SN35:74 Sick (1)
- DG BB TBW © Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Bodhi. (More copyright information)
1At Sāvatthī. Then a certain bhikkhu approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him: "Venerable sir, in such and such a dwelling there is a certain newly ordained bhikkhu, not well known, who is sick, afflicted, gravely ill. It would be good, venerable sir, if the Blessed One would approach that bhikkhu out of compassion."
2Then, when the Blessed One heard the words "newly ordained" and "sick," and understood that he was not a well-known bhikkhu, he went to him. That bhikkhu saw the Blessed One coming in the distance and stirred on his bed. [n.38] Spk: Samadhosi He showed his respect by making a movement; for, it is said, even a patient is obliged to show respect to a superior by making a geture of rising. The sequel is also at SN22.87. The Blessed One said to him: "Enough, bhikkhu, do not stir on your bed. There are these seats ready, I will sit down there."
The Blessed One then sat down on the appointed seat and said to that bhikkhu: "I hope you are bearing up, bhikkhu, I hope you are getting better. I hope that your painful feelings are subsiding and not increasing, and that their subsiding, not their increase, is to be discerned."
3"Venerable sir, I am not bearing up, I am not getting better. Strong painful feelings are increasing in me, not subsiding, and their increase, not their subsiding, is to be discerned."
4"I hope then, bhikkhu, that you are not troubled by remorse and regret."
5"Indeed, venerable sir, I have quite a lot of remorse and regret." sn.iv.47
6"I hope, bhikkhu, that you have nothing for which to reproach yourself in regard to virtue."
7"I have nothing, venerable sir, for which to reproach myself in regard to virtue."
8"Then, bhikkhu, if you have nothing for which to reproach yourself in regard to virtue, why are you troubled by remorse and regret?"
9"I understand, venerable sir, that it is not for the sake of purification of virtue that the Dhamma has been taught by the Blessed One."
10"If, bhikkhu, you understand that the Dhamma has not been taught by me for the sake of purification of virtue, then for what purpose do you understand the Dhamma to have been taught by me?"
11"Venerable sir, I understand the Dhamma to have been taught by the Blessed One for the sake of the fading away of lust." [n.39] Rāgavirāgatthaṃ. The sense of the expression is almost reiterative, since virāga itself means the absence of rāga or lust. But virāga originally meant the removal of colour, and thus the whole expression could be taken to mean the "fading away" of the "colour" spread by lust.
12–19"Good, good, bhikkhu! It is good that you understand the Dhamma to have been taught by me for the sake of the fading away of lust. For the Dhamma is taught by me for the sake of the fading away of lust.
"What do you think, bhikkhu, is the eye permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, venerable sir." … "Is the ear … the mind permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, venerable sir."
"Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness?"
"Suffering, venerable sir."
"Is what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change fit to be regarded thus: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self’?"
"No, venerable sir."
20"Seeing thus … He understands: ‘ … there is no more for this state of being.’"
21This is what the Blessed One said. Elated, that bhikkhu delighted in the Blessed One's statement. And while this discourse was being spoken, there arose in that bhikkhu the dust-free, stainless vision of the Dhamma: "Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation." [n.40] The arising of the vision of the Dhamma (dhammacakkhu) means the attainment of one of the three lower stages of awakening, usually stream-entry.
1Sāvatthinidānaṁ. Atha kho aññataro bhikkhu yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami … pe … ekamantaṁ nisinno kho so bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "amukasmiṁ, bhante, vihāre aññataro bhikkhu navo appaññāto ābādhiko dukkhito bāḷhagilāno. Sādhu, bhante, bhagavā yena so bhikkhu tenupasaṅkamatu anukampāṁ upādāyā"ti.
2Atha kho bhagavā navavādañca sutvā gilānavādañca, "appaññāto bhikkhū"ti iti viditvā yena so bhikkhu tenupasaṅkami. Addasā kho so bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ dūratova āgacchantaṁ. Disvāna mañcake samadhosi. Atha kho bhagavā taṁ bhikkhuṁ etadavoca: "Alaṁ, bhikkhu, mā tvaṁ mañcake samadhosi. Santimāni āsanāni paññattāni, tatthāhaṁ nisīdissāmī"ti. Nisīdi bhagavā paññatte āsane. Nisajja kho bhagavā taṁ bhikkhuṁ etadavoca: "Kacci te, bhikkhu, khamanīyaṁ, kacci yāpanīyaṁ, kacci dukkhā vedanā paṭikkamanti no abhikkamanti, paṭikkamosānaṁ paññāyati no abhikkamo"ti?
3"Na me, bhante, khamanīyaṁ, na yāpanīyaṁ, bāḷhā me dukkhā vedanā abhikkamanti no paṭikkamanti, abhikkamosānaṁ paññāyati no paṭikkamo"ti.
4"Kacci te, bhikkhu, na kiñci kukkuccaṁ, na koci vippaṭisāro"ti?
5"Taggha me, bhante, anappakaṁ kukkuccaṁ, anappako vippaṭisāro"ti.
6"Kacci pana taṁ, bhikkhu, attā sīlato upavadatī"ti?
7"Na kho maṁ, bhante, attā sīlato upavadatī"ti.
8"No ce kira te, bhikkhu, attā sīlato upavadati, atha kiñca te kukkuccaṁ ko ca vippaṭisāro"ti?
9"Na khvāhaṁ, bhante, sīlavisuddhatthaṁ bhagavatā dhammaṁ desitaṁ ājānāmī"ti.
10"No ce kira tvaṁ, bhikkhu, sīlavisuddhatthaṁ mayā dhammaṁ desitaṁ ājānāsi, atha kimatthaṁ carahi tvaṁ, bhikkhu, mayā dhammaṁ desitaṁ ājānāsī"ti?
11"Rāgavirāgatthaṁ khvāhaṁ, bhante, bhagavatā dhammaṁ desitaṁ ājānāmī"ti.
12"Sādhu sādhu, bhikkhu. Sādhu kho tvaṁ, bhikkhu, rāgavirāgatthaṁ mayā dhammaṁ desitaṁ ājānāsi. Rāgavirāgattho hi, bhikkhu, mayā dhammo desito.
Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, bhikkhu, cakkhu niccaṁ vā aniccaṁ vā"ti?
13"Aniccaṁ, bhante".
14" … pe … Sotaṁ … ghānaṁ … jivhā … kāyo … mano nicco vā anicco vā"ti?
15"Anicco, bhante".
16"Yaṁ panāniccaṁ dukkhaṁ vā taṁ sukhaṁ vā"ti?
17"Dukkhaṁ, bhante".
18"Yaṁ panāniccaṁ dukkhaṁ vipariṇāmadhammaṁ, kallaṁ nu taṁ samanupassituṁ: ‘etaṁ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā’"ti?
19"No hetaṁ, bhante".
20"Evaṁ passaṁ, bhikkhu, sutavā ariyasāvako cakkhusmimpi nibbindati, sotasmimpi nibbindati … pe … manasmimpi nibbindati. Nibbindaṁ virajjati; virāgā vimuccati; vimuttasmiṁ vimuttamiti ñāṇaṁ hoti. ‘Khīṇā jāti … pe … nāparaṁ itthattāyā’ti pajānātī"ti.
21Idamavoca bhagavā. Attamano so bhikkhu bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinandi. Imasmiñca pana veyyākaraṇasmiṁ bhaññamāne tassa bhikkhuno virajaṁ vītamalaṁ dhammacakkhuṁ udapādi: "yaṁ kiñci samudayadhammaṁ sabbaṁ taṁ nirodhadhamman"ti.
Paṭhamaṁ.