Saɱyutta Nikāya
3. Khandha Vagga
22. Khandha Saɱyutta
6. Upāya Vagga

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha
Part II.
The Book of the Aggregates Khandha-Vagga
22. Connected Discourses on the Aggregates
2.1. Engagement

Sutta 53

Upaya Suttaɱ

Engagement

Translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi

Copyright Bhikkhu Bodhi 2000, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Wisdom Publications, 2000)
This selection from The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saɱyutta Nikāya by Bhikkhu Bodhi is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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[53] [890]

[1][pts][than][wrrn][olds] At Sāvatthī.

"Bhikkhus, one who is engaged is unliberated; one who is disengaged is liberated.

Consciousness, bhikkhus, while standing, might stand engaged with form; based upon form, established upon form, with a sprinkling of delight, it might come to growth, increase, and expansion.

Or consciousness, while standing, might stand [engaged with feeling ... engaged with perception ... ] engaged with volitional formations; based upon volitional formations, established upon volitional formations, with a sprinkling of delight, it might come to growth, increase, and expansion.

"Bhikkhus, though someone might say:

'Apart from form, apart from feeling, apart from perception, apart from volitional formations, I will make known the coming and going of consciousness, its passing away and rebirth, its growth, increase, and expansion'

— that is impossible.

"Bhikkhus, if a bhikkhu has abandoned lust for the form element, with the abandoning of lust the basis is cut off: there is no support for the establishing of consciousness.

If he has abandoned lust for the feeling element ... for the perception element ... for the volitional formations element ... for the consciousness element, with the abandoning of lust the basis is cut off: there is no support for the establishing of consciousness.

"When that consciousness is unestablished, not coming to growth, nongenerative, [54] it is liberated.

By being liberated, it is steady; by being steady, it is content; by being content, he is not agitated.

Being unagitated, he personally attains Nibbāna.

He understands:

'Destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being."