Sutta Piṭaka
Tatiyakoṭṭhikasutta
Tatiyakoṭṭhikasutta
Taññeva nidānaṁ. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā sāriputto āyasmantaṁ mahākoṭṭhikaṁ etadavoca: “‘avijjā, avijjā’ti, āvuso koṭṭhika, vuccati. Katamā nu kho, āvuso, avijjā; kittāvatā ca avijjāgato hotī”ti?
With Koṭṭhita (3rd)
The same setting. Sāriputta said to Mahākoṭṭhita: “Reverend Koṭṭhita, they speak of this thing called ‘ignorance’. What is ignorance? And how is an ignoramus defined?”
“Idhāvuso, assutavā puthujjano rūpaṁ nappajānāti, rūpasamudayaṁ nappajānāti, rūpanirodhaṁ nappajānāti, rūpanirodhagāminiṁ paṭipadaṁ nappajānāti. Vedanaṁ nappajānāti …pe… saññaṁ … saṅkhāre … viññāṇaṁ nappajānāti, viññāṇasamudayaṁ nappajānāti, viññāṇanirodhaṁ nappajānāti, viññāṇanirodhagāminiṁ paṭipadaṁ nappajānāti. Ayaṁ vuccatāvuso, avijjā; ettāvatā ca avijjāgato hotī”ti.
“Reverend, it’s when an unlearned ordinary person doesn’t understand form, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. They don’t understand feeling … perception … choices … consciousness, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. This is called ignorance. And this is how an ignoramus is defined.”
Evaṁ vutte, āyasmā sāriputto āyasmantaṁ mahākoṭṭhikaṁ etadavoca: “‘vijjā, vijjā’ti, āvuso koṭṭhika, vuccati. Katamā nu kho, āvuso, vijjā; kittāvatā ca vijjāgato hotī”ti?
When he said this, Venerable Sāriputta said to him: “Reverend Koṭṭhita, they speak of this thing called ‘knowledge’. What is knowledge? And how is a knowing one defined?”
“Idhāvuso, sutavā ariyasāvako rūpaṁ pajānāti, rūpasamudayaṁ pajānāti, rūpanirodhaṁ pajānāti, rūpanirodhagāminiṁ paṭipadaṁ pajānāti. Vedanaṁ … saññaṁ … saṅkhāre … viññāṇaṁ pajānāti, viññāṇasamudayaṁ pajānāti, viññāṇanirodhaṁ pajānāti, viññāṇanirodhagāminiṁ paṭipadaṁ pajānāti. Ayaṁ vuccatāvuso, vijjā; ettāvatā ca vijjāgato hotī”ti.
“Reverend, it’s when a learned noble disciple understands form, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. They understand feeling … perception … choices … consciousness, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. This is called knowledge. And this is how a knowing one is defined.”