Sutta Piṭaka
Phaggunapañhāsutta
Phaggunapañhāsutta
Atha kho āyasmā phagguno …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā phagguno bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:
Phagguna’s Question
And then Venerable Phagguna went up to the Buddha … and said to him:
“Atthi nu kho, bhante, taṁ cakkhu, yena cakkhunā atīte buddhe parinibbute chinnapapañce chinnavaṭume pariyādinnavaṭṭe sabbadukkhavītivaṭṭe paññāpayamāno paññāpeyya …pe… atthi nu kho, bhante, sā jivhā, yāya jivhāya atīte buddhe parinibbute chinnapapañce chinnavaṭume pariyādinnavaṭṭe sabbadukkhavītivaṭṭe paññāpayamāno paññāpeyya …pe… atthi nu kho so, bhante, mano, yena manena atīte buddhe parinibbute chinnapapañce chinnavaṭume pariyādinnavaṭṭe sabbadukkhavītivaṭṭe paññāpayamāno paññāpeyyā”ti?
“Sir, suppose someone were to describe the Buddhas of the past who have become fully quenched, cut off proliferation, cut off the course, finished off the cycle, and passed beyond all suffering. Does the eye exist by which they could be described? Does the ear … nose … tongue … body exist …? Does the mind exist by which they could be described?”
“Natthi kho taṁ, phagguna, cakkhu, yena cakkhunā atīte buddhe parinibbute chinnapapañce chinnavaṭume pariyādinnavaṭṭe sabbadukkhavītivaṭṭe paññāpayamāno paññāpeyya …pe… natthi kho sā, phagguna, jivhā, yāya jivhāya atīte buddhe parinibbute chinnapapañce chinnavaṭume pariyādinnavaṭṭe sabbadukkhavītivaṭṭe paññāpayamāno paññāpeyya …pe… natthi kho so, phagguna, mano, yena manena atīte buddhe parinibbute chinnapapañce chinnavaṭume pariyādinnavaṭṭe sabbadukkhavītivaṭṭe paññāpayamāno paññāpeyyā”ti.
“Phagguna, suppose someone were to describe the Buddhas of the past who have become fully quenched, cut off proliferation, cut off the course, finished off the cycle, and passed beyond all suffering. The eye does not exist by which they could be described. The ear … nose … tongue … body does not exist …. The mind does not exist by which they could be described.”