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- Samyutta Nikaya XXXVI.8
- Gelañña Sutta
- At the Sick Room (2)
- Translated from the Pali by Nyanaponika Thera
Once the Blessed One dwelt at Vesali, in the Great Forest, at the Gabled House. In the
evening, after had arisen from his seclusion, he went to the sick room and sat down on a
prepared seat. Being seated, he addressed the monks as follows:
"O monks, mindfully and clearly comprehending should a monk spend his time! This
is my injunction to you!
"And how,[1] O monks, is a monk mindful? He dwells
practicing body-contemplation on the body, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful,
having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the world. He dwells practicing
feeling-contemplation on feelings, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having
overcome covetousness and grief concerning the world. He dwells practicing
mind-contemplation on the mind, having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the
world. He dwells practicing mind-object-contemplation on mind-objects, having overcome
covetousness and grief concerning the world. So, monks, is a monk mindful.
"And how, O monks, is a monk clearly comprehending? He applies clear comprehension
in going forward and going back; in looking straight on and in looking elsewhere; in
bending and in stretching (his limbs); in wearing the robes and carrying the alms bowl; in
eating, drinking, chewing and savoring; in obeying the calls of nature; in walking,
standing sitting, falling asleep waking, speaking and being silent -- in all that he
applies clear comprehension. So, monks, is a monk clearly comprehending.
"If a monk is thus mindful and clearly comprehending, ardent, earnest and
resolute, and a pleasant feeling arises in him, he knows: 'Now a pleasant feeling has
arisen in me. It is conditioned, not unconditioned. Conditioned by what? Even by this
sense-impression[2] it is conditioned. And this
sense-impression, indeed, is impermanent, compounded, dependently arisen. But if this
pleasant feeling that has arisen is conditioned by a sense-impression which is
impermanent, compounded, and dependently arisen, how could such a pleasant feeling be
permanent?'
"In regard to both sense-impression and the pleasant feeling, he dwells
contemplating impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells contemplating
detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells contemplating relinquishment. And in
him who thus dwells, the underlying tendency to lust in regard to sense-impressions and
pleasant feeling vanishes.
"If a painful feeling arises in him, he knows: 'Now a painful feeling has arisen
in me. It is conditioned, not unconditioned. Conditioned by what? Even by this
sense-impression it is conditioned. And this sense-impression, indeed, is impermanent,
compounded, dependently arisen. But if this painful feeling that has arisen is conditioned
by a sense-impression which is impermanent, compounded and dependently arisen, how could
such a painful feeling be permanent?'
"In regard to both sense-impression and painful feeling, he dwells contemplating
impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells contemplating detachment, dwells
contemplating cessation, dwells contemplating relinquishment. And in him who thus dwells,
the underlying tendency to resistance in regard to sense-impression and painful feeling
vanishes.
"If a neutral feeling arises in him, he knows: 'Now a neutral feeling has arisen
in me. It is conditioned, not unconditioned. Conditioned by what? Even by this
sense-impression it is conditioned. And this sense-impression, indeed, is impermanent,
compounded, dependently arisen. But if this neutral feeling that has arisen is conditioned
by a sense-impression, which is impermanent, compounded and dependently arisen, how could
such a neutral feeling be permanent?'
"In regard to both sense-impression and neutral feeling, he dwells contemplating
impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells contemplating detachment, dwells
contemplating cessation, dwells contemplating relinquishment. And in him who thus dwells,
the underlying tendency to ignorance in regard to sense-impression and neutral feeling
vanishes."
(The concluding sections are identical with those in Text 7,
from "If he experiences..." up to the end.)
Notes
1. This paragraph and the one following were omitted from the
BPS Wheel edition. They are identical to the corresponding paragraphs in the preceding
sutta (SN XXXVI.7) and are included here for the sake of
completeness. -- JB. [Go back]
2. Sense-impression, or contact (phassa), is a mental
factor and does not signify physical impingement. [Go back]