Majjhima Nikāya
III. Upari Paṇṇāsa
4. Vibhaṅga Vagga

The Middle Length Sayings
III. The Final Fifty Discourses
4. The Division on Analysis

Sutta 141

Sacca-Vibhaṅga Suttaɱ

Translated from the Pali by I.B. Horner, O.B.E., M.A.
Associate of Newham College, Cambridge
First Published in 1954

Copyright The Pali Text Society
Commercial Rights Reserved

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[295]

[1][chlm][than][piya][ntbb][upal] THUS HAVE I HEARD:

At one time the Lord was staying near Benares
in the deer-park
at Isipatana.

While he was there the Lord addressed the monks, saying:

“Monks.”

“Revered One,” these monks answered the Lord in assent.

The Lord spoke thus:

“The matchless Wheel of Dhamma
set rolling by the Tathāāgata,
the perfected one,
fully Self-Awakened One
in the deer-park at Isipatana
near Benares
cannot be rolled back
by a recluse or brahman
or deva
or Māra
or Brahmā
or by anyone in the world.

That is to say,
it was a proclamation of the four ariyan truths,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing,
and making of them plain.

Of what four?

It was a proclamation,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing
and making plain
of the ariyan truth of anguish.

It was a proclamation,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing
and making plain
of the ariyan truth of the arising of anguish.

It was a proclamation,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing
and making plain
of the ariyan truth of the stopping of anguish.

It was a proclamation,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing
and making plain
of the ariyan truth of the course
leading to the stopping of anguish.

The matchless Wheel of Dhamma} monks,
set rolling by the Tathāāgata,
the perfected one,
fully Self-Awakened One
in the deer-park at Isipatana
near Benares
cannot be rolled back
by a recluse or brahman
or deva
or Māra
or Brahmā
or by anyone in the world.

That is to say,
it was a proclamation of the four ariyan truths,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing,
and making of them plain.

Monks, follow Sāriputta and Moggallāna; monks,
associate with Sāriputta and Moggallāna;
they are wise monks
who are helpers^[1] to Brahma-farers.

Monks, like a mother,
so is Sāriputta;
like a child’s foster-mother,
so is Moggallāna.

Sāriputta, monks,
trains (one) in the fruit of stream-attainment,
Moggallāna in the highest [296] goal.^[2] Sāriputta, monks,
is able to proclaim,
teach,
lay down,
establish,
open up,
analyse
and make plain
the four ariyan truths in full.”^[3]

Thus spoke the Lord;
and having said this,
the Well-farer rose from his seat
and entered a dwelling-place.

§

Soon after the Lord had departed
the venerable Sāriputta addressed the monks who were there,
saying;

“Reverend monks.”

“Your reverence,”
these monks answered the venerable Sāriputta in assent.

The venerable Sāriputta spoke thus:

“Your reverences, the matchless Wheel of Dhamma
set rolling by the Tathāāgata,
perfected one,
fully Self-Awakened One
in the deer-park at Isipatana
near Benares
cannot be rolled back
by a recluse or brahman
or deva
or Māra
or Brahmā
or by anyone in the world.

That is to say,
it was a proclamation of the four ariyan truths,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing,
and making of them plain.

Of what four?

It was a proclamation,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing
and making plain
of the ariyan truth of anguish.

It was a proclamation,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing
and making plain
of the ariyan truth of the arising of anguish.

It was a proclamation,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing
and making plain
of the ariyan truth of the stopping of anguish.

It was a proclamation,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing
and making plain
of the ariyan truth of the course
leading to the stopping of anguish.

The matchless Wheel of Dhamma} monks,
set rolling by the Tathāāgata,
the perfected one,
fully Self-Awakened One
in the deer-park at Isipatana
near Benares
cannot be rolled back
by a recluse or brahman
or deva
or Māra
or Brahmā
or by anyone in the world.

That is to say,
it was a proclamation of the four ariyan truths,
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing,
and making of them plain.

§

And what, your reverences,
is the ariyan truth of anguish?^[4]

Birth is anguish
and ageing is anguish
and dying is anguish;
and grief,
sorrow,
suffering,
misery
and
despair are anguish.

And not getting what one desires,
that too is anguish.

In brief,
the five groups of grasping
are anguish.

■

And what, your reverences, is birth?

It is the conception,
the production,
the descent,^[5]
the rebirth,^[6]
the coming forth
of various beings
in the various classes of beings,
the appearance of the groups (of grasping),
the acquiring of the sense-bases.

This, your reverences, is called birth.

■

And what, your reverences, is old age?

It is the old age,
decrepitude,
broken teeth,
greying hair,
wrinkly skin,
the dwindling of the life-span,
the collapse of the sense-organs
of the various beings
in the various classes of beings.

This, your reverences, is called old age.

■

And what, your reverences, is dying?

