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- Samyutta Nikaya XXXV.191
- Kotthita Sutta
- To Kotthita
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
Once, Ven. Sariputta and Ven. Maha Kotthita
were living near Varanasi, at Isipatana in
the Deer Park. Then Ven. Maha Kotthita, in the late afternoon, left his seclusion and went
to Ven. Sariputta. On arrival, he exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an
exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, he sat to one side. As he was sitting
there, he said to Ven. Sariputta, "Now tell me, friend Sariputta, is the eye the
fetter of forms, or are forms the fetter of the eye? Is the ear...Is the nose...Is the
tongue...Is the body...Is the intellect the fetter of ideas, or are ideas the fetter of
the intellect?"
"No, my friend. The eye is not the fetter of forms, nor are forms the fetter of
the eye. Whatever desire & passion arises in dependence on the two of them: That is
the fetter there. The ear is not the fetter of sounds...The nose is not the fetter of
aromas...The tongue is not the fetter of flavors...The body is not the fetter of tactile
sensations...The intellect is not the fetter of ideas, nor are ideas the fetter of the
intellect. Whatever desire & passion arises in dependence on the two of them: That is
the fetter there.
"Suppose that a black ox and a white ox were joined with a single
collar or yoke. If someone were to say, 'The black ox is the fetter of the white ox, the
white ox is the fetter of the black' -- speaking this way, would he be speaking
rightly?"
"No, my friend. The black ox is not the fetter of the white ox, nor is the white
ox the fetter of the black. The single collar or yoke by which they are joined: That is
the fetter there."
"In the same way, the eye is not the fetter of forms, nor are forms the fetter of
the eye. Whatever desire & passion arise in dependence on the two of them: That is the
fetter there. The ear is not the fetter of sounds...The nose is not the fetter of
aromas...The tongue is not the fetter of flavors...The body is not the fetter of tactile
sensations...The intellect is not the fetter of ideas, nor are ideas the fetter of the
intellect. Whatever desire & passion arises in dependence on the two of them: That is
the fetter there.
"If the eye were the fetter of forms, or if forms were the fetter of the eye, then
this holy life for the right ending of stress & suffering would not be proclaimed. But
because whatever desire & passion arise in dependence on the two of them is the fetter
there, that is why this holy life for the right ending of stress & suffering is
proclaimed.
"If the ear were the fetter...
"If the nose were the fetter...
"If the tongue were the fetter...
"If the body were the fetter...
"If the intellect were the fetter of ideas, or if ideas were the fetter of the
intellect, then this holy life for the right ending of stress & suffering would not be
proclaimed. But because whatever desire & passion arise in dependence on the two of
them is the fetter there, that is why this holy life for the right ending of stress &
suffering is proclaimed.
"And through this line of reasoning one may know how the eye is not the fetter of
forms, nor are forms the fetter of the eye, but whatever desire & passion arise in
dependence on the two of them: That is the fetter there. The ear is not the fetter of
sounds...The nose is not the fetter of aromas...The tongue is not the fetter of
flavors...The body is not the fetter of tactile sensations...The intellect is not the
fetter of ideas, nor are ideas the fetter of the intellect, but whatever desire &
passion arises in dependence on the two of them: That is the fetter there. There is an eye
in the Blessed One. The Blessed One sees forms with the eye. There is no desire or passion
in the Blessed One. The Blessed One is well-released in mind.
"There is an ear in the Blessed One...
"There is a nose in the Blessed One...
"There is a tongue in the Blessed One...
"There is a body in the Blessed One...
"There is an intellect in the Blessed One. The Blessed One knows ideas with the
intellect. There is no desire or passion in the Blessed One. The Blessed One is
well-released in mind.
"It is through this line of reasoning that one may know how the eye is not the
fetter of forms, nor are forms the fetter of the eye, but whatever desire & passion
arise in dependence on the two of them: That is the fetter there. The ear is not the
fetter of sounds...The nose is not the fetter of aromas...The tongue is not the fetter of
flavors...The body is not the fetter of tactile sensations...The intellect is not the
fetter of ideas, nor are ideas the fetter of the intellect, but whatever desire &
passion arises in dependence on the two of them: That is the fetter there."