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Majjhima Nikāya 20

Vitakkasaṇṭhānasutta

How to Stop Thinking · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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So nipajjeyya.
Evañhi so, bhikkhave, puriso oḷārikaṁ oḷārikaṁ iriyāpathaṁ abhinivajjetvā sukhumaṁ sukhumaṁ iriyāpathaṁ kappeyya.
Evameva kho, bhikkhave, tassa ce bhikkhuno tesampi vitakkānaṁ asatiamanasikāraṁ āpajjato uppajjanteva pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.
Tesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.

So they’d lie down. And so that person would shun successively coarser postures and adopt more subtle ones. In the same way, a mendicant … those thoughts are given up and come to an end …

Tassa ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno tesampi vitakkānaṁ vitakkasaṅkhārasaṇṭhānaṁ manasikaroto uppajjanteva pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi.
Tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā dantebhidantamādhāya jivhāya tāluṁ āhacca cetasā cittaṁ abhiniggaṇhitabbaṁ abhinippīḷetabbaṁ abhisantāpetabbaṁ.
Tassa dantebhidantamādhāya jivhāya tāluṁ āhacca cetasā cittaṁ abhiniggaṇhato abhinippīḷayato abhisantāpayato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.
Tesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.
Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, balavā puriso dubbalataraṁ purisaṁ sīse vā gale vā khandhe vā gahetvā abhiniggaṇheyya abhinippīḷeyya abhisantāpeyya;
evameva kho, bhikkhave, tassa ce bhikkhuno tesampi vitakkānaṁ vitakkasaṅkhārasaṇṭhānaṁ manasikaroto uppajjanteva pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi.

Now, suppose that mendicant is focusing on stopping the formation of those thoughts, but bad, unskillful thoughts connected with desire, hate, and delusion keep coming up. With teeth clenched and tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth, they should squeeze, squash, and crush mind with mind. As they do so, those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end. Their mind becomes stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes immersed in samādhi. It’s like a strong man who grabs a weaker man by the head or throat or shoulder and squeezes, squashes, and crushes them. In the same way, a mendicant …

Tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā dantebhidantamādhāya jivhāya tāluṁ āhacca cetasā cittaṁ abhiniggaṇhitabbaṁ abhinippīḷetabbaṁ abhisantāpetabbaṁ.
Tassa dantebhidantamādhāya jivhāya tāluṁ āhacca cetasā cittaṁ abhiniggaṇhato abhinippīḷayato abhisantāpayato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.
Tesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.

with teeth clenched and tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth, should squeeze, squash, and crush mind with mind. As they do so, those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end. Their mind becomes stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes immersed in samādhi.

Yato kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno yaṁ nimittaṁ āgamma yaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto uppajjanti pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi, tassa tamhā nimittā aññaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto kusalūpasaṁhitaṁ ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.
Tesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.
Tesampi vitakkānaṁ ādīnavaṁ upaparikkhato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.
Tesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.
Tesampi vitakkānaṁ asatiamanasikāraṁ āpajjato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.
Tesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.

Now, take the mendicant who is focusing on some subject that gives rise to bad, unskillful thoughts connected with desire, hate, and delusion. They focus on some other subject connected with the skillful … They examine the drawbacks of those thoughts … They try to forget and ignore about those thoughts …

Tesampi vitakkānaṁ vitakkasaṅkhārasaṇṭhānaṁ manasikaroto ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.
Tesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.
Dantebhidantamādhāya jivhāya tāluṁ āhacca cetasā cittaṁ abhiniggaṇhato abhinippīḷayato abhisantāpayato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.
Tesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.
Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu vasī vitakkapariyāyapathesu.
Yaṁ vitakkaṁ ākaṅkhissati taṁ vitakkaṁ vitakkessati, yaṁ vitakkaṁ nākaṅkhissati na taṁ vitakkaṁ vitakkessati.
Acchecchi taṇhaṁ, vivattayi saṁyojanaṁ, sammā mānābhisamayā antamakāsi dukkhassā”ti.
Idamavoca bhagavā.
Attamanā te bhikkhū bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinandunti.
Vitakkasaṇṭhānasuttaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ dasamaṁ.
Sīhanādavaggo niṭṭhito dutiyo.

They focus on stopping the formation of those thoughts … With teeth clenched and tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth, they squeeze, squash, and crush mind with mind. When they succeed in each of these things, those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end. Their mind becomes stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes immersed in samādhi. This is called a mendicant who is a master of the ways of thought. They will think what they want to think, and they won’t think what they don’t want to think. They’ve cut off craving, cast off the fetters, and by rightly comprehending conceit have made an end of suffering.” That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said.

Tassuddānaṁ
Cūḷasīhanādalomahaṁsavaro,
Mahācūḷadukkhakkhandhaanumānikasuttaṁ;
Khilapatthamadhupiṇḍikadvidhāvitakka,
Pañcanimittakathā puna vaggo.

Its summary: Cūḷasīhanāda, Lomahaṁsa, Vara; Mahā, Cūḷa, Dukkhakkhandha, Anumāna suttas; Khila, Pattha, Madhupiṇḍika, Dvidhāvitakka; the Pañcanimitta-kathā — again, a chapter.

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