It is the falling away,
the passing away,
the breaking up,
the disappearance,
the death
and [297] dying,
the action of time,
the breaking up of the groups (of grasping),
the laying down of the body.

This, your reverences, is called dying.

■

And what, your reverences, is grief?

It, your reverences, is the grief,
sorrow,
sorrowfulness,
the inward grief,
the inner pain
of one visited by some kind of calamity or other,
smitten by some kind of ill or other.

It is the crying,
the wailing,
the act of crying,
the act of wailing,
the state of crying,
the state of wailing
of one visited by some calamity or other,
smitten by some kind of ill or other.

This, your reverences, is called sorrow.

■

And what, your reverences, is suffering?

It, your reverences, is physical suffering,
physical disagreeableness
arising from an impingement on the body
and experienced as suffering,
as disagreeableness.

This, your reverences, is called suffering.

■

And what, your reverences, is misery?

It, your reverences, is mental suffering,^[7]
mental disagreeableness
arising from an impingement on the mind
and experienced as suffering,
as disagreeableness.

This, your reverences, is called misery.

■

And what, your reverences, is despair?

It, your reverences, is despondency,
despair,
the state of despondency,
the state of despair
of one visited by some calamity or other,
smitten by some kind of ill or other.

This, your reverences, is called despair.

■

And what, your reverences is meant by
‘not getting what one desires,
that too is anguish’?

Your reverences, a wish like this arises
in creatures liable to birth:

‘0 might we be not liable to birth
and birth not come to us.’

But this is not to be had for the wishing.

So ‘not getting what one desires,
that too is anguish.’

Your reverences, a wish like this arises
in creatures liable to ageing:

‘0 might we be not liable to ageing
and ageing not come to us.’

But this is not to be had for the wishing.

So ‘not getting what one desires,
that too is anguish.’

Your reverences, a wish like this arises
in creatures liable to disease:

‘0 might we be not liable to disease
and disease not come to us.’

But this is not to be had for the wishing.

So ‘not getting what one desires,
that too is anguish.’

Your reverences, a wish like this arises
in creatures liable to grief,
sorrow,
suffering,
misery
and despair:

‘0 might we be not liable to grief,
sorrow,
suffering,
misery
and despair
and grief,
sorrow,
suffering,
misery
and despair not come to us.’

But this is not to be had for the wishing.

So ‘not getting what one desires,
that too is anguish.’

And what, in brief, your reverences,
are the five groups of grasping that are anguish?

These are:

the group of grasping after material shape,
the group of grasping after feeling,
the group of grasping after perception,
the group of grasping after the habitual tendencies,
the group of grasping after consciousness.

Your reverences, these are called
in brief the five groups of grasping that are anguish.

[298] Your reverences, this is called the ariyan truth of anguish.

And what, your reverences,
is the ariyan truth of the arising of anguish?

Whatever craving is connected with again-becoming,
accompanied by delight and attachment,
finding delight in this and that,
namely the craving for sense-pleasures,
the craving for becoming,
the craving for annihilation –
this, your reverences, is called
the ariyan truth of the arising of anguish.

And what, your reverences,
is the ariyan truth of the stopping of anguish?

Whatever is the stopping,
with no attachment remaining,
of that self-same craving,
the relinquishment of it,
casting aside of it,
release from it,
independence of it,
this, your reverences, is called
the ariyan truth of the stopping of anguish.

And what, your reverences,
is the ariyan truth of the course
leading to the stopping of anguish?

It is this ariyan Eightfold Way itself,
that is to say:
right view,
right aspiration,
right speech,
right action,
right mode of livelihood,
right endeavour,
right mindfulness,
right concentration.

■

And what, your reverences, is right view?

Whatever, your reverences, is knowledge of anguish,
knowledge of the arising of anguish,
knowledge of the stopping of anguish,
knowledge of the course
leading to the stopping of anguish –
this, your reverences, is called right view.

■

And what, your reverences,
is right aspiration?

Aspiration for renunciation,
aspiration for non-malevolence,
aspiration for harmlessness –
this, your reverences, is called
right aspiration.

■

And what, your reverences,
is right speech?

Refraining from lying speech,
refraining from slanderous speech,
refraining from harsh speech,
refraining from gossip,
this, your reverences, is called
right speech.

■

And what, your reverences,
is right action?

Refraining from onslaught on creatures,
refraining from taking what has not been given,
refraining from going wrongly among the sense-pleasures,
this, your reverences, is called
right action.

■

And what, your reverences,
is right mode of livelihood?

As to this, your reverences,
a disciple of the ariyans,
getting rid of a wrong mode of livelihood,
makes his living by a right mode of livelihood.

This, your reverences, is called
right mode of livelihood.

■

And what, your reverences,
is right endeavour?

