6.
The Discourse on the Six Sets of Six
420. Thus have I heard - On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's park. There the Blessed One addressed the monks - "Monks." "Venerable sir," those monks assented to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this - "I will teach you, monks, the Teaching, good in the beginning, good in the middle, good in the end, with meaning and with phrasing; I will reveal the holy life that is complete in its entirety and pure, that is to say - six sets of six. Listen to that, pay close attention; I will speak." "Yes, venerable sir," those monks assented to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this -
"Six internal sense bases should be known, six external sense bases should be known, six classes of consciousness should be known, six classes of contact should be known, six classes of feeling should be known, six classes of craving should be known.
421. "'Six internal sense bases should be known' - thus indeed this was said. Dependent on what was this said? The eye sense base, the ear sense base, the nose sense base, the tongue sense base, the body sense base, the mind sense base. 'Six internal sense bases should be known' - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that. This is the first set of six.
"'Six external sense bases should be known' - thus indeed this was said. Dependent on what was this said? The visible form sense base, the sound sense base, the odour sense base, the flavour sense base, the touch sense base, the mind-object sense base. 'Six external sense bases should be known' - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that. This is the second set of six.
"'Six classes of consciousness should be known' - thus indeed this was said. Dependent on what was this said? Dependent on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises; dependent on the ear and sounds, ear-consciousness arises; dependent on the nose and odours, nose-consciousness arises; dependent on the tongue and flavours, tongue-consciousness arises; dependent on the body and tangible objects, body-consciousness arises; dependent on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises. 'Six classes of consciousness should be known' - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that. This is the third set of six.
"'Six classes of contact should be known' - thus indeed this was said. Dependent on what was this said? Dependent on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; dependent on the ear and sounds, ear-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; dependent on the nose and odours, nose-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; dependent on the tongue and flavours, tongue-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; dependent on the body and tangible objects, body-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; dependent on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact. 'Six classes of contact should be known' - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that. This is the fourth set of six.
"'Six classes of feeling should be known' - thus indeed this was said. Dependent on what was this said? Dependent on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, feeling; dependent on the ear and sounds, ear-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, feeling; dependent on the nose and odours, nose-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, feeling; dependent on the tongue and flavours, tongue-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, feeling; dependent on the body and tangible objects, body-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, feeling; dependent on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, feeling. 'Six classes of feeling should be known' - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that. This is the fifth set of six.
"'Six classes of craving should be known' - thus indeed this was said. Dependent on what was this said? Dependent on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving; dependent on the ear and sounds, ear-consciousness arises... etc. dependent on the nose and odours, nose-consciousness arises... dependent on the tongue and flavours, tongue-consciousness arises... dependent on the body and tangible objects, body-consciousness arises... dependent on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving. 'Six classes of craving should be known' - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that. This is the sixth set of six.
422. Whoever would say 'the eye is self', that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of the eye is evident. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - whoever would say 'the eye is self.' Thus the eye is non-self.
Whoever would say 'forms are self', that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of forms is evident. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - whoever would say 'forms are self.' Thus the eye is non-self, forms are non-self.
Whoever would say 'eye-consciousness is self', that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of eye-consciousness is evident. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - whoever would say 'eye-consciousness is self.' Thus the eye is non-self, forms are non-self, eye-consciousness is non-self.
Whoever would say 'eye-contact is self', that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of eye-contact is evident. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - whoever would say 'eye-contact is self.' Thus the eye is non-self, forms are non-self, eye-consciousness is non-self, eye-contact is non-self.
Whoever would say 'feeling is self', that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of feeling is evident. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - whoever would say 'feeling is self.' Thus the eye is non-self, forms are non-self, eye-consciousness is non-self, eye-contact is non-self, feeling is non-self.
"'Craving is the self' - whoever would say that, that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of craving can be seen. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - 'craving is the self' - whoever would say that. Thus the eye is non-self, forms are non-self, eye-consciousness is non-self, eye-contact is non-self, feeling is non-self, craving is non-self.
