Cūḷasuññatasutta

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Majjhima Nikāya 121

The Shorter Discourse on Emptiness · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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Evaṁ me sutaṁ—
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati pubbārāme migāramātupāsāde.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in the stilt longhouse of Migāra’s mother in the Eastern Monastery.

Atha kho āyasmā ānando sāyanhasamayaṁ paṭisallānā vuṭṭhito yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā ānando bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

Then in the late afternoon, Venerable Ānanda came out of retreat and went to the Buddha. He bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:

“Ekamidaṁ, bhante, samayaṁ bhagavā sakkesu viharati nagarakaṁ nāma sakyānaṁ nigamo.
Tattha me, bhante, bhagavato sammukhā sutaṁ, sammukhā paṭiggahitaṁ:
‘suññatāvihārenāhaṁ, ānanda, etarahi bahulaṁ viharāmī’ti.
Kacci metaṁ, bhante, sussutaṁ suggahitaṁ sumanasikataṁ sūpadhāritan”ti?
“Taggha te etaṁ, ānanda, sussutaṁ suggahitaṁ sumanasikataṁ sūpadhāritaṁ.
Pubbepāhaṁ, ānanda, etarahipi suññatāvihārena bahulaṁ viharāmi.

“Sir, this one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Sakyans where they have a town named Townsville. There I heard and learned this in the presence of the Buddha: ‘Ānanda, these days I usually practice the meditation on emptiness.’ I trust I properly heard, learned, applied the mind, and remembered that from the Buddha?” “Indeed, Ānanda, you properly heard, learned, applied the mind, and remembered that. Now, as before, I usually practice the meditation on emptiness.

Seyyathāpi, ānanda, ayaṁ migāramātupāsādo suñño hatthigavassavaḷavena, suñño jātarūparajatena, suñño itthipurisasannipātena atthi cevidaṁ asuññataṁ yadidaṁ—
bhikkhusaṅghaṁ paṭicca ekattaṁ;
evameva kho, ānanda, bhikkhu amanasikaritvā gāmasaññaṁ, amanasikaritvā manussasaññaṁ, araññasaññaṁ paṭicca manasi karoti ekattaṁ.
Tassa araññasaññāya cittaṁ pakkhandati pasīdati santiṭṭhati adhimuccati.
So evaṁ pajānāti:
‘ye assu darathā gāmasaññaṁ paṭicca tedha na santi, ye assu darathā manussasaññaṁ paṭicca tedha na santi, atthi cevāyaṁ darathamattā yadidaṁ—
araññasaññaṁ paṭicca ekattan’ti.
So ‘suññamidaṁ saññāgataṁ gāmasaññāyā’ti pajānāti, ‘suññamidaṁ saññāgataṁ manussasaññāyā’ti pajānāti, ‘atthi cevidaṁ asuññataṁ yadidaṁ—
araññasaññaṁ paṭicca ekattan’ti.
Iti yañhi kho tattha na hoti tena taṁ suññaṁ samanupassati, yaṁ pana tattha avasiṭṭhaṁ hoti taṁ ‘santamidaṁ atthī’ti pajānāti.

Consider this stilt longhouse of Migāra’s mother. It’s empty of elephants, cows, horses, and mares; of gold and silver; and of gatherings of men and women. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely, the oneness dependent on the mendicant Saṅgha. In the same way, a mendicant—ignoring the perception of the village and the perception of people—focuses on the oneness dependent on the perception of wilderness. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of wilderness. They understand: ‘Here there is no stress due to the perception of village or the perception of people. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of wilderness.’ They understand: ‘This field of perception is empty of the perception of the village. It is empty of the perception of people. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of wilderness.’ And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present.

Evampissa esā, ānanda, yathābhuccā avipallatthā parisuddhā suññatāvakkanti bhavati.

That’s how emptiness manifests in them—genuine, undistorted, and pure.

Puna caparaṁ, ānanda, bhikkhu amanasikaritvā manussasaññaṁ, amanasikaritvā araññasaññaṁ, pathavīsaññaṁ paṭicca manasi karoti ekattaṁ.
Tassa pathavīsaññāya cittaṁ pakkhandati pasīdati santiṭṭhati adhimuccati.
Seyyathāpi, ānanda, āsabhacammaṁ saṅkusatena suvihataṁ vigatavalikaṁ;
evameva kho, ānanda, bhikkhu yaṁ imissā pathaviyā ukkūlavikkūlaṁ nadīviduggaṁ khāṇukaṇṭakaṭṭhānaṁ pabbatavisamaṁ taṁ sabbaṁ amanasikaritvā pathavīsaññaṁ paṭicca manasi karoti ekattaṁ.
Tassa pathavīsaññāya cittaṁ pakkhandati pasīdati santiṭṭhati adhimuccati.
So evaṁ pajānāti:
‘ye assu darathā manussasaññaṁ paṭicca tedha na santi, ye assu darathā araññasaññaṁ paṭicca tedha na santi, atthi cevāyaṁ darathamattā yadidaṁ—
pathavīsaññaṁ paṭicca ekattan’ti.
So ‘suññamidaṁ saññāgataṁ manussasaññāyā’ti pajānāti, ‘suññamidaṁ saññāgataṁ araññasaññāyā’ti pajānāti, ‘atthi cevidaṁ asuññataṁ yadidaṁ—
pathavīsaññaṁ paṭicca ekattan’ti.

