Sabbāsavasutta

Majjhima Nikāya 2

All the Defilements · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

Parallels & more translations on SuttaCentral

Glosses: Fluent · Literal · Off
Translation: Hide · Show

Tap any word for its dictionary entry.

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:

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

“Mendicants, I will teach you the explanation of the restraint of all defilements. Listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Jānato ahaṁ, bhikkhave, passato āsavānaṁ khayaṁ vadāmi, no ajānato no apassato.
Kiñca, bhikkhave, jānato kiñca passato āsavānaṁ khayaṁ vadāmi?
Yoniso ca manasikāraṁ ayoniso ca manasikāraṁ.
Ayoniso, bhikkhave, manasikaroto anuppannā ceva āsavā uppajjanti, uppannā ca āsavā pavaḍḍhanti;
yoniso ca kho, bhikkhave, manasikaroto anuppannā ceva āsavā na uppajjanti, uppannā ca āsavā pahīyanti.

“Mendicants, I say that the ending of defilements is for one who knows and sees, not for one who does not know or see. For one who knows and sees what? Rational application of mind and irrational application of mind. When you apply the mind irrationally, defilements arise, and once arisen they grow. When you apply the mind rationally, defilements don’t arise, and those that have already arisen are given up.

Atthi, bhikkhave, āsavā dassanā pahātabbā, atthi āsavā saṁvarā pahātabbā, atthi āsavā paṭisevanā pahātabbā, atthi āsavā adhivāsanā pahātabbā, atthi āsavā parivajjanā pahātabbā, atthi āsavā vinodanā pahātabbā, atthi āsavā bhāvanā pahātabbā.

Some defilements should be given up by seeing, some by restraint, some by using, some by enduring, some by avoiding, some by dispelling, and some by developing.

Dassanāpahātabbaāsava

1. Defilements Given Up by Seeing

Katame ca, bhikkhave, āsavā dassanā pahātabbā?
Idha, bhikkhave, assutavā puthujjano ariyānaṁ adassāvī ariyadhammassa akovido ariyadhamme avinīto, sappurisānaṁ adassāvī sappurisadhammassa akovido sappurisadhamme avinīto—
manasikaraṇīye dhamme nappajānāti, amanasikaraṇīye dhamme nappajānāti.
So manasikaraṇīye dhamme appajānanto amanasikaraṇīye dhamme appajānanto, ye dhammā na manasikaraṇīyā, te dhamme manasi karoti, ye dhammā manasikaraṇīyā te dhamme na manasi karoti.

And what are the defilements that should be given up by seeing? Take an unlearned ordinary person who has not seen the noble ones, and is neither skilled nor trained in the teaching of the noble ones. They’ve not seen true persons, and are neither skilled nor trained in the teaching of the true persons. They don’t understand to which things they should apply the mind and to which things they should not apply the mind. So they apply the mind to things they shouldn’t and don’t apply the mind to things they should.

Katame ca, bhikkhave, dhammā na manasikaraṇīyā ye dhamme manasi karoti?
Yassa, bhikkhave, dhamme manasikaroto anuppanno vā kāmāsavo uppajjati, uppanno vā kāmāsavo pavaḍḍhati;
anuppanno vā bhavāsavo uppajjati, uppanno vā bhavāsavo pavaḍḍhati;
anuppanno vā avijjāsavo uppajjati, uppanno vā avijjāsavo pavaḍḍhati—
ime dhammā na manasikaraṇīyā ye dhamme manasi karoti.
Katame ca, bhikkhave, dhammā manasikaraṇīyā ye dhamme na manasi karoti?
Yassa, bhikkhave, dhamme manasikaroto anuppanno vā kāmāsavo na uppajjati, uppanno vā kāmāsavo pahīyati;
anuppanno vā bhavāsavo na uppajjati, uppanno vā bhavāsavo pahīyati;
anuppanno vā avijjāsavo na uppajjati, uppanno vā avijjāsavo pahīyati—
ime dhammā manasikaraṇīyā ye dhamme na manasi karoti.

And what are the things to which they apply the mind but should not? They are the things that, when the mind is applied to them, give rise to unarisen defilements and make arisen defilements grow: the defilements of sensual desire, desire to be reborn, and ignorance. These are the things to which they apply the mind but should not. And what are the things to which they do not apply the mind but should? They are the things that, when the mind is applied to them, do not give rise to unarisen defilements and give up arisen defilements: the defilements of sensual desire, desire to be reborn, and ignorance. These are the things to which they do not apply the mind but should.

