Saṃyutta Nikāya:
IV. Saḷāyatana Vagga
36: Vedanā Saṃyutta
II. Rahogata Vagga
Sutta 11
Raho-Gataka Suttaṃ
Being Alone
Translated from the Pāḷi by Michael Olds
[1][bit][pts][than][nypo][bodh] I Hear Tell:
Once upon a time a certain beggar
approached the Lucky Man and drew close.
Having drawn close
and exchanged greetings and salutations,
he took a seat to one side.
Seated to one side then,
he said this to the Lucky Man:
"Here, Bhante, being alone in my chambers,
this train of thought arose:
'Three sensations
are spoken of by the Lucky Man:
[1] pleasant sensation,
[2] painful sensation,
[3] not-painful-but-not-pleasant sensation.
These are the three sensations
spoken of by the Lucky Man.
But then this was said by the Lucky Man:
"Whatsoever is experienced,
that is simply pain."'
Now what then is the reconciliation of this[1]
with what was said by the Lucky Man:
'Whatsoever is experienced,
that is simply pain.'"?
■
[4] "Well done, well done, bhikkhu!
There are three sensations spoken of by me:
[1] pleasant sensation,
[2] painful sensation,
[3] not-painful-but-not-pleasant sensation.
These are the three sensations
spoken of by me.
And additionally this was said by me:
"Whatsoever is experienced,
that is simply pain."
■
This, bhikkhu, was said by me
in reference to the transience
of the own-made:[2]
"Whatsoever is experienced,
that is simply pain."
■
This, bhikkhu, was said by me
in reference to the own-made being a destructible thing:
"Whatsoever is experienced,
that is simply pain."
■
This, bhikkhu, was said by me
in reference to the own-made being a thing that gets old:
"Whatsoever is experienced,
that is simply pain."
■
This, bhikkhu, was said by me
in reference to the own-made being a thing that disappears:
"Whatsoever is experienced,
that is simply pain."
■
This, bhikkhu, was said by me
in reference to the own-made being a thing that ends:
"Whatsoever is experienced,
that is simply pain."
■
This, bhikkhu, was said by me
in reference to the own-made being a thing subject to reversal:
"Whatsoever is experienced,
that is simply pain."
§
This next section is saying that all these things are own-made (saṅkhāra).
— p.p.
Furthermore, bhikkhu, I have declared
a sequential[3] putting-away
of own-making:
In attaining the first knowing,[4]
speech is put away.
In attaining the second knowing,
thinking and wandering thoughts are put away.
In attaining the third knowing,
affection is put away.
In attaining the fourth knowing,
in-and-out breathing is put away.
In attaining The Realm of Space,
perception of form is put away.
In attaining The Realm of Consciousness,
perception of The Realm of Space is put away.
In attaining The Realm of Nothing to be Had Here,
perception of The Realm of Consciousness is put away.
In attaining The Neither-Perception-nor-Non-Perception Realm,
perception of The Realm of Nothing to be Had Here is put away.
In attaining the ending of perception and sense-experience,
perception and sense-experience are put away.
The beggar who would destroy the corruptions,
has put away lust,
has put away anger,
has put away confusion.
§
Furthermore, bhikkhu,
I have declared a sequential reduction
of own-making:
In attaining the first knowing,
speech is reduced.
In attaining the second knowing,
thinking and wandering thoughts are reduced.
In attaining the third knowing,
affection is reduced.
In attaining the fourth knowing,
in-and-out breathing is reduced.
In attaining The Realm of Space,
perception of form is reduced.
In attaining The Realm of Consciousness,
perception of The Realm of Space is reduced.
In attaining The Realm of Nothing to be Had Here,
perception of The Realm of Consciousness is reduced.
In attaining The Neither-Perception-nor-Non-Perception Realm,
perception of The Realm of Nothing to be Had Here is reduced.
In attaining the ending of perception and sense-experience,
perception and sense-experience are reduced.
The beggar who would destroy the corruptions,
has reduced lust,
has reduced anger,
has reduced confusion.
§
These six have been pacified:
[1] In attaining the first knowing,
speech has been pacified.
[2] In attaining the second knowing,
thinking and wandering thoughts have been pacified.
[3] In attaining the third knowing,
affection has been pacified.
[4] In attaining the fourth knowing,
in-and-out breathing has been pacified.
[5] In attaining the ending of perception and sense-experience,
perception and sense-experience has been pacified.
[6] The beggar who would destroy the corruptions,
has pacified lust,
has pacified anger,
has pacified confusion."
[1] This is not easy to construct in English. He sees a disparity in the two statements and seeks a reconciliation. In English we would say: "You said A. Then you said B. How do you reconcile the two? We would either not repeat the second statement after asking the question or we would repeat both statements. But this is a construction that is occasionally found in the Pāḷi ... and it sets going a sort of beat that reverberates through the rest of the sutta. It looks to be an artifact from the spoken presentation.
[2] Saṅkhāra: San = own, with; khāra = to do or make; so own-make; with-make; con-join; con-jure, con-struct, confect; fabricate. Identification with the intent to create sense-experience for the self by way of acts of thought, word and deed and the resulting identified-with experience. The making of the personal world. Think of the simple statement: "I am going home now." Every word implies ownership or identity. That is 'own'-making. Making things one's own. This is the point where identification with the world begins. Coming out of one experience you inject your "self"-identity into another.
[3] Anupubba: following-before, after/before, stepwise, one thing at a time.
[4] Jhāna: Kenning, Knowing, Seeing, Gnosis, Burning, trance, Absorption, Chan, Zen.
