The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha

by Bhikkhu Nanamoli

  12. “But here, Ānanda, [212] by means of ardour…some recluse or brahmin attains such a concentration of mind that, when his mind is concentrated, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, he sees that person here who abstains from killing living beings…and holds right view, and he sees that on the dissolution of the body, after death, he reappears in a state of deprivation, in an unhappy destination, in perdition, even in hell. He says thus: ‘Indeed, there are no good actions, there is no result of good conduct; for I saw a person here who abstained from killing living beings…and held right view, and I see that on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in a state of deprivation…even in hell.’ He says thus: ‘On the dissolution of the body, after death, everyone who abstains from killing living beings…and holds right view reappears in a state of deprivation…even in hell. Those who know thus know rightly; those who think otherwise are mistaken. ’ Thus he obstinately adheres to what he himself has known, seen, and discovered, insisting: ‘Only this is true, anything else is wrong.’

  13. “Therein, Ānanda,1229 when a recluse or brahmin says: ‘Indeed, there are evil actions, there is result of misconduct,’ I grant him this. When he says: ‘I saw a person here who killed living beings…and held wrong view, and I see that on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in a state of deprivation…even in hell,’ I also grant him this. But when he says: ‘On the dissolution of the body, after death, everyone who kills living beings…and holds wrong view reappears in a state of deprivation…even in hell,’ I do not grant him this. And when he says: ‘Those who know thus know rightly; those who think otherwise are mistaken,’ I also do not grant him this. And when he obstinately adheres to what he himself has known, seen, and discovered, insisting: ‘Only this is true, anything else is wrong,’ I also do not grant him this. Why is that? Because, Ānanda, the Tathāgata’s knowledge of the great exposition of action is otherwise.

  14. “Therein, Ānanda, when a recluse or brahmin says: ‘Indeed, there are no evil actions, there is no result of misconduct, ’ I do not grant him this. When he says: ‘I saw a person here who killed living beings…and held wrong view, and I see that on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in a happy destination, even in the heavenly world,’ I grant him this. But when he says: “On the dissolution of the body, after death, everyone who kills living beings…and holds wrong view reappears in a happy destination, even in the heavenly world,’ [213] I do not grant him this. And when he says: ‘Those who know thus know rightly; those who think otherwise are mistaken,’ I also do not grant him this. And when he obstinately adheres to what he himself has known, seen, and discovered, insisting: ‘Only this is true, anything else is wrong,’ I also do not grant him this. Why is that? Because, Ānanda, the Tathāgata’s knowledge of the great exposition of action is otherwise.

  15. “Therein, Ānanda, when a recluse or brahmin says: ‘Indeed, there are good actions, there is result of good conduct,’ I grant him this. And when he says: ‘I saw a person here who abstained from killing living beings…and held right view, and I see that on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in a happy destination, even in the heavenly world,’ I also grant him this. But when he says: ‘On the dissolution of the body, after death, everyone who abstains from killing living beings…and holds right view reappears in a happy destination, even in the heavenly world,’ I do not grant him this. And when he says: ‘Those who know thus know rightly; those who think otherwise are mistaken,’ I also do not grant him this. And when he obstinately adheres to what he himself has known, seen, and discovered, insisting: ‘Only this is true, anything else is wrong,’ I also do not grant him this. Why is that? Because, Ānanda, the Tathāgata’s knowledge of the great exposition of action is otherwise.

  16. “Therein, Ānanda, when a recluse or brahmin says: ‘Indeed, there are no good actions, there is no result of good conduct, ’ I do not grant him this. When he says: ‘I saw a person here who abstained from killing living beings…and held right view, and I see that on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in a state of deprivation…even in hell,’ I grant him this. But when he says: ‘On the dissolution of the body, after death, everyone who abstains from killing living beings…and holds right view reappears in a state of deprivation…even in hell,’ I do not grant him this. And when he says: [214] ‘Those who know thus know rightly; those who think otherwise are mistaken,’ I also do not grant him this. And when he obstinately adheres to what he himself has known, seen, and discovered, insisting: ‘Only this is true, anything else is wrong,’ I also do not grant him this. Why is that? Because, Ānanda, the Tathāgata’s knowledge of the great exposition of action is otherwise.