Tassa amanasikaraṇīyānaṁ dhammānaṁ manasikārā manasikaraṇīyānaṁ dhammānaṁ amanasikārā anuppannā ceva āsavā uppajjanti uppannā ca āsavā pavaḍḍhanti.
So evaṁ ayoniso manasi karoti:
‘ahosiṁ nu kho ahaṁ atītamaddhānaṁ? Na nu kho ahosiṁ atītamaddhānaṁ? Kiṁ nu kho ahosiṁ atītamaddhānaṁ? Kathaṁ nu kho ahosiṁ atītamaddhānaṁ? Kiṁ hutvā kiṁ ahosiṁ nu kho ahaṁ atītamaddhānaṁ?
Bhavissāmi nu kho ahaṁ anāgatamaddhānaṁ? Na nu kho bhavissāmi anāgatamaddhānaṁ? Kiṁ nu kho bhavissāmi anāgatamaddhānaṁ? Kathaṁ nu kho bhavissāmi anāgatamaddhānaṁ? Kiṁ hutvā kiṁ bhavissāmi nu kho ahaṁ anāgatamaddhānan’ti?
Etarahi vā paccuppannamaddhānaṁ ajjhattaṁ kathaṅkathī hoti:
‘ahaṁ nu khosmi? No nu khosmi? Kiṁ nu khosmi? Kathaṁ nu khosmi? Ayaṁ nu kho satto kuto āgato? So kuhiṁ gāmī bhavissatī’ti?

Because of applying the mind to what they should not and not applying the mind to what they should, unarisen defilements arise and arisen defilements grow. This is how they apply the mind irrationally: ‘Did I exist in the past? Did I not exist in the past? What was I in the past? How was I in the past? After being what, what did I become in the past? Will I exist in the future? Will I not exist in the future? What will I be in the future? How will I be in the future? After being what, what will I become in the future?’ Or they are undecided about the present thus: ‘Am I? Am I not? What am I? How am I? This sentient being—where did it come from? And where will it go?’

Tassa evaṁ ayoniso manasikaroto channaṁ diṭṭhīnaṁ aññatarā diṭṭhi uppajjati.
‘Atthi me attā’ti vā assa saccato thetato diṭṭhi uppajjati;
‘natthi me attā’ti vā assa saccato thetato diṭṭhi uppajjati;
‘attanāva attānaṁ sañjānāmī’ti vā assa saccato thetato diṭṭhi uppajjati;
‘attanāva anattānaṁ sañjānāmī’ti vā assa saccato thetato diṭṭhi uppajjati;
‘anattanāva attānaṁ sañjānāmī’ti vā assa saccato thetato diṭṭhi uppajjati;
atha vā panassa evaṁ diṭṭhi hoti:
‘yo me ayaṁ attā vado vedeyyo tatra tatra kalyāṇapāpakānaṁ kammānaṁ vipākaṁ paṭisaṁvedeti so kho pana me ayaṁ attā nicco dhuvo sassato avipariṇāmadhammo sassatisamaṁ tatheva ṭhassatī’ti.
Idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, diṭṭhigataṁ diṭṭhigahanaṁ diṭṭhikantāraṁ diṭṭhivisūkaṁ diṭṭhivipphanditaṁ diṭṭhisaṁyojanaṁ.
Diṭṭhisaṁyojanasaṁyutto, bhikkhave, assutavā puthujjano na parimuccati jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi;
‘na parimuccati dukkhasmā’ti vadāmi.

When they apply the mind irrationally in this way, one of the following six views arises in them and is taken as a genuine fact. The view: ‘My self survives.’ The view: ‘My self does not survive.’ The view: ‘I perceive the self with the self.’ The view: ‘I perceive what is not-self with the self.’ The view: ‘I perceive the self with what is not-self.’ Or they have such a view: ‘This self of mine is he, the one who speaks, the one who knows, who experiences the results of good and bad deeds in all the different realms. This self is permanent, everlasting, eternal, and imperishable, and will last forever and ever.’ This is called a misconception, the thicket of views, the desert of views, the twist of views, the dodge of views, the fetter of views. An unlearned ordinary person who is fettered by views is not freed from rebirth, old age, and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. They’re not freed from suffering, I say.

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version