Aṇguttara Nikāya
IX. Navaka Nipāta
VI. Khema Vagga
The Book of the Gradual Sayings
IX. The Book of the Nines
VI. The Security
Sutta 54
Amata Suttaṃ
The Deathless[ed1]
Translated from the Pali by E.M. Hare.
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[1] Thus have I heard:
Once, when the venerable Ānanda was dwelling near Kosambī in Ghosita Park, the venerable Udāyin visited him
and, after exchanging the usual polite talk,
sat down at one side.
And so seated, he said to the venerable Ānanda:
"'The deathless[1], the deathless,' they say, sir;
and as to what has the deathless been declared by the Exalted One?"
■
"Consider, sir, the monk who,
aloof from sense desires,
aloof from evil ideas,
enters and abides in the first musing,
wherein applied and sustained thought works,
which is born of solitude
and is full of zest and ease
and to the extent of that sphere
abides with body attuned to it -
and by wisdom understands it -
thus far, sir, in one particular
has the deathless been declared by the Exalted One.
■
Then again, consider, sir, the monk who,
suppressing applied and sustained thought,
he enters and abides in the second musing,
which is self-evolved,
born of concentration,
full of zest and ease,
free from applied and sustained thought,
wherein the mind becomes calm and one-pointed
and to the extent of that sphere
abides with body attuned to it -
and by wisdom understands it -
thus far, sir, in one particular
has the deathless been declared by the Exalted One.
■
Then again, consider, sir, the monk who,
free from the fervour of zest,
mindful and self-possessed,
he enters and abides in the third musing,
and experiences in his being
that ease whereof the Ariyans declare:
"He that is tranquil and mindful dwells at ease,"
and to the extent of that sphere
abides with body attuned to it -
and by wisdom understands it -
thus far, sir, in one particular
has the deathless been declared by the Exalted One.
■
Then again, consider, sir, the monk who,
by putting away ease and by putting away ill,
by the passing away of happiness and misery he was wont to feel,
he enters and abides in the fourth musing,
which is utter purity of mindfulness and poise
and is free of ease and ill
and to the extent of that sphere
abides with body attuned to it -
and by wisdom understands it -
thus far, sir, in one particular
has the deathless been declared by the Exalted One.
■
Then again, consider, sir, the monk who,
by passing wholly beyond perceptions of form,
by the passing away of the perceptions of sense-reactions,
unattentive to the perceptions of the manifold,
he enters and abides in the sphere of infinite space, thinking:
'Space is infinite'
and to the extent of that sphere
abides with body attuned to it -
and by wisdom understands it -
thus far, sir, in one particular
has the deathless been declared by the Exalted One.
■
Then again, consider, sir, the monk who,
passing wholly beyond the sphere of infinite space,
he enters and abides in the sphere of infinite consciousness, thinking:
'Consciousness is infinite'
and to the extent of that sphere
abides with body attuned to it -
and by wisdom understands it -
thus far, sir, in one particular
has the deathless been declared by the Exalted One.
■
Then again, consider, sir, the monk who,
passing wholly beyond the sphere of infinite consciousness,
he enters and abides in the sphere of nothingness, thinking:
'There is nothing'
and to the extent of that sphere
abides with body attuned to it -
and by wisdom understands it -
thus far, sir, in one particular
has the deathless been declared by the Exalted One.
■
Then again, consider, sir, the monk who,
passing wholly beyond the sphere of nothingness,
he enters and abides in the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception
and to the extent of that sphere
abides with body attuned to it -
and by wisdom understands it -
thus far, sir, in one particular
has the deathless been declared by the Exalted One.
■
Then again, consider, sir, the monk who,
passing wholly beyond the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception,
he enters and abides in the ending of perception and feeling
and seeing by wisdom that the cankers are completely destroyed
and to the extent of that sphere
abides with body attuned to it -
and by wisdom understands his cankers are destroyed
thus far, sir, and with no (further) particular
has the deathless been declared by the Exalted One.
[1] Amata
[ed1] Hare notes at Sutta 43 that "suttas 43-61 are presumably conversations between Ānanda and Udayin." The Nidana has been inserted here following this understanding. Hare abbreviates everything past the introductory paragraph in each.