  17. “Therein, Ānanda,1230 as to the person here who kills living beings…and holds wrong view, and on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in a state of deprivation…even in hell: either earlier he did an evil action to be felt as painful, or later he did an evil action to be felt as painful, or at the time of death he acquired and undertook wrong view.1231 Because of that, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in a state of deprivation…even in hell. And since he has here killed living beings…and held wrong view, he will experience the result of that either here and now, or in his next rebirth, or in some subsequent existence.1232

  18. “Therein, Ānanda, as to the person here who kills living beings…and holds wrong view, and on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in a happy destination, even in the heavenly world: either earlier he did a good action to be felt as pleasant, or later he did a good action to be felt as pleasant, or at the time of death he acquired and undertook right view.1233 Because of that, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in a happy destination, even in the heavenly world. But since he has here killed living beings…and held wrong view, he will experience the result of that either here and now, or in his next rebirth, or in some subsequent existence.

  19. “Therein, Ānanda, as to the person here who abstains from killing living beings…and holds right view, and on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in a happy destination, even in the heavenly world: either earlier he did a good action to be felt as pleasant, or later he did a good action to be felt as pleasant, or at the time of death he acquired and undertook right view. Because of that, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in a happy destination, even in the heavenly world. And since he has here abstained from killing living beings [215]…and held right view, he will experience the result of that either here and now, or in his next rebirth, or in some subsequent existence.

  20. “Therein, Ānanda, as to the person here who abstains from killing living beings…and holds right view, and on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in a state of deprivation…even in hell: either earlier he did an evil action to be felt as painful, or later he did an evil action to be felt as painful, or at the time of death he acquired and undertook wrong view. Because of that, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in a state of deprivation…even in hell. But since he has here abstained from killing living beings…and held right view, he will experience the result of that either here and now, or in his next rebirth, or in some subsequent existence.

  21. “Thus, Ānanda, there is action that is incapable and appears incapable; there is action that is incapable and appears capable; there is action that is capable and appears capable; and there is action that is capable and appears incapable.”1234

  That is what the Blessed One said. The venerable Ānanda was satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One’s words.

  Saḷāyatanavibhanga Sutta

  The Exposition of the Sixfold Base

  1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus.”—“Vener
able sir,” they replied. The Blessed One said this:

  2. “Bhikkhus, I shall teach you an exposition of the sixfold base. Listen and attend closely to what I shall say.”—“Yes, venerable sir,” the bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this: [216]

  3. “The six internal bases should be understood. The six external bases should be understood. The six classes of consciousness should be understood. The six classes of contact should be understood. The eighteen kinds of mental exploration should be understood. The thirty-six positions of beings should be understood. Therein, by depending on this, abandon that. There are three foundations of mindfulness that the Noble One cultivates, cultivating which the Noble One is a teacher fit to instruct a group. Among the teachers of training it is he that is called the incomparable leader of persons to be tamed. This is the summary of the exposition of the sixfold base.

  4. “‘The six internal bases should be understood.’ So it was said. And with reference to what was this said? There are the eye-base, the ear-base, the nose-base, the tongue-base, the body-base, and the mind-base. So it was with reference to this that it was said: ‘The six internal bases should be understood.’

  5. “‘The six external bases should be understood.’ So it was said. And with reference to what was this said? There are the form-base, the sound-base, the odour-base, the flavour-base, the tangible-base, and the mind-object-base. So it was with reference to this that it was said: ‘The six external bases should be understood. ’

  6. “‘The six classes of consciousness should be understood.’ So it was said. And with reference to what was this said? There are eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mind-consciousness. So it was with reference to this that it was said: ‘The six classes of consciousness should be understood.’

  7. “‘The six classes of contact should be understood.’ So it was said. And with reference to what was this said? There are eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, and mind-contact. So it was with reference to this that it was said: ‘The six classes of contact should be understood.’

  8. “‘The eighteen kinds of mental exploration should be understood. ’1235 So it was said. And with reference to what was this said?

  “On seeing a form with the eye, one explores a form productive of joy, one explores a form productive of grief, one explores a form productive of equanimity.1236 On hearing a sound with the ear…On smelling an odour with the nose…On tasting a flavour with the tongue…[217] On touching a tangible with the body… On cognizing a mind-object with the mind, one explores a mind-object productive of joy, one explores a mind-object productive of grief, one explores a mind-object productive of equanimity. Thus there are six kinds of exploration with joy, six kinds of exploration with grief, and six kinds of exploration with equanimity. So it was with reference to this that it was said: ‘The eighteen kinds of mental exploration should be understood.’

  9. “‘The thirty-six positions of beings should be understood. ’1237 So it was said. And with reference to what was this said? There are six kinds of joy based on the household life and six kinds of joy based on renunciation.1238 There are six kinds of grief based on the household life and six kinds of grief based on renunciation. There are six kinds of equanimity based on the household life and six kinds of equanimity based on renunciation.

