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Majjhima Nikāya 117

Mahācattārīsakasutta

The Great Forty · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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Evaṁ me sutaṁ—
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.
Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi:
“bhikkhavo”ti.
“Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ.
Bhagavā etadavoca:

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:

“ariyaṁ vo, bhikkhave, sammāsamādhiṁ desessāmi saupanisaṁ saparikkhāraṁ.
Taṁ suṇātha, sādhukaṁ manasi karotha, bhāsissāmī”ti.
“Evaṁ, bhante”ti kho te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ.
Bhagavā etadavoca:

“Mendicants, I will teach you noble right immersion with its vital conditions and its prerequisites. Listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Katamo ca, bhikkhave, ariyo sammāsamādhi saupaniso saparikkhāro?
Seyyathidaṁ—sammādiṭṭhi, sammāsaṅkappo, sammāvācā, sammākammanto, sammāājīvo, sammāvāyāmo, sammāsati;
yā kho, bhikkhave, imehi sattahaṅgehi cittassa ekaggatā parikkhatā—
ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, ariyo sammāsamādhi saupaniso itipi, saparikkhāro itipi.

“And what is noble right immersion with its vital conditions and its prerequisites? They are: right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, and right mindfulness. Unification of mind with these seven factors as prerequisites is called noble right immersion ‘with its vital conditions’ and also ‘with its prerequisites’.

Tatra, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi pubbaṅgamā hoti.
Kathañca, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi pubbaṅgamā hoti?
Micchādiṭṭhiṁ ‘micchādiṭṭhī’ti pajānāti, sammādiṭṭhiṁ ‘sammādiṭṭhī’ti pajānāti—sāssa hoti sammādiṭṭhi.

In this context, right view comes first. And how does right view come first? When you understand wrong view as wrong view and right view as right view, that’s your right view.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, micchādiṭṭhi?
‘Natthi dinnaṁ, natthi yiṭṭhaṁ, natthi hutaṁ, natthi sukatadukkaṭānaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ vipāko, natthi ayaṁ loko, natthi paro loko, natthi mātā, natthi pitā, natthi sattā opapātikā, natthi loke samaṇabrāhmaṇā sammaggatā sammāpaṭipannā ye imañca lokaṁ parañca lokaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedentī’ti—
ayaṁ, bhikkhave, micchādiṭṭhi.

And what is wrong view? ‘There’s no meaning in giving, sacrifice, or offerings. There’s no fruit or result of good and bad deeds. There’s no afterlife. There’s no such thing as mother and father, or beings that are reborn spontaneously. And there’s no ascetic or brahmin who is rightly comported and rightly practiced, and who describes the afterlife after realizing it with their own insight.’ This is wrong view.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi?
Sammādiṭṭhimpahaṁ, bhikkhave, dvāyaṁ vadāmi—
atthi, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi sāsavā puññabhāgiyā upadhivepakkā;
atthi, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi ariyā anāsavā lokuttarā maggaṅgā.

And what is right view? Right view is twofold, I say. There is right view that is accompanied by defilements, partakes of good deeds, and ripens in attachments. And there is right view that is noble, undefiled, transcendent, a factor of the path.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi sāsavā puññabhāgiyā upadhivepakkā?
‘Atthi dinnaṁ, atthi yiṭṭhaṁ, atthi hutaṁ, atthi sukatadukkaṭānaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ vipāko, atthi ayaṁ loko, atthi paro loko, atthi mātā, atthi pitā, atthi sattā opapātikā, atthi loke samaṇabrāhmaṇā sammaggatā sammāpaṭipannā ye imañca lokaṁ parañca lokaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedentī’ti—
ayaṁ, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi sāsavā puññabhāgiyā upadhivepakkā.

And what is right view that is accompanied by defilements, partakes of good deeds, and ripens in attachments? ‘There is meaning in giving, sacrifice, and offerings. There are fruits and results of good and bad deeds. There is an afterlife. There are such things as mother and father, and beings that are reborn spontaneously. And there are ascetics and brahmins who are rightly comported and rightly practiced, and who describe the afterlife after realizing it with their own insight.’ This is right view that is accompanied by defilements, partakes of good deeds, and ripens in attachments.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi ariyā anāsavā lokuttarā maggaṅgā?
Yā kho, bhikkhave, ariyacittassa anāsavacittassa ariyamaggasamaṅgino ariyamaggaṁ bhāvayato paññā paññindriyaṁ paññābalaṁ dhammavicayasambojjhaṅgo sammādiṭṭhi maggaṅgaṁ—
ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi ariyā anāsavā lokuttarā maggaṅgā.

