11.
The Discourse on the Analysis of the Truths
371. Thus have I heard - On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Bārāṇasī in the Deer Park at Isipatana. There the Blessed One addressed the monks - "Monks." "Venerable sir," those monks assented to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this -
"By the Truth-finder, monks, the Worthy One, the One Enlightened by himself, at Bārāṇasī in the Deer Park at Isipatana, the unsurpassed wheel of the Teaching has been set in motion, not to be rolled back by any ascetic or brahmin or god or Māra or Brahmā or anyone in the world, that is to say - the declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of the four noble truths. Which four? The declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of the noble truth of suffering; the declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of the noble truth of the origin of suffering; the declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of the noble truth of the cessation of suffering; the declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of the noble truth of the practice leading to the cessation of suffering. By the Truth-finder, monks, the Worthy One, the One Enlightened by himself, at Bārāṇasī in the Deer Park at Isipatana, the unsurpassed wheel of the Teaching has been set in motion, not to be rolled back by any ascetic or brahmin or god or Māra or Brahmā or anyone in the world, that is to say - the declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of these four noble truths.
"Associate, monks, with Sāriputta and Moggallāna; keep company, monks, with Sāriputta and Moggallāna. They are wise monks, helpers of their fellows in the holy life. Just as, monks, one who gives birth, so is Sāriputta; just as a nurse of one who is born, so is Moggallāna. Sāriputta, monks, trains in the fruition of stream-entry, Moggallāna in the highest goal. Sāriputta, monks, is able to declare, teach, describe, establish, reveal, analyse, and make manifest the four noble truths in detail." This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One rose from his seat and entered the dwelling.
372. There the Venerable Sāriputta, not long after the Blessed One had departed, addressed the monks - "Friends, monks!" "Friend," those monks assented to the Venerable Sāriputta. The Venerable Sāriputta said this -
"By the Truth-finder, friends, the Worthy One, the One Enlightened by himself, at Bārāṇasī in the Deer Park at Isipatana, the unsurpassed wheel of the Teaching has been set in motion, not to be rolled back by any ascetic or brahmin or god or Māra or Brahmā or anyone in the world, that is to say - the declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of the four noble truths. Which four? The declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of the noble truth of suffering; the declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of the noble truth of the origin of suffering; the declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of the noble truth of the cessation of suffering; the declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of the noble truth of the practice leading to the cessation of suffering.
373. "And what, friends, is the noble truth of suffering? Birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, death is suffering, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, displeasure and anguish are suffering, not getting what one wishes for is also suffering; in brief, the five aggregates of clinging are suffering.
"And what, friends, is birth? Whatever birth, coming into being, descent, production, manifestation of the aggregates, acquisition of the sense bases of those various beings in those various orders of beings, this is called, friends - 'birth.'
"And what, friends, is ageing? Whatever ageing, decaying, broken teeth, grey hair, wrinkled skin, deterioration of life span, maturing of the faculties of those various beings in those various orders of beings, this is called, friends - 'ageing.'
"And what, friends, is death? Whatever passing away, decease, breaking up, disappearance, death, dying, making of time, breaking up of the aggregates, discarding of the body, arrest of the life faculty of those various beings from those various orders of beings, this is called, friends - 'death.'
"And what, friends, is sorrow? Whatever sorrow, sorrowing, state of sorrowing, inner sorrow, inner deep sorrow of one possessed of some disaster or other, of one touched by some painful phenomenon or other, this is called, friends - 'sorrow.'
"And what, friends, is lamentation? Whatever lamenting, lamentation, act of lamenting, act of lamentation, state of lamenting, state of lamentation of one possessed of some disaster or other, of one touched by some painful phenomenon or other, this is called, friends - 'lamentation.'
"And what, friends, is suffering? Whatever bodily pain, bodily discomfort, painful and uncomfortable feeling born of body-contact, this is called, friends - 'suffering.'
"And what, friends, is displeasure? Whatever mental pain, mental discomfort, painful and uncomfortable feeling born of mind-contact, this is called, friends - 'displeasure.'
"And what, friends, is anguish? Whatever trouble, anguish, state of being troubled, state of being anguished of one possessed of some disaster or other, of one touched by some painful phenomenon or other, this is called, friends - 'anguish.'
