Majjhima Nikaya - Maha-dukkhakkhandha Sutta

MN 13
Maha-dukkhakkhandha Sutta
The Great Mass of Stress
Translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro BhikkhuPTS: M i 83



Source: Transcribed from a file provided by the translator.



Copyright © 2005 Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
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I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi at
Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. Then, early in the morning, several
monks put on their robes and, carrying their bowls and outer robes, went into
Savatthi for alms. The thought occurred to them, "It's still too early to go
into Savatthi for alms. What if we were to visit the park of the wanderers of
other persuasions?"
So they headed to the park of the wanderers of other persuasions. On arrival,
they exchanged courteous greetings with the wanderers of other persuasions.
After an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, they sat to one side. As
they were sitting there, the wanderers of other persuasions said to them,
"Friends, Gotama the contemplative describes the comprehension of sensuality.
We, too, describe the comprehension of sensuality. He describes the
comprehension of forms. We, too, describe the comprehension of forms. He
describes the comprehension of feelings. We, too, describe the comprehension of
feelings. So what is the difference, what the distinction, what the
distinguishing factor between him and us in terms of his teaching and ours, his
message and ours?"
The monks, neither delighting nor disapproving of the words of the wanderers of
other persuasions, got up from their seats, [thinking,] "We will learn the
meaning of these words in the Blessed One's presence."
Then, having gone for alms in Savatthi, after their meal, returning from their
alms round, the monks went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down
to him, sat to one side. As they were sitting there, they [told him what had
happened].
"Monks, when the wanderers of other persuasions say this, they are to be told,
'What, friends, with regard to sensuality, is the allure, what the drawback,
what the escape? What, with regard to forms, is the allure, what the drawback,
what the escape? What, with regard to feelings, is the allure, what the
drawback, what the escape?' When asked this, they will not manage an answer and,
what is more, will get themselves into trouble. Why is that? Because it lies
outside their range. Monks, in this world with its devas, maras, and brahmas, in
this people with its contemplatives & priests, its royalty & commonfolk, I do
not see anyone who can satisfy the mind with an answer to these questions, aside
from a Tathagata, a Tathagata's disciples, or someone who has heard it from
them.
Sensuality
"Now what, monks, is the allure of sensuality? These five strings of sensuality.
Which five? Forms cognizable via the eye — agreeable, pleasing, charming,
endearing, fostering desire, enticing. Sounds cognizable via the ear... Aromas
cognizable via the nose... Flavors cognizable via the tongue... Tactile
sensations cognizable via the body — agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing,
fostering desire, enticing. Now whatever pleasure or joy arises in dependence on
these five strands of sensuality, that is the allure of sensuality.
"And what is the drawback of sensuality? There is the case where, on account of
the occupation by which a clansman makes a living — whether checking or
accounting or calculating or plowing or trading or cattle-tending or archery or
as a king's man, or whatever the occupation may be — he faces cold, he faces
heat, being harassed by mosquitoes & flies, wind & sun & creeping things, dying
from hunger & thirst.
"Now this drawback in the case of sensuality, this mass of stress visible here &
now, has sensuality for its reason, sensuality for its source, sensuality for
its cause, the reason being simply sensuality.
"If the clansman gains no wealth while thus working & striving & making effort,
he sorrows, grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught: 'My work
is in vain, my efforts are fruitless!' Now this drawback too in the case of
sensuality, this mass of stress visible here & now, has sensuality for its
reason, sensuality for its source, sensuality for its cause, the reason being
simply sensuality.
"If the clansman gains wealth while thus working & striving & making effort, he
experiences pain & distress in protecting it: 'How will neither kings nor
thieves make off with my property, nor fire burn it, nor water sweep it away,
nor hateful heirs make off with it?' And as he thus guards and watches over his
property, kings or thieves make off with it, or fire burns it, or water sweeps
it away, or hateful heirs make off with it. And he sorrows, grieves, & laments,
beats his breast, becomes distraught: 'What was mine is no more!' Now this
drawback too in the case of sensuality, this mass of stress visible here & now,
has sensuality for its reason, sensuality for its source, sensuality for its
cause, the reason being simply sensuality.
