SN 22.47

Samanupassanāsutta

Sāvatthinidānaṁ. “Ye hi keci, bhikkhave, samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā anekavihitaṁ attānaṁ samanupassamānā samanupassanti, sabbete pañcupādānakkhandhe samanupassanti, etesaṁ vā aññataraṁ. Katame pañca? Idha, bhikkhave, assutavā puthujjano ariyānaṁ adassāvī ariyadhammassa akovido ariyadhamme avinīto, sappurisānaṁ adassāvī sappurisadhammassa akovido sappurisadhamme avinīto rūpaṁ attato samanupassati, rūpavantaṁ vā attānaṁ; attani vā rūpaṁ, rūpasmiṁ vā attānaṁ. Vedanaṁ … saññaṁ … saṅkhāre … viññāṇaṁ attato samanupassati, viññāṇavantaṁ vā attānaṁ; attani vā viññāṇaṁ, viññāṇasmiṁ vā attānaṁ.

Ways of Regarding

At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, whatever ascetics and brahmins regard various kinds of things as self, all regard the five grasping aggregates, or one of them. What five? It’s when an unlearned ordinary person has not seen the noble ones, and is neither skilled nor trained in the teaching of the noble ones. They’ve not seen true persons, and are neither skilled nor trained in the teaching of the true persons. They regard form as self, self as having form, form in self, or self in form. They regard feeling … perception … choices … consciousness as self, self as having consciousness, consciousness in self, or self in consciousness.

Iti ayañceva samanupassanā ‘asmī’ti cassa avigataṁ hoti. ‘Asmī’ti kho pana, bhikkhave, avigate pañcannaṁ indriyānaṁ avakkanti hoti— cakkhundriyassa sotindriyassa ghānindriyassa jivhindriyassa kāyindriyassa. Atthi, bhikkhave, mano, atthi dhammā, atthi avijjādhātu. Avijjāsamphassajena, bhikkhave, vedayitena phuṭṭhassa assutavato puthujjanassa ‘asmī’tipissa hoti; ‘ayamahamasmī’tipissa hoti; ‘bhavissan’tipissa hoti; ‘na bhavissan’tipissa hoti; ‘rūpī bhavissan’tipissa hoti; ‘arūpī bhavissan’tipissa hoti; ‘saññī bhavissan’tipissa hoti; ‘asaññī bhavissan’tipissa hoti; ‘nevasaññīnāsaññī bhavissan’tipissa hoti.

So they’re not rid of this way of regarding things, and the conceit ‘I am’. As long as they’re not rid of the conceit ‘I am’, the five faculties are conceived— the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body. The mind, ideas, and the element of ignorance are all present. Struck by feelings born of contact with ignorance, an unlearned ordinary person thinks ‘I am’, ‘I am this’, ‘I will be’, ‘I will not be’, ‘I will have form’, ‘I will be formless’, ‘I will be percipient’, ‘I will not be percipient’, ‘I will be neither percipient nor non-percipient’.

Tiṭṭhanteva kho, bhikkhave, tattheva pañcindriyāni. Athettha sutavato ariyasāvakassa avijjā pahīyati, vijjā uppajjati. Tassa avijjāvirāgā vijjuppādā ‘asmī’tipissa na hoti; ‘ayamahamasmī’tipissa na hoti; ‘bhavissan’ti … ‘na bhavissan’ti … rūpī … arūpī … saññī … asaññī … ‘nevasaññīnāsaññī bhavissan’tipissa na hotī”ti.

The five faculties stay right where they are. But a learned noble disciple gives up ignorance about them and gives rise to knowledge. With the fading away of ignorance and the arising of knowledge, they don’t think ‘I am’, ‘I am this’, ‘I will be’, ‘I will not be’, ‘I will have form’, ‘I will be formless’, ‘I will be percipient’, ‘I will be non-percipient’, ‘I will be neither percipient nor non-percipient’.”