1At Sāvatthī. "Bhikkhus, I will teach you a Dhamma exposition on the theme of the one who declares the exertion to become secure from bondage. [n.88] Yogakkhemīpariyāyaṃ. My verbose rendering of the expression is intended to capture the word play hidden in the expository section (see following note). Yogakkhema is often a synonym for arahantship or Nibbāna, explained by the commentators as security or release from the four bonds (yoga) of sensual desire, existence, ignorance, and views. Listen to that …

"And what, bhikkhus, is the Dhamma exposition on the theme of the one who declares the exertion to become secure from bondage? There are, bhikkhus, forms cognizable by the eye that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. These have been abandoned by the Tathāgata, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising. He declares an exertion should be made for their abandoning. Therefore the Tathāgata is called one who declares the exertion to become secure from bondage. [n.89] There is a pun here, impossible to replicate, based on a twofold derivation of yogakkhemī. Properly, the latter is a personalized form of the abstract yogakkhema, meaning one secure from bondage. Besides meaning bond, however, yoga can also mean effort or exertion, a meaning relevant to the preceding sentence: tesañ ca pahānāya akkhāsi yogaṃ. Phonetically, this seems to connect the verb akkhāsi (via the root khā) to khemī, though they have no etymological relation at all. Thus yogakkhemī can mean either "one secure from bondage" (the true meaning) or "the declarer of effort" (the contrived meaning conveyed by the pun). Spk says that one is called yogakkhemī, not merely because one declares (the effort), but because one has abandoned (desire and lust).

"There are, bhikkhus, sounds cognizable by the ear … mental phenomena cognizable by the mind that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. These have been abandoned by the Tathāgata, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising. He declares an exertion should be made for their abandoning. Therefore the Tathāgata is called one who declares the exertion to become secure from bondage.

"This, bhikkhus, is the Dhamma exposition on the theme of the one who declares the exertion to become secure from bondage."

1Sāvatthinidānaṁ. "Yogakkhemipariyāyaṁ vo, bhikkhave, dhammapariyāyaṁ desessāmi. Taṁ suṇātha.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, yogakkhemipariyāyo dhammapariyāyo? Santi, bhikkhave, cakkhuviññeyyā rūpā iṭṭhā kantā manāpā piyarūpā kāmūpasaṁhitā rajanīyā. Te tathāgatassa pahīnā ucchinnamūlā tālāvatthukatā anabhāvaṅkatā āyatiṁ anuppāda dhammā. Tesañca pahānāya akkhāsi yogaṁ, tasmā tathāgato ‘yogakkhemī’ti vuccati … pe …

… santi, bhikkhave, manoviññeyyā dhammā iṭṭhā kantā manāpā piyarūpā kāmūpasaṁhitā rajanīyā. Te tathāgatassa pahīnā ucchinnamūlā tālāvatthukatā anabhāvaṅkatā āyatiṁ anuppāda dhammā. Tesañca pahānāya akkhāsi yogaṁ, tasmā tathāgato ‘yogakkhemī’ti vuccati.

Ayaṁ kho, bhikkhave, yogakkhemipariyāyo dhammapariyāyo"ti.

Paṭhamaṁ.