"And what, friends, is not getting what one wishes for is also suffering? For beings subject to birth, friends, such a wish arises - 'Oh, may we not be subject to birth; and may birth not come to us.' But this is not to be attained by wishing. This too - 'not getting what one wishes for is also suffering.' For beings subject to ageing, friends, etc. For beings subject to disease, friends, For beings subject to death, friends, For beings subject to sorrow, lamentation, suffering, displeasure and anguish, friends, such a wish arises - 'Oh, may we not be subject to sorrow, lamentation, suffering, displeasure and anguish; and may sorrow, lamentation, suffering, displeasure and anguish not come to us.' But this is not to be attained by wishing. This too - 'not getting what one wishes for is also suffering.'
"And what, friends, are in brief the five aggregates of clinging that are suffering? That is: the aggregate of clinging to matter, the aggregate of clinging to feeling, the aggregate of clinging to perception, the aggregate of clinging to activities, the aggregate of clinging to consciousness. These, friends, are called 'in brief, the five aggregates of clinging are suffering'. This, friends, is called 'the noble truth of suffering'."
374. "And what, friends, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering? It is this craving which leads to rebirth, accompanied by delight and lust, finding delight here and there, as follows - sensual craving, craving for existence, craving for non-existence, this is called, friends - 'the noble truth of the origin of suffering'."
"And what, friends, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering? That which is the complete fading away and cessation of that very craving without remainder, the giving up, the relinquishment, the freedom, the non-attachment, this is called, friends - 'the noble truth of the cessation of suffering'."
375. "And what, friends, is the noble truth of the practice leading to the cessation of suffering? It is just this noble eightfold path, as follows - right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
"And what, friends, is right view? Whatever, friends, is knowledge of suffering, knowledge of the origin of suffering, knowledge of the cessation of suffering, knowledge of the practice leading to the cessation of suffering, this is called, friends - 'right view.'
"And what, friends, is right thought? Thought of renunciation, thought of non-anger, thought of non-violence, this is called, friends - 'right thought.'
"And what, friends, is right speech? Abstention from lying, abstention from divisive speech, abstention from harsh speech, abstention from idle chatter, this is called, friends - 'right speech.'
"And what, friends, is right action? Abstention from killing living beings, abstention from taking what is not given, abstention from sexual misconduct, this is called, friends - 'right action.'
"And what, friends, is right livelihood? Here, friends, a noble disciple, having abandoned wrong livelihood, earns his living by right livelihood, this is called, friends - 'right livelihood.'
"And what, friends, is right effort? Here, friends, a monk generates desire for the non-arising of unarisen evil unwholesome mental states, he strives, arouses energy, exerts the mind, and strives; he generates desire for the abandoning of arisen evil unwholesome mental states, he strives, arouses energy, exerts the mind, and strives; he generates desire for the arising of unarisen wholesome mental states, he strives, arouses energy, exerts the mind, and strives; he generates desire for the presence, non-decay, increase, expansion, development, and fulfilment of arisen wholesome mental states, he strives, arouses energy, exerts the mind, and strives, this is called, friends - 'right effort.'
"And what, friends, is right mindfulness? Here, friends, a monk dwells observing the body in the body, ardent, fully aware, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure regarding the world. He dwells observing feelings in feelings... etc. he dwells observing mind in mind... he dwells observing mental phenomena in mental phenomena, ardent, fully aware, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure regarding the world, this is called, friends - 'right mindfulness.'
"And what, friends, is right concentration? Here, friends, a monk, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome mental states, enters and dwells in the first meditative absorption, which is accompanied by applied thought and sustained thought, with rapture and happiness born of seclusion; with the subsiding of applied and sustained thought, he enters and dwells in the second meditative absorption, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without applied thought and without sustained thought, with rapture and happiness born of concentration; with the fading away of rapture, he dwells equanimous... etc. the third meditative absorption... he dwells, this is called, friends - 'right concentration.' This, friends, is called 'the noble truth of the practice leading to the cessation of suffering.'"
"Friends, by the Truth-finder, the Worthy One, the One Enlightened by himself, at Bārāṇasī in the Deer Park at Isipatana, the unsurpassed wheel of the Teaching has been set in motion, not to be rolled back by any ascetic or brahmin or god or Māra or Brahmā or anyone in the world, that is to say - the declaring, teaching, describing, establishing, revealing, analysing, and making manifest of these four noble truths."
This the Venerable Sāriputta said. Those monks, delighted, rejoiced in what the Venerable Sāriputta had said.
The Discourse on the Analysis of the Truths is concluded as eleventh.