world, the animal-world, the ghost-world, the human-world, the divine-world, the aggregate-world, the element-world, the sense-base-world, this world, the other world, the Brahma-world, the world with its devas. A certain monk said to the Blessed One, " 'World, world,' it is said, venerable sir. To what extent, venerable sir, is it called 'world'?" "It crumbles, monk, therefore it is called 'world'. And what crumbles? The eye, monk, crumbles; forms crumble; eye-consciousness crumbles; eye-contact crumbles; and whatever feeling arises dependent on eye-contact—whether pleasant or painful or neither-pleasant-nor-painful—that too crumbles. The ear crumbles, sounds crumble... The body crumbles, tangibles crumble; the mind crumbles, mental phenomena crumble, mind-consciousness crumbles, mind-contact crumbles; and whatever feeling arises dependent on mind-contact—whether pleasant or painful or neither-pleasant-nor-painful—that too crumbles. It crumbles, monk, therefore it is called 'world'." "Look upon the world as empty" means one looks upon the world as empty for two reasons: either by way of perceiving its uncontrollable nature, or by way of contemplating the emptiness of formations. How does one look upon the world as empty by way of perceiving its uncontrollable nature? Control is not obtained over form, control is not obtained over feeling, control is not obtained over perception, control is not obtained over formations, control is not obtained over consciousness. For this was said by the Blessed One: "Form, monk..." Monks, not self. And if, monks, this form were self, this form would not lead to affliction; and one could have it with form – 'Let my form be thus, let my form not be thus.' But since, monks, form is not self, therefore form leads to affliction and one cannot have it with form – 'Let my form be thus, let my form not be thus.' Feeling is not self. And if, monks, this feeling were self, this feeling would not lead to affliction; and one could have it with feeling – 'Let my feeling be thus, let my feeling not be thus.' But since, monks, feeling is not self, therefore feeling leads to affliction, and one cannot have it with feeling – 'Let my feeling be thus, let my feeling not be thus.' Perception is not self. And if, monks, this perception were self, this perception would not lead to affliction; and one could have it with perception – 'Let my perception be thus, let my perception not be thus.' But since, monks, perception is not self, therefore perception leads to affliction, and one cannot have it with perception – 'Let my perception be thus, let my perception not be thus.' Formations are not self. And if, monks, these formations were self, these formations would not lead to affliction; and one could have it with formations – 'Let my formations be thus, let my formations not be thus.' But since, monks, formations are not self, therefore formations lead to affliction, and one cannot have it with formations – 'Let my formations be thus, let my formations not be thus.' Consciousness is not self. And if, monks, this consciousness were self, this consciousness would not lead to affliction; and one could have it with consciousness – 'Let my consciousness be thus, let my consciousness not be thus.' But since, monks, consciousness is not self, therefore consciousness leads to affliction, and one cannot have it with consciousness – 'Let my consciousness be thus, "Thus may my consciousness not be." This was said by the Blessed One: "This body, monks, is not yours, nor is it of others. This, monks, is old kamma, wrought, intended, to be felt. Therein, monks, a well-taught noble disciple attends well and wisely to Dependent Origination: 'When this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not come to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases.' That is to say: With ignorance as condition, volitional formations; with volitional formations as condition, consciousness; with consciousness as condition, name-and-form; with name-and-form as condition, the six sense bases; with the six sense bases as condition, contact; with contact as condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging; with clinging as condition, becoming; with becoming as condition, birth; with birth as condition, old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be. Thus is the origin of this whole mass of suffering." "But with the utter fading away and cessation of ignorance, volitional formations cease; with the cessation of volitional formations, consciousness ceases; ... (and so on, up to) ... with the cessation of birth, old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease. Thus is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering." Thus, by observing the world as empty in terms of its unceasing arising, he regards the world as empty. How does he regard the world as empty by contemplating empty formations? In form, no essence is found; in feeling, no essence is found; in perception, no essence is found; in volitional formations, no essence is found; in consciousness, no essence is found.