423. Whoever would say 'the ear is self'... etc... Whoever would say 'the nose is self'... Whoever would say 'the tongue is self'... Whoever would say 'the body is self'... Whoever would say 'the mind is self', that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of the mind is evident. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - whoever would say 'the mind is self.' Thus the mind is non-self.
Whoever would say 'mental phenomena are self', that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of mental phenomena is evident. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - whoever would say 'mental phenomena are self.' Thus the mind is non-self, mental phenomena are non-self.
Whoever would say 'mind-consciousness is self', that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of mind-consciousness is evident. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - whoever would say 'mind-consciousness is self.' Thus the mind is non-self, mental phenomena are non-self, mind-consciousness is non-self.
Whoever would say 'mind-contact is self', that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of mind-contact is evident. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - whoever would say 'mind-contact is self.' Thus the mind is non-self, mental phenomena are non-self, mind-consciousness is non-self, mind-contact is non-self.
Whoever would say 'feeling is self', that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of feeling is evident. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - whoever would say 'feeling is self.' Thus the mind is non-self, mental phenomena are non-self, mind-consciousness is non-self, mind-contact is non-self, feeling is non-self.
"'Craving is the self' - whoever would say that, that does not arise. Both the arising and the passing away of craving can be seen. But for whatever both arising and passing away is evident, it would thus come to this: 'My self arises and disappears.' Therefore that does not arise - 'craving is the self' - whoever would say that. Thus the mind is non-self, mental phenomena are non-self, mind-consciousness is non-self, mind-contact is non-self, feeling is non-self, craving is non-self.
424. "But this, monks, is the practice leading to the arising of identity - he regards the eye thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'; he regards material forms thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'; he regards eye-consciousness thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'; he regards eye-contact thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'; he regards feeling thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'; he regards craving thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'; he regards the ear thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'... etc... he regards the nose thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'... etc... he regards the tongue thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'... etc... he regards the body thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'... etc... he regards the mind thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'; he regards mental phenomena thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'; he regards mind-consciousness thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'; he regards mind-contact thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'; he regards feeling thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'; he regards craving thus: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'.
"But this, monks, is the practice leading to the cessation of identity - he regards the eye thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'. He regards material forms thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'. He regards eye-consciousness thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'. He regards eye-contact thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'. He regards feeling thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'. He regards craving thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'. He regards the ear thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'... etc... he regards the nose thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'... he regards the tongue thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'... he regards the body thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'... he regards the mind thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'. He regards mental phenomena thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'. He regards mind-consciousness thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'. He regards mind-contact thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'. He regards feeling thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'. He regards craving thus: 'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self'.
425. "Monks, dependent on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, there arises a feeling that is pleasant or unpleasant or neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant. He, being touched by pleasant feeling, delights in it, asserts it, and remains grasping it. The underlying tendency to lust underlies him. Being touched by unpleasant feeling, he grieves, is wearied, laments, beats his breast and wails, falls into confusion. The underlying tendency to aversion underlies him. Being touched by neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, he does not understand as it really is the origin, passing away, gratification, danger, and escape regarding that feeling. The underlying tendency to ignorance underlies him. That indeed, monks, without abandoning the underlying tendency to lust regarding pleasant feeling, without dispelling the underlying tendency to aversion regarding unpleasant feeling, without abolishing the underlying tendency to ignorance regarding neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, without abandoning ignorance and without arousing true knowledge, one will make an end of suffering in this very life - this is impossible.
