Pañcattayasutta

Majjhima Nikāya 102

The Five and Three · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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thusEvaṁ by meme heardsutaṁ—
oneekaṁ timesamayaṁ the Blessed Onebhagavā at Sāvatthīsāvatthiyaṁ was stayingviharati in Jeta's Grovejetavane of Anāthapiṇḍikaanāthapiṇḍikassa monastery.ārāme.
thereTatra indeedkho the Blessed Onebhagavā the mendicantsbhikkhū addressed:āmantesi:
mendicant + quotation marker“bhikkhavo”ti.
venerable sir + quotation marker“Bhadante”ti theyte the mendicantsbhikkhū to the Blessed Onebhagavato replied.paccassosuṁ.
the Blessed OneBhagavā this + saidetadavoca:

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

there are“santi, mendicantsbhikkhave, someeke ascetic·brahminsamaṇabrāhmaṇā final end·theoristaparantakappikā who speculate about the final endaparantānudiṭṭhino concerning the final endaparantaṁ concerningārabbha many·variousanekavihitāni hypothesis·statementadhivuttipadāni proposeabhivadanti.
percipient‘Saññī selfattā ishoti healthyarogo afterparaṁ deathmaraṇā’ti—
thus someittheke proposeabhivadanti;
non-percipient‘asaññī selfattā ishoti healthyarogo afterparaṁ deathmaraṇā’ti—
thus someittheke proposeabhivadanti;
neither percipient nor non-percipient‘nevasaññīnāsaññī selfattā ishoti healthyarogo afterparaṁ deathmaraṇā’ti—
thus someittheke proposeabhivadanti;
existingsato orvā butpana of a beingsattassa annihilationucchedaṁ eradicationvināsaṁ nonexistencevibhavaṁ assertpaññapenti, seen·dhamma·extinguishmentdiṭṭhadhammanibbānaṁ orvā but somepaneke proposeabhivadanti.
thusIti existentsantaṁ orvā selfattānaṁ assertpaññapenti healthyarogaṁ afterparaṁ deathmaraṇā, existingsato orvā butpana of a beingsattassa annihilationucchedaṁ eradicationvināsaṁ nonexistencevibhavaṁ assertpaññapenti, seen·dhamma·extinguishmentdiṭṭhadhammanibbānaṁ orvā but somepaneke proposeabhivadanti.
thusIti theseimāni fivepañca having beenhutvā threetīṇi becomehonti, threetīṇi having beenhutvā fivepañca becomehonti—
this·summary recitalayamuddeso of the five and threepañcattayassa.

“Mendicants, there are some ascetics and brahmins who speculate and theorize about the final end, and propose various hypotheses concerning the final end. Some propose this: ‘The self is percipient and healthy after death.’ Some propose this: ‘The self is non-percipient and healthy after death.’ Some propose this: ‘The self is neither percipient nor non-percipient and healthy after death.’ But some assert the annihilation, eradication, and nonexistence of an existing being, while others propose extinguishment in this life. Thus they assert an existent self that is healthy after death; or they assert the annihilation of an existing being; while some propose extinguishment in this life. In this way five become three, and three become five. This is the summary recital of the five and three.

Now, the ascetics and brahmins who propose a self that is percipient and healthy after death describe it as formed, or formless, or both formed and formless, or neither formed nor formless. Or they propose a self of unified perception, or of diverse perception, or of limited perception, or of limitless perception. Or some among those who go beyond this propose universal consciousness, limitless and imperturbable.

that + which·thisTayidaṁ, monksbhikkhave, thus·gonetathāgato higher·knowabhijānāti.

The Realized One understands this as follows.

There are ascetics and brahmins who assert a self that is percipient and healthy after death, describing it as formed, or formless, or both formed and formless, or neither formed nor formless. Or they describe it as of unified perception, or of diverse perception, or of limited perception, or of limitless perception.

ifyadi form·perceptionrūpasaññānaṁ ifyadi not·form·perceptionarūpasaññānaṁ ifyadi unity·perceptionekattasaññānaṁ ifyadi diversity·perceptionnānattasaññānaṁ.
there is not‘Natthi anythingkiñcī’ti nothingness·dimension + someākiñcaññāyatanameke towards·sayabhivadanti not·measureappamāṇaṁ not·movingāneñjaṁ.
that‘Tayidaṁ together·madesaṅkhataṁ coarseoḷārikaṁ there isatthi indeedkho butpana together·makingsaṅkhārānaṁ cessationnirodho that is realatthetan’ti—
thusiti having understoodviditvā of ittassa escape·seeingnissaraṇadassāvī thus·gonetathāgato that·beyond·gonetadupātivatto.

Or some, aware that ‘there is nothing at all’, propose the dimension of nothingness, limitless and imperturbable. They declare that this is the purest, highest, best, and supreme of all those perceptions, whether of form or of formlessness or of unity or of diversity. ‘That much is conditioned and crude. But there is the cessation of conditions—that is real.’ Understanding this and seeing the escape from it, the Realized One has gone beyond all that.

thereTatra, monksbhikkhave, whoye thosete ascetic·brahminsamaṇabrāhmaṇā not·percipientasaññiṁ selfattānaṁ assertpaññapenti not·illarogaṁ afterparaṁ deathmaraṇā, formedrūpiṁ orvā thosete sirsbhonto ascetic·brahminsamaṇabrāhmaṇā not·percipientasaññiṁ selfattānaṁ assertpaññapenti not·illarogaṁ afterparaṁ deathmaraṇā, not·formedarūpiṁ orvā thosete sirsbhonto ascetic·brahminsamaṇabrāhmaṇā not·percipientasaññiṁ selfattānaṁ assertpaññapenti not·illarogaṁ afterparaṁ deathmaraṇā, formed·andrūpiñca formless·andarūpiñca orvā thosete sirsbhonto ascetic·brahminsamaṇabrāhmaṇā not·percipientasaññiṁ selfattānaṁ assertpaññapenti not·illarogaṁ afterparaṁ deathmaraṇā, not·formednevarūpiṁ not·formednārūpiṁ orvā thosete sirsbhonto ascetic·brahminsamaṇabrāhmaṇā not·percipientasaññiṁ selfattānaṁ assertpaññapenti not·illarogaṁ afterparaṁ deathmaraṇā.

Now, the ascetics and brahmins who assert a self that is non-percipient and healthy after death describe it as formed, or formless, or both formed and formless, or neither formed nor formless.

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