Saṃyutta Nikāya
3. Khandha Vagga
24. Diṭṭhi Saṃyutta
3. Dutiya Gamanam or Dutiya Vāro Vagga
The Constituent Aspects of Individuality
Sutta 37
Rūpī Attā Suttaṃ
The Self Has Intact[1] Form after Death, or
The Self Has Form, or
Of the Nature of Form is the Self
Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds
Once upon a time, The Lucky man,
Sāvatthi-town revisiting,
Jeta Grove,
Anathapiṇḍika's Sporting Grounds.
There then The Lucky Man addressed the beggars, saying:
"Beggars!"
And the beggars responding "Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said this to them:
"There being what, beggars,
bound to what
adhering to what
does this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'"?
"For us Bhante,
things are best resorted to
rooted in The Lucky Man,
channeled through The Lucky Man.
It would be good, Bhante,
if further explanation of this point
were given by The Lucky Man.
That which is said
by the Lucky Man
will be held in memory
by the beggars."
"Then give ear, beggars,
pay good attention!
I will speak!"
Then, the beggars saying
"Even so, Bhante!"
in response,
the Lucky Man said this to them:
"There being form, beggars,
bound to form,
adhering to form,
even thus does this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'
There being sense-experience, beggars,
bound to sense-experience,
adhering to sense-experience,
even thus does this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'
There being perception, beggars,
bound to perception,
adhering to perception,
even thus does this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'
There being own-making, beggars,
bound to own-making,
adhering to own-making,
even thus does this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'
There being consciousness, beggars,
bound to consciousness,
adhering to consciousness,
even thus does this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'
■
What do you think, beggars?
Is form permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent —
painful or
pleasant?"
"Unpleasant, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent,
painful,
a thing subject to change —
without being bound to that —
can this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'?"
"No indeed, Bhante."
■
"Is sense-experience permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent —
painful or
pleasant?"
"Unpleasant, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent,
painful,
a thing subject to change —
without being bound to that —
can this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'?"
"No indeed, Bhante."
■
"Is perception permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent —
painful or
pleasant?"
"Unpleasant, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent,
painful,
a thing subject to change —
without being bound to that —
can this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'?"
"No indeed, Bhante."
■
"Is own-making permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent —
painful or
pleasant?"
"Unpleasant, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent,
painful,
a thing subject to change —
without being bound to that —
can this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'?"
"No indeed, Bhante."
■
"Is consciousness permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent —
painful or
pleasant?"
"Unpleasant, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent,
painful,
a thing subject to change —
without being bound to that —
can this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'?"
"No indeed, Bhante."
■
"That which is seen,
heard,
sensed,
cognized,
attained,
yearned after,
pondered over in mind —
is that permanent
or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent —
painful or
pleasant?"
"Unpleasant, Bhante."
"That which is impermanent,
painful,
a thing subject to change —
without being bound to that —
can this view arise:
'The self has intact form after death.'?"
"No indeed, Bhante."
§
"So then, beggars,
when in the student of the aristocrats
doubt as to these six positions has been abandoned,
doubt as to pain[2] has been abandoned,
doubt as to the arising of pain has been abandoned,
doubt as to the ending of pain has been abandoned,
doubt as to the walk-to-walk to the ending of pain has been abandoned —
this is said to be, beggars,
a student of the aristocrats
a stream-winner
one aimed at self-awakening."
[1] Aroga. Usually this word is translated as healthy or without disease, but roga also means broken up. I am of two minds: In health, thinking of the death of the body (and thinking of the way this is usually described as "when the body breaks up after death") and forming a view as to what one imagines is its state, or having seen one who has passed on in this state in trance, one tends to think of it as the same as the existing body, that is, unbroken up into its constituent parts: earth, water, fire, wind, space and consciousness. But at death, when dying of a certain disease, one thinks rather of health. So since the usual translations almost always use 'disease' or 'without disease", I thought it best to use the other possibility just to show that it was there. In any case, this is a view, and is not to be held on to either way by the good Buddhist.
[2]For details see my translation of SN 3.24.1 footnotes. All the suttas of SN.24 should be read (slowly!) together.
