84. Discourse on Purification (SA84)

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: “Bodily form is impermanent. What is impermanent is dukkha. What is dukkha is not I and not the self; it is entirely not the self, not distinct from the self in the sense of being owned by it, and does not exist within the self, nor does a self exist within it. Understanding this, as it really is, is called right contemplation.

“Feeling … perception … formations … consciousness are also like this. A learned noble disciple examines these five aggregates of clinging as being without a self and without what belongs to a self. Examining them in this way he does not cling to anything in the whole world. Because of not clinging to anything, he is not attached to anything. Because of not being attached to anything, he personally realizes Nirvāṇa, knowing: ‘Birth for me has been eradicated, the holy life has been established, what had to be done has been done, I myself know that there will be no receiving of further existence.’”

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.