"Again, it is with sensuality for the reason, sensuality for the source,
sensuality for the cause, the reason being simply sensuality, that kings quarrel
with kings, nobles with nobles, priests with priests, householders with
householders, mother with child, child with mother, father with child, child
with father, brother with brother, sister with sister, brother with sister,
sister with brother, friend with friend. And then in their quarrels, brawls, &
disputes, they attack one another with fists or with clods or with sticks or
with knives, so that they incur death or deadly pain. Now this drawback too in
the case of sensuality, this mass of stress visible here & now, has sensuality
for its reason, sensuality for its source, sensuality for its cause, the reason
being simply sensuality.
"Again, it is with sensuality for the reason, sensuality for the source... that
(men), taking swords & shields and buckling on bows & quivers, charge into
battle massed in double array while arrows & spears are flying and swords are
flashing; and there they are wounded by arrows & spears, and their heads are cut
off by swords, so that they incur death or deadly pain. Now this drawback too in
the case of sensuality, this mass of stress visible here & now, has sensuality
for its reason, sensuality for its source, sensuality for its cause, the reason
being simply sensuality.
"Again, it is with sensuality for the reason, sensuality for the source... that
(men), taking swords & shields and buckling on bows & quivers, charge slippery
bastions while arrows & spears are flying and swords are flashing; and there
they are splashed with boiling cow dung and crushed under heavy weights, and
their heads are cut off by swords, so that they incur death or deadly pain. Now
this drawback too in the case of sensuality, this mass of stress visible here &
now, has sensuality for its reason, sensuality for its source, sensuality for
its cause, the reason being simply sensuality.
"Again, it is with sensuality for the reason, sensuality for the source... that
(men) break into windows, seize plunder, commit burglary, ambush highways,
commit adultery, and when they are captured, kings have them tortured in many
ways. They flog them with whips, beat them with canes, beat them with clubs.
They cut off their hands, cut off their feet, cut off their hands & feet. They
cut off their ears, cut off their noses, cut off their ears & noses. They
subject them to the 'porridge pot,' the 'polished-shell shave,' the 'Rahu's
mouth,' the 'flaming garland,' the 'blazing hand,' the 'grass-duty (ascetic),'
the 'bark-dress (ascetic),' the 'burning antelope,' the 'meat hooks,' the
'coin-gouging,' the 'lye pickling,' the 'pivot on a stake,' the 'rolled-up bed.'
They have them splashed with boiling oil, devoured by dogs, impaled alive on
stakes. They have their heads cut off with swords, so that they incur death or
deadly pain. Now this drawback too in the case of sensuality, this mass of
stress visible here & now, has sensuality for its reason, sensuality for its
source, sensuality for its cause, the reason being simply sensuality.
"Again, it is with sensuality for the reason, sensuality for the source... that
(people) engage in bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, mental misconduct.
Having engaged in bodily, verbal, and mental misconduct, they — on the break-up
of the body, after death — re-appear in the plane of deprivation, the bad
destination, the lower realms, in hell. Now this drawback too in the case of
sensuality, this mass of stress in the future life, has sensuality for its
reason, sensuality for its source, sensuality for its cause, the reason being
simply sensuality.
"And what, monks, is the escape from sensuality? The subduing of desire-passion
for sensuality, the abandoning of desire-passion for sensuality: That is the
escape from sensuality.
"That any priests or contemplatives who do not discern, as it actually is, the
allure of sensuality as allure, the drawback of sensuality as drawback, the
escape from sensuality as escape, would themselves comprehend sensuality or
would rouse another with the truth so that, in line with what he has practiced,
he would comprehend sensuality: That is impossible. But that any priests or
contemplatives who discern, as it actually is, the allure of sensuality as
allure, the drawback of sensuality as drawback, the escape from sensuality as
escape, would themselves comprehend sensuality or would rouse another with the
truth so that, in line with what he has practiced, he would comprehend
sensuality: That is possible.
Form
"Now what, monks, is the allure of forms? Suppose there were a maiden of the
noble caste, the brahman caste, or the householder class, fifteen or sixteen
years old, neither too tall nor too short, neither too thin nor too plump,
neither too dark nor too pale. Is her beauty & charm at that time at its
height?"
"Yes, lord."
