77. Discourse on Desire and Lust (SA77)

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

At that time the Blessed One said to the monks: “You should abandon desire and lust for bodily form. Having abandoned desire and lust for it, bodily form will be abandoned. Having abandoned bodily form, you will attain the understanding that it has been abandoned. Having attained the understanding that it has been abandoned, its root will be abandoned, like cutting off the crown of a Palmyra tree, so that it will not grow again in the future.

“In the same way, you should abandon desire and lust for feeling … perception … formations … consciousness … up to … so that it will not grow again in the future.”

When the Buddha had spoken this discourse, the monks, hearing what the Buddha had said, were delighted and received it respectfully.

Translated by Bhikkhu Anālayo. Originally published in ‘On the Five Aggregates (3)—A Translation of Saṁyukta-āgama Discourses 59 to 87’. Dharma Drum Journal of Buddhist Studies, vol. 13, pp. 1–65 (2013). New Taipei City: Dharma Drum Buddhist College.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.