"Monks, dependent on the ear and sounds, ear-consciousness arises... etc. Monks, dependent on the nose and odours, nose-consciousness arises... etc. Monks, dependent on the tongue and flavours, tongue-consciousness arises... etc. Monks, dependent on the body and tangible objects, body-consciousness arises... etc. Monks, dependent on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, there arises a feeling that is pleasant or unpleasant or neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant. He, being touched by pleasant feeling, delights in it, asserts it, and remains grasping it. The underlying tendency to lust underlies him. Being touched by unpleasant feeling, he grieves, is wearied, laments, beats his breast and wails, falls into confusion. The underlying tendency to aversion underlies him. Being touched by neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, he does not understand as it really is the origin, passing away, gratification, danger, and escape regarding that feeling. The underlying tendency to ignorance underlies him. That indeed, monks, without abandoning the underlying tendency to lust regarding pleasant feeling, without dispelling the underlying tendency to aversion regarding unpleasant feeling, without abolishing the underlying tendency to ignorance regarding neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, without abandoning ignorance and without arousing true knowledge, one will make an end of suffering in this very life - this is impossible.
426. "Monks, dependent on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, there arises a feeling that is pleasant or unpleasant or neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant. He, being touched by pleasant feeling, does not delight in it, does not assert it, and does not remain grasping it. The underlying tendency to lust does not underlie him. Being touched by unpleasant feeling, he does not grieve, is not wearied, laments, does not beat his breast and wail, does not fall into confusion. The underlying tendency to aversion does not underlie him. Being touched by neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, he understands as it really is the origin, passing away, gratification, danger, and escape regarding that feeling. The underlying tendency to ignorance does not underlie him. That indeed, monks, having abandoned the underlying tendency to lust regarding pleasant feeling, having dispelled the underlying tendency to aversion regarding unpleasant feeling, having abolished the underlying tendency to ignorance regarding neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, having abandoned ignorance and having aroused true knowledge, one will make an end of suffering in this very life - this is possible.
"Monks, dependent on the ear and sounds, ear-consciousness arises... etc.
"Monks, dependent on the nose and odours, nose-consciousness arises... etc.
"Monks, dependent on the tongue and flavours, tongue-consciousness arises... etc.
"Monks, dependent on the body and tangible objects, body-consciousness arises... etc.
"Monks, dependent on the mind and mental phenomena, mind-consciousness arises; the meeting of the three is contact; with contact as condition, there arises a feeling that is pleasant or unpleasant or neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant. He, being touched by pleasant feeling, does not delight in it, does not assert it, and does not remain grasping it. The underlying tendency to lust does not underlie him. Being touched by unpleasant feeling, he does not grieve, is not wearied, does not lament, does not beat his breast and wail, does not fall into confusion. The underlying tendency to aversion does not underlie him. Being touched by neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, he understands as it really is the origin, passing away, gratification, danger, and escape regarding that feeling. The underlying tendency to ignorance does not underlie him. That indeed, monks, having abandoned the underlying tendency to lust regarding pleasant feeling, having dispelled the underlying tendency to aversion regarding unpleasant feeling, having abolished the underlying tendency to ignorance regarding neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant feeling, having abandoned ignorance and having aroused true knowledge, one will make an end of suffering in this very life - this is possible.
427. "Seeing thus, monks, a learned noble disciple becomes disenchanted with the eye, becomes disenchanted with material forms, becomes disenchanted with eye-consciousness, becomes disenchanted with eye-contact, becomes disenchanted with feeling, becomes disenchanted with craving. He becomes disenchanted with the ear, becomes disenchanted with sounds... etc. He becomes disenchanted with the nose, becomes disenchanted with odours... He becomes disenchanted with the tongue, becomes disenchanted with flavours... He becomes disenchanted with the body, becomes disenchanted with tangible objects... He becomes disenchanted with the mind, becomes disenchanted with mental phenomena, becomes disenchanted with mind-consciousness, becomes disenchanted with mind-contact, becomes disenchanted with feeling, becomes disenchanted with craving. Being disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate; through dispassion, he becomes liberated. When liberated, there is the knowledge: 'Liberated.' He understands: 'Birth is eliminated, the holy life has been lived, what was to be done has been done, there is no more of this state of being.'"
This is what the Blessed One said. Those monks, delighted, rejoiced in what the Blessed One had said. And while this explanation was being spoken, the minds of sixty monks were liberated from the mental corruptions by non-clinging.
The Discourse on the Six Sets of Six is concluded as sixth.