"Whatever pleasure & joy arise in dependence on that beauty & charm: That is the
allure of forms."
"And what is the drawback of form? There is the case where one might see that
very same woman at a later time, when she's eighty, ninety, one hundred years
old: aged, roof-rafter crooked, bent-over, supported by a cane, palsied,
miserable, broken-toothed, gray-haired, scanty-haired, bald, wrinkled, her body
all blotchy. What do you think: Has her earlier beauty & charm vanished, and the
drawback appeared?"
"Yes, lord."
"This, monks, is the drawback of forms.
"Again, one might see that very same woman sick, in pain, & seriously ill, lying
soiled with her own urine & excrement, lifted up by others, laid down by others.
What do you think: Has her earlier beauty & charm vanished, and the drawback
appeared?"
"Yes, lord."
"This too, monks, is the drawback of forms.
"Again, one might see that very same woman as a corpse cast away in a charnel
ground — one day, two days, three days dead, bloated, livid, & oozing. What do
you think: Has her earlier beauty & charm vanished, and the drawback appeared?"
"Yes, lord."
"This too, monks, is the drawback of forms.
"Again, one might see that very same woman as a corpse cast away in a charnel
ground picked at by crows, vultures, & hawks, by dogs, hyenas, & various other
creatures... a skeleton smeared with flesh & blood, connected with tendons... a
fleshless skeleton smeared with blood, connected with tendons... a skeleton
without flesh or blood, connected with tendons... bones detached from their
tendons, scattered in all directions — here a hand bone, there a foot bone, here
a shin bone, there a thigh bone, here a hip bone, there a back bone, here a rib,
there a breast bone, here a shoulder bone, there a neck bone, here a jaw bone,
there a tooth, here a skull... the bones whitened, somewhat like the color of
shells... piled up, more than a year old... decomposed into a powder. What do
you think: Has her earlier beauty & charm vanished, and the drawback appeared?"
"Yes, lord."
"This too, monks, is the drawback of forms.
"And what, monks, is the escape from forms? The subduing of desire-passion for
forms, the abandoning of desire-passion for forms: That is the escape from form.
"That any priests or contemplatives who do not discern, as it actually is, the
allure of forms as allure, the drawback of forms as drawback, the escape from
forms as escape, would themselves comprehend form or would rouse another with
the truth so that, in line with what he has practiced, he would comprehend form:
That is impossible. But that any priests or contemplatives who discern, as it
actually is, the allure of forms as allure, the drawback of forms as drawback,
the escape from forms as escape, would themselves comprehend form or would rouse
another with the truth so that, in line with what he has practiced, he would
comprehend form: That is possible.
Feeling
"Now what, monks, is the allure of feelings? There is the case where a monk —
quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful (mental) qualities —
enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal,
accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. At that time he does not intend
his own affliction, the affliction of others, or the affliction of both. He
feels a feeling totally unafflicted. The unafflicted, I tell you, is the highest
allure of feelings.
"Again the monk, with the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, enters &
remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure, unification
of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation — internal assurance...
With the fading of rapture, he remains in equanimity, is mindful & alert, and
senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which
the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding'...
With the abandoning of pleasure & pain — as with the earlier disappearance of
elation & distress — he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of
equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. At that time he does not
intend his own affliction, the affliction of others, or the affliction of both.
He feels a feeling totally unafflicted. The unafflicted, I tell you, is the
highest allure of feelings.
"And what is the drawback of feelings? The fact that feeling is inconstant,
stressful, subject to change: This is the drawback of feelings.
"And what is the escape from feelings? The subduing of desire-passion for
feelings, the abandoning of desire-passion for feelings: That is the escape from
feelings.
"That any priests or contemplatives who do not discern, as it actually is, the
allure of feelings as allure, the drawback of feelings as drawback, the escape
from feelings as escape, would themselves comprehend feeling or would rouse
another with the truth so that, in line with what he has practiced, he would
comprehend feeling: That is impossible. But that any priests or contemplatives
who discern, as it actually is, the allure of feelings as allure, the drawback
of feelings as drawback, the escape from feelings as escape, would themselves
comprehend feeling or would rouse another with the truth so that, in line with
what he has practiced, he would comprehend feeling: That is possible."
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted in the Blessed
One's words.