  10. “Herein, what are the six kinds of joy based on the household life? When one regards as a gain the gain of forms cognizable by the eye that are wished for, desired, agreeable, gratifying, and associated with worldliness—or when one recalls what was formerly obtained that has passed, ceased, and changed—joy arises. Such joy as this is called joy based on the household life.

  “When one regards as a gain the gain of sounds cognizable by the ear…the gain of odours cognizable by the nose…the gain of flavours cognizable by the tongue…the gain of tangibles cognizable by the body…the gain of mind-objects cognizable by the mind that are wished for, desired, agreeable, gratifying, and associated with worldliness—or when one recalls what was formerly obtained that has passed, ceased, and changed—joy arises. Such joy as this is called joy based on the household life. These are the six kinds of joy based on the household life.

  11. “Herein, what are the six kinds of joy based on renunciation? When, by knowing the impermanence, change, fading away, and cessation of forms, one sees as it actually is with proper wisdom that forms both formerly and now are all impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, joy arises. Such joy as this is called joy based on renunciation.1239

  “When, by knowing the impermanence, change, fading away, and cessation of sounds…of odours…of flavours…of tangibles… [218] of mind-objects, one sees as it actually is with proper wisdom that mind-objects both formerly and now are all impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, joy arises. Such joy as this is called joy based on renunciation. These are the six kinds of joy based on renunciation.

  12. “Herein, what are the six kinds of grief based on the household life? When one regards as a non-gain the non-gain of forms cognizable by the eye that are wished for, desired, agreeable, gratifying, and associated with worldliness—or when one recalls what was formerly not obtained that has passed, ceased, and changed—grief arises. Such grief as this is called grief based on the household life.

  “When one regards as a non-gain the non-gain of sounds cognizable by the ear…the non-gain of odours cognizable by the nose…the non-gain of flavours cognizable by the tongue…the non-gain of tangibles cognizable by the body…the non-gain of mind-objects cognizable by the mind that are wished for, desired, agreeable, gratifying, and associated with worldliness—or when one recalls what was formerly not obtained that has passed, ceased, and changed—grief arises. Such grief as this is called grief based on the household life. These are the six kinds of grief based on the household life.

  13. “Herein, what are the six kinds of grief based on renunciation? When, by knowing the impermanence, change, fading away, and cessation of forms, one sees as it actually is with proper wisdom that forms both formerly and now are all impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, one generates a longing for the supreme liberations thus: ‘When shall I enter upon and abide in that base that the noble ones now enter upon and abide in?’1240 In one who generates thus a longing for the supreme liberations, grief arises with that longing as condition. Such grief as this is called grief based on renunciation.

  “When, by knowing the impermanence, change, fading away, and cessation of sounds…of odours…of flavours…of tangibles …of mind-objects, one sees as it actually is with proper wisdom that mind-objects both formerly and now are all impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, [219] one generates a longing for the supreme liberations thus: ‘When shall I enter upon and abide in that base that the noble ones now enter upon and abide in?’ In one who thus generates a longing for the supreme liberations, grief arises with that longing as condition. Such grief as this is called grief based on renunciation. These are the six kinds of grief based on renunciation.

  14. “Herein, what are the six kinds of equanimity based on the household life? On seeing a form with the eye, equanimity arises in a foolish infatuated ordinary person, in an untaught ordinary person who has not conquered his limitations or conquered the results [of action] and who is blind to danger. Such equanimity as this does not transcend the form; that is why it is called equanimity based on the household life.1241

  “On hearing a sound with the ear…On smelling an odour with the nose…On tasting a flavour with the tongue…On touching a tangible with the body…On cognizing a mind-object with the mind, equanimity arises in a foolish infatuated ordinary person, in an untaught ordinary person who has not conquered his limitations or conquered the results [of action] and who is blind to danger. Such equanimity as this does not transcend the mind-object; that is why it is called equanimity based on the household life. These are the six kinds of equanimity based on the househ
old life.

  15. “Herein, what are the six kinds of equanimity based on renunciation? When, by knowing the impermanence, change, fading away, and cessation of forms, one sees as it actually is with proper wisdom that forms both formerly and now are all impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, equanimity arises. Such equanimity as this transcends the form; that is why it is called equanimity based on renunciation.1242

  “When, by knowing the impermanence, change, fading away, and cessation of sounds…of odours…of flavours…of tangibles… of mind-objects, one sees as it actually is with proper wisdom that mind-objects both formerly and now are all impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, equanimity arises. Such equanimity as this transcends the mind-object; that is why it is called equanimity based on renunciation. These are the six kinds of equanimity based on renunciation.