And what is right view that is noble, undefiled, transcendent, a factor of the path? It’s the wisdom—the faculty of wisdom, the power of wisdom, the awakening factor of investigation of principles, and right view as a factor of the path—in one intent on the noble, intent on the undefiled, who possesses the noble path and develops the noble path. This is called right view that is noble, undefiled, transcendent, a factor of the path.

So micchādiṭṭhiyā pahānāya vāyamati, sammādiṭṭhiyā, upasampadāya, svāssa hoti sammāvāyāmo.
So sato micchādiṭṭhiṁ pajahati, sato sammādiṭṭhiṁ upasampajja viharati, sāssa hoti sammāsati.
Itiyime tayo dhammā sammādiṭṭhiṁ anuparidhāvanti anuparivattanti, seyyathidaṁ—sammādiṭṭhi, sammāvāyāmo, sammāsati.

They make an effort to give up wrong view and embrace right view: that’s their right effort. Mindfully they give up wrong view and embrace right view: that’s their right mindfulness. So these three things keep running and circling around right view, namely: right view, right effort, and right mindfulness.

Tatra, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi pubbaṅgamā hoti.
Kathañca, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi pubbaṅgamā hoti?
Micchāsaṅkappaṁ ‘micchāsaṅkappo’ti pajānāti, sammāsaṅkappaṁ ‘sammāsaṅkappo’ti pajānāti, sāssa hoti sammādiṭṭhi.

In this context, right view comes first. And how does right view come first? When you understand wrong purpose as wrong purpose and right purpose as right purpose, that’s your right view.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, micchāsaṅkappo?
Kāmasaṅkappo, byāpādasaṅkappo, vihiṁsāsaṅkappo—
ayaṁ, bhikkhave, micchāsaṅkappo.

And what is wrong purpose? Purposes of sensuality, of malice, and of cruelty. This is wrong purpose.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, sammāsaṅkappo?
Sammāsaṅkappampahaṁ, bhikkhave, dvāyaṁ vadāmi—
atthi, bhikkhave, sammāsaṅkappo sāsavo puññabhāgiyo upadhivepakko;
atthi, bhikkhave, sammāsaṅkappo ariyo anāsavo lokuttaro maggaṅgo.

And what is right purpose? Right purpose is twofold, I say. There is right purpose that is accompanied by defilements, partakes of good deeds, and ripens in attachments. And there is right purpose that is noble, undefiled, transcendent, a factor of the path.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, sammāsaṅkappo sāsavo puññabhāgiyo upadhivepakko?
Nekkhammasaṅkappo, abyāpādasaṅkappo, avihiṁsāsaṅkappo:
‘ayaṁ, bhikkhave, sammāsaṅkappo sāsavo puññabhāgiyo upadhivepakko’.

And what is right purpose that is accompanied by defilements, partakes of good deeds, and ripens in attachments? Purposes of renunciation, good will, and harmlessness. This is right purpose that is accompanied by defilements.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, sammāsaṅkappo ariyo anāsavo lokuttaro maggaṅgo?
Yo kho, bhikkhave, ariyacittassa anāsavacittassa ariyamaggasamaṅgino ariyamaggaṁ bhāvayato takko vitakko saṅkappo appanā byappanā cetaso abhiniropanā vacīsaṅkhāro—
ayaṁ, bhikkhave, sammāsaṅkappo ariyo anāsavo lokuttaro maggaṅgo.

And what is right purpose that is noble, undefiled, transcendent, a factor of the path? It’s the thinking—the placing of the mind, thought, planting, implanting, embedding of the mind, verbal process—in one intent on the noble, intent on the undefiled, who possesses the noble path and develops the noble path. This is right purpose that is noble.

So micchāsaṅkappassa pahānāya vāyamati, sammāsaṅkappassa upasampadāya, svāssa hoti sammāvāyāmo.
So sato micchāsaṅkappaṁ pajahati, sato sammāsaṅkappaṁ upasampajja viharati; sāssa hoti sammāsati.
Itiyime tayo dhammā sammāsaṅkappaṁ anuparidhāvanti anuparivattanti, seyyathidaṁ—sammādiṭṭhi, sammāvāyāmo, sammāsati.

They make an effort to give up wrong purpose and embrace right purpose: that’s their right effort. Mindfully they give up wrong purpose and take up right purpose: that’s their right mindfulness. So these three things keep running and circling around right purpose, namely: right view, right effort, and right mindfulness.

Tatra, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi pubbaṅgamā hoti.
Kathañca, bhikkhave, sammādiṭṭhi pubbaṅgamā hoti?
Micchāvācaṁ ‘micchāvācā’ti pajānāti, sammāvācaṁ ‘sammāvācā’ti pajānāti; sāssa hoti sammādiṭṭhi.

In this context, right view comes first. And how does right view come first? When you understand wrong speech as wrong speech and right speech as right speech, that’s your right view.

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