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Saɱyutta Nikāya
4. Saḷāyatana Vagga
36. Vedanā Saɱyutta
1. Sagāthā Vagga

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha
IV. The Book of the Six Sense Bases
36: Connected Discourses on Feeling
1. With Verses

Sutta 4

Pātāla Suttaɱ

The Bottomless Abyss

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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[206] [1262]

[1][pts][nypo][than] "Bhikkhus, when the uninstructed worldling makes the statement,

'In the great ocean there is a bottomless abyss,'

he makes such a statement about something that is nonexistent and unreal.

This, bhikkhus, is rather a designation for painful bodily feelings, that is, 'bottomless abyss.'

"When the uninstructed worldling is contacted by a painful bodily feeling, he sorrows, grieves, and laments; he weeps and beats his breast and becomes distraught.

This is called an uninstructed worldling who has not risen up in the bottomless abyss, one who has not gained a foothold.

"But, bhikkhus, when the instructed noble disciple is contacted by a painful bodily feeling, he does not sorrow, grieve, or lament; he does not weep and beat his breast and become distraught.

This is called an instructed noble disciple who has risen up in the bottomless abyss, one who has gained a foothold."

One who cannot endure
The arisen painful feelings,
Bodily feelings that sap one's life,
Who trembles when they touch him,
A weakling of little strength
Who weeps out loud and wails:
He has not risen up in the bottomless abyss,
Nor has he even gained a foothold.

[207] But one who is able to endure them —
The arisen painful feelings,
Bodily feelings that sap one's life —
Who trembles not when they touch him:
He has risen up in the bottomless abyss,
And he has also gained a foothold.


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