Furthermore, a mendicant—ignoring the perception of people and the perception of wilderness—focuses on the oneness dependent on the perception of earth. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of earth. As a bull’s hide is rid of folds when fully stretched out by a hundred pegs, so too, ignoring the hilly terrain, inaccessible riverlands, stumps and thorns, and rugged mountains, they focus on the oneness dependent on the perception of earth. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of earth. They understand: ‘Here there is no stress due to the perception of people or the perception of wilderness. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of earth.’ They understand: ‘This field of perception is empty of the perception of people. It is empty of the perception of wilderness. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of earth.’

Iti yañhi kho tattha na hoti tena taṁ suññaṁ samanupassati, yaṁ pana tattha avasiṭṭhaṁ hoti taṁ ‘santamidaṁ atthī’ti pajānāti.
Evampissa esā, ānanda, yathābhuccā avipallatthā parisuddhā suññatāvakkanti bhavati.

And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present. That’s how emptiness manifests in them—genuine, undistorted, and pure.

Puna caparaṁ, ānanda, bhikkhu amanasikaritvā araññasaññaṁ, amanasikaritvā pathavīsaññaṁ, ākāsānañcāyatanasaññaṁ paṭicca manasi karoti ekattaṁ.
Tassa ākāsānañcāyatanasaññāya cittaṁ pakkhandati pasīdati santiṭṭhati adhimuccati.
So evaṁ pajānāti:
‘ye assu darathā araññasaññaṁ paṭicca tedha na santi, ye assu darathā pathavīsaññaṁ paṭicca tedha na santi, atthi cevāyaṁ darathamattā yadidaṁ—
ākāsānañcāyatanasaññaṁ paṭicca ekattan’ti.
So ‘suññamidaṁ saññāgataṁ araññasaññāyā’ti pajānāti, ‘suññamidaṁ saññāgataṁ pathavīsaññāyā’ti pajānāti, ‘atthi cevidaṁ asuññataṁ yadidaṁ—
ākāsānañcāyatanasaññaṁ paṭicca ekattan’ti.
Iti yañhi kho tattha na hoti tena taṁ suññaṁ samanupassati, yaṁ pana tattha avasiṭṭhaṁ hoti taṁ ‘santamidaṁ atthī’ti pajānāti.
Evampissa esā, ānanda, yathābhuccā avipallatthā parisuddhā suññatāvakkanti bhavati.

Furthermore, a mendicant—ignoring the perception of wilderness and the perception of earth—focuses on the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite space. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of the dimension of infinite space. They understand: ‘Here there is no stress due to the perception of wilderness or the perception of earth. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite space.’ They understand: ‘This field of perception is empty of the perception of wilderness. It is empty of the perception of earth. There is only this that is not emptiness, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite space.’ And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present. That’s how emptiness manifests in them—genuine, undistorted, and pure.

Puna caparaṁ, ānanda, bhikkhu amanasikaritvā pathavīsaññaṁ, amanasikaritvā ākāsānañcāyatanasaññaṁ, viññāṇañcāyatanasaññaṁ paṭicca manasi karoti ekattaṁ.
Tassa viññāṇañcāyatanasaññāya cittaṁ pakkhandati pasīdati santiṭṭhati adhimuccati.
So evaṁ pajānāti:
‘ye assu darathā pathavīsaññaṁ paṭicca tedha na santi, ye assu darathā ākāsānañcāyatanasaññaṁ paṭicca tedha na santi, atthi cevāyaṁ darathamattā yadidaṁ—
viññāṇañcāyatanasaññaṁ paṭicca ekattan’ti.
So ‘suññamidaṁ saññāgataṁ pathavīsaññāyā’ti pajānāti, ‘suññamidaṁ saññāgataṁ ākāsānañcāyatanasaññāyā’ti pajānāti, ‘atthi cevidaṁ asuññataṁ yadidaṁ—
viññāṇañcāyatanasaññaṁ paṭicca ekattan’ti.
Iti yañhi kho tattha na hoti tena taṁ suññaṁ samanupassati, yaṁ pana tattha avasiṭṭhaṁ hoti taṁ ‘santamidaṁ atthī’ti pajānāti.
Evampissa esā, ānanda, yathābhuccā avipallatthā parisuddhā suññatāvakkanti bhavati.

Furthermore, a mendicant—ignoring the perception of earth and the perception of the dimension of infinite space—focuses on the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness. Their mind leaps forth, gains confidence, settles down, and becomes decided in that perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness. They understand: ‘Here there is no stress due to the perception of earth or the perception of the dimension of infinite space. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness.’ They understand: ‘This field of perception is empty of the perception of earth. It is empty of the perception of the dimension of infinite space. There is only this modicum of stress, namely the oneness dependent on the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness.’ And so they regard it as empty of what is not there, but as to what remains they understand that it is present. That’s how emptiness manifests in them—genuine, undistorted, and pure.

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