35.71. The Six Bases for Contact (1) (SN35.71)

“Bhikkhus, if a bhikkhu does not understand as they really are the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape, in the case of these six bases for contact, then he has not lived the holy life; he is far away from this Dhamma and Discipline.”

When this was said, a certain bhikkhu said to the Blessed One: “Here, venerable sir, I am lost, for I do not understand as they really are the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape, in the case of these six bases for contact.”

“What do you think, bhikkhu, do you regard the eye thus: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self’?”

“No, venerable sir.”

“Good, bhikkhu! And here, bhikkhu, you should clearly see the eye as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’ This itself is the end of suffering.

“Do you regard the ear thus…? Do you regard the mind thus: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self’?”

“No, venerable sir.”

“Good, bhikkhu! And here, bhikkhu, you should clearly see the mind as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’ This itself is the end of suffering.”

© Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Wisdom Publications, 2000)

This excerpt from The Connected Discourses of the Buddha by Bhikkhu Bodhi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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