201. [Discourse to a Monk] (SA201)

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park.

Then a certain monk approached the Buddha, paid respect with his head at the Buddha’s feet, withdrew to stand to one side, and said to the Buddha: “Blessed One, knowing what, seeing what, does one step by step reach the quick destruction of the influxes?”

Then the Blessed One said to that monk: “One should rightly contemplate impermanence. What kind of things are impermanent? That is, one should contemplate the eye as impermanent, forms, eye-consciousness, eye-contact, and feeling arisen in dependence on eye-contact, be it painful, pleasant, or neutral, [that is also] impermanent.

“One should contemplate the ear … the nose … the tongue … the body … the mind as impermanent … mental objects … mind-consciousness, mind-contact, and feeling arisen in dependence on mind-contact, be it painful, pleasant, or neutral, that is also impermanent. Monk, knowing like this, seeing like this, one step by step reaches the destruction of the influxes.”

Then, hearing what the Buddha had said that monk was delighted. He paid respect and left.

In the same way, as the discourse spoken to the monk, [other discourses are to be recited] with this difference: “knowing what, seeing what … does one step by step reach the destruction of all fetters … does one abandon all bondages … does one abandon all underlying tendencies … does one abandon all higher afflictions … does one abandon all fetters … does one abandon all flows … does one abandon all yokes … does one abandon all clinging … does one abandon all contacts … does one abandon all hindrances … does one abandon all entanglements … does one abandon all blemishes … does one abandon all craving … does one abandon all [wrong] intentions … does one abandon wrong view and give rise to right view … does one abandon ignorance and give rise to knowledge?”

“Monk, in this way contemplate the eye as impermanent … up to … knowing like this, seeing like this, one step by step abandons ignorance and gives rise to knowledge.”

Then, hearing what the Buddha had said, that monk was delighted. Being delighted, he paid respect and left.

Translated by Bhikkhu Anālayo. Originally published in "On the Six Sense-spheres (1) ―A Translation of Saṁyukta-āgama Discourses 188 to 229 (Fascicle 8)", Dharma Drum Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2016, vol. 18 pp. 1–61.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Ayya Vimala.