Tipitaka » Sutta
Pitaka » Anguttara Nikaya » Context
of this sutta
- Anguttara Nikaya IV.178
- Jambali Sutta
- The Waste-water Pool
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
"Monks, these four types of individuals are to be found existing in the world.
Which four?
"There is the case where a monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful release
of awareness.[1] He attends to the cessation of
self-identification, but as he is attending to the cessation of self-identification his
mind doesn't leap up, grow confident, steadfast, or firm in the cessation of
self-identification. For him the cessation of self-identification is not to be expected. Just as if a man were to grasp a branch with his hand smeared with
resin, his hand would stick to it, grip it, adhere to it; in the same way, the monk enters
& remains in a certain peaceful release of awareness. He attends to the cessation of
self-identification, but as he is attending to the cessation of self-identification his
mind doesn't leap up, grow confident, steadfast, or firm in the cessation of
self-identification. For him the cessation of self-identification is not to be expected.
"Now, there is the case where a monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful
release of awareness. He attends to the cessation of self-identification, and as he is
attending to the cessation of self-identification his mind leaps up, grows confident,
steadfast, & firm in the cessation of self-identification. For him the cessation of
self-identification is to be expected. Just as if a man were to grasp a branch with a
clean hand, his hand would not stick to it, grip it, or adhere to it; in the same way, the
monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful release of awareness. He attends to the
cessation of self-identification, and as he is attending to the cessation of
self-identification his mind leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & firm in the
cessation of self-identification. For him the cessation of self-identification is to be
expected.
"Now, there is the case where a monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful
release of awareness. He attends to the breaching of ignorance, but as he is attending to
the breaching of ignorance his mind doesn't leap up, grow confident, steadfast, or firm in
the breaching of ignorance. For him the breaching of ignorance is not to be expected. Just as if there were a waste-water pool that had stood for countless
years, where a man were to block all the inlets and open all the outlets, and the sky were
to not rain down in good streams of rain: the breaching of the waste-water pool's
embankment would not be expected; in the same way, the monk enters & remains in a
certain peaceful release of awareness. He attends to the breaching of ignorance, but as he
is attending to the breaching of ignorance his mind doesn't leap up, grow confident,
steadfast, or firm in the breaching of ignorance. For him the breaching of ignorance is
not to be expected.
"Now, there is the case where a monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful
release of awareness. He attends to the breaching of ignorance, and as he is attending to
the breaching of ignorance his mind leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & firm in
the breaching of ignorance. For him the breaching of ignorance is to be expected. Just as
if there were a waste-water pool that had stood for countless years, where a man were to
open all the inlets and block all the outlets, and the sky were to rain down in good
streams of rain: the breaching of the waste-water pool's embankment would be expected; in
the same way, the monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful release of awareness. He
attends to the breaching of ignorance, and as he is attending to the breaching of
ignorance his mind leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & firm in the breaching of
ignorance. For him the breaching of ignorance is to be expected.
"These are four types of individuals to be found existing in the world."
Note
1. Any of the levels of jhana. [Go back]