As to this, your reverences,
a monk generates desire,
endeavours,
stirs up energy,
exerts his mind
and strives for the non-arising
of evil unskilled states
that have not arisen;

he generates desire,
endeavours,
stirs up energy,
exerts his mind
and strives for the the getting rid of
of evil unskilled states
[299] that have arisen;

he generates desire,
endeavours,
stirs up energy,
exerts his mind
and strives for the arising of
skilled states that have not arisen

he generates desire,
endeavours,
stirs up energy,
exerts his mind
and strives for the maintenance,
preservation,
increase,
maturity,
development
and completion of
skilled states that have arisen.

This, your reverences, is called
right endeavour.

■

And what, your reverences,
is right mindfulness?

As to this, your reverences,
a monk fares along
contemplating the body in the body,
ardent,
clearly conscious (of them),
mindful (of them)
so as to control the covetousness
and dejection
in the world.

He fares along
contemplating the feelings in the feelings,
ardent,
clearly conscious (of them),
mindful (of them)
so as to control the covetousness
and dejection
in the world.

He fares along
contemplating the mind in the mind,
ardent,
clearly conscious (of them),
mindful (of them)
so as to control the covetousness
and dejection
in the world.

He fares along
contemplating the mental states in the mental states,
ardent,
clearly conscious (of them),
mindful (of them)
so as to control the covetousness
and dejection
in the world.

This, your reverences,
is called right mindfulness.

■

And what, your reverences,
is right concentration?

As to this, your reverences,
a monk, aloof from the pleasures of the senses,
aloof from unskilled states of mind,
entering into the first meditation
which is accompanied by initial thought
and discursive thought,
is born of aloofness,
and is rapturous and joyful,
abides in it.

And again, your reverences, a monk,
by allaying initial and discursive thought,
his mind subjectively tranquillised
and fixed on one point,
enters on
and abides in
the second meditation
which is devoid of initial and discursive thought,
is born of concentration
and is rapturous and joyful.

And again, your reverences, a monk,
by the fading out of rapture,
dwells with equanimity,
attentive and clearly conscious,
and experiences in his person
that joy of which the ariyans say:
‘Joyful lives he who has equanimity and is mindful,’
and he enters on
and abides in
the third meditation.

And again, your reverences, a monk
by getting rid of joy,
by getting rid of anguish,
by the going down of his former pleasures and sorrows,
enters on
and abides in
the fourth meditation
which has neither anguish nor joy,
and which is entirely purified
by equanimity and mindfulness.

This, your reverences, is called
right concentration.

This, your reverences, is called
the ariyan truth of the course leading to the stopping of anguish.

Your reverences, the matchless Wheel of Dhamma
set rolling by the Tathāāgata,
the perfected one,
fully Self-Awakened One
in the deer-park at Isipatana
near Benares
cannot be rolled back
by a recluse or brahman
or deva
or Māra
or Brahmā
or by anyone in the world.

That is to say,
it was a proclamation
a teaching,
laying down,
establishing,
opening up,
analysing,
and making plain
of these four ariyan truths.”

Thus spoke the venerable Sāriputta.

Delighted, these monks rejoiced in what the venerable Sāriputta had said.

Discourse on the Analysis of the Truths:
The Eleventh

^[1] anuggāhakā. At S. iii. 5, v. 162 Sāriputta alone is so spoken of; translated at K.S. as “patron.” SA. ii. 256 instances two forms of help, anuggaha, help with material things and help with Dhamma. At Vin. iv. 325 “should neither help,” n’eva anuggaṅheyya, is defined to mean: “should neither herself help (her pupil) with the recitation, interrogation, exhortation and instruction.” This therefore must be regarded as help with Dhamma. It also appears that when anuggaṅhāti is used in relation to the attitude of a more experienced member of the Order to a less experienced one, it carries a technical or semi-technical sense. See P.T.C. under anuggaṅhāti for further references.

^[2] uttamattha, i.e. arahantship. It seems that Sāriputta expends himself on newly ordained monks rather than on those he knows to be on the higher ways.

^[3] This is Sāriputta’s aspect as dhammasenāpati, Captain or General of Dhamma, next to the Buddha in power to roll on the Dhamma-wheel.

^[4] The remainder of this Discourse is found in the Mahā Satipaṭṭhana Suttanta (D. Sta. 22) from D. ii. 305-313, i.e. to the end of the ariyan truth of the course leading to the stopping of anguish. The first portion of the D’s Mahā Satipaṭṭhana Suttanta is found in M. Sta. 10, the Satipaṭṭhana Sutta. See M.L.S. i, Intr., p. xiv. Also cf. M. i. 49 f., S. ii. 3.

^[5] I.e. into a womb.

^[6] nibbatti, not at M. i. 49.

^[7] cetasikaɱ dukkhaɱ is omitted, probably in error, in Chalmers’ text, but occurs at D. ii. 306.