Majjhima Nikāya
III. Upari Paṇṇāsa
2. Anupada Vagga
The Middle Length Sayings
III. The Final Fifty Discourses
2. The Division of the Uninterrupted
Sutta 111
Anupada Suttaṃ[1]
Discourse on the Uninterrupted
Translated from the Pali by I.B. Horner, O.B.E., M.A.
Associate of Newham College, Cambridge
First Published in 1954
Copyright The Pali Text Society
Commercial Rights Reserved
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[25] [1][chlm][ntbb][than][upal][olds] THUS have I heard:
At one time the Lord was staying near Sāvatthī in the Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika's monastery.
While he was there the Lord addressed the monks, saying: "Monks."
" Revered One," these monks answered the Lord in assent.
The Lord spoke thus:
[2][ntbb][than][olds] "Proficient,[2] monks, is Sāriputta;
of great wisdom,[3] monks, is Sāriputta;
of wide wisdom,[4] monks, is Sāriputta;
of bright wisdom,[5] monks, is Sāriputta;
of swift wisdom,[6] monks, is Sāriputta;
of acute wisdom,[7] monks, is Sāriputta;
of piercing wisdom,[8] monks, is Sāriputta.
For half a month, monks, Sāriputta had uninterrupted [78] insight into things.[9]
[3][ntbb][than][olds] This, monks, is due to Sāriputta's uninterrupted insight into things:
as to this, monks, Sāriputta,
aloof from pleasures of the senses,
aloof from unskilled states of mind,
enters on and abides in the first meditation
which is accompanied by initial thought and discursive thought,
is born of aloofness,
and is rapturous and joyful.
[4][ntbb][than][olds] And those things which belong to the first meditation:
initial thought and sustained thought
and rapture and joy and one-pointedness of mind,[10]
impingement, feeling, perception,
will, thought,[11] desire,
determination, energy,[12] mindfulness,[13]
equanimity,[14] attention,[15]
are uninterruptedly set up[16] by him;
known to him these things arise,
known they persist,
known they disappear.
He comprehends thus: 'Thus indeed things that have not been in me come to be;
having been they pass away.'
He, not feeling attracted[17] by these things,
not feeling repelled,[18]
independent,[19] not infatuated,[20] freed,[21] released,[22]
dwells with a mind that is unconfined.[23]
He comprehends: 'There is a further escape.'[24]
There is zealous practice for him concerning that.
[5][ntbb][than][olds] And again, monks, Sāriputta,
by allaying initial and discursive thought,
with his mind subjectively tranquillised and fixed on one point,
[26] enters on and abides in the second meditation
which is devoid of initial thought and discursive thought,
is born of concentration,
and is rapturous and joyful.
[6][ntbb][than][olds] And those things which belong to the second meditation:
inward tranquillity and rapture and joy and one-pointedness of mind,
impingement, feeling, perception,
will, thought, desire,
determination, energy, mindfulness,
equanimity, attention,
are uninterruptedly set up by him;
known to him these [79] things arise,
known they persist,
known they disappear.
He comprehends thus: 'Thus indeed things that have not been in me come to be;
having been they pass away.'
He, not feeling attracted by these things,
not feeling repelled,
independent, not infatuated, freed, released,
dwells with a mind that is unconfined.
He comprehends: 'There is a further escape.'
There is zealous practice for him concerning that.
[7][ntbb][than][olds] And again, monks, Sāriputta,
by the fading out of rapture,
dwells with equanimity,
is mindful and clearly conscious,
and he experiences in his person
that joy of which the ariyans say:
'Joyful lives he who has equanimity and is mindful,'
and he enters on and abides in the third meditation.
[8][ntbb][than][olds] And those things which belong to the third meditation:
equanimity and joy and mindfulness and clear consciousness and one-pointedness of mind,
impingement, feeling, perception,
will, thought, desire,
determination, energy, mindfulness,
equanimity, attention,
are uninterruptedly set up by him;
known to him these things arise,
known they persist,
known they disappear.
He comprehends thus: 'Thus indeed things that have not been in me come to be;
having been they pass away.'
He, not feeling attracted by these things,
not feeling repelled,
independent, not infatuated, freed, released,
dwells with a mind that is unconfined.
He comprehends: 'There is a further escape.'
There is zealous practice for him concerning that.
[9][ntbb][than][olds] And again, monks, Sāriputta,
by getting rid of joy,
by getting rid of anguish,
by the going down of his former pleasures and sorrows,
enters on and abides in the fourth meditation
which has neither anguish nor joy,
and which is entirely purified by equanimity and mindfulness.
[10][ntbb][than][olds] And those things which belong to the fourth meditation: equanimity,
feeling that is neither painful nor pleasant
...[25]
impassivity of mind,[26] purification by mindfulness,
one-pointedness of mind,
impingement, feeling, perception,
will, thought, desire,
determination, energy, mindfulness,
equanimity, attention,
are uninterruptedly set up by him;
known to him these things arise,
known they persist,
[27] known they disappear.
He comprehends thus: 'Thus indeed things that have not been in me come to be;
having been they pass away.'
He, not feeling attracted by these things,
not feeling repelled,
independent, not infatuated, freed, released,
dwells with a mind that is unconfined.
He comprehends: 'There is a further escape.'
There is zealous practice for him concerning that.
[10][ntbb][than][olds] And again, monks, Sāriputta,
by passing quite beyond perceptions of material shapes,
by the going down of perceptions of sensory reactions,
by not attending to perceptions of variety,
thinking: 'Ether is unending,'
enters on and abides in the plane of infinite ether.
[10][ntbb][than][olds] And those things which belong to the plane of infinite ether:
perception in the plane of infinite ether
and one-pointedness of mind and
impingement, feeling, perception,
will, thought, desire,
determination, energy, mindfulness,
equanimity, attention,
are uninterruptedly set up by him;
known to him these things arise,
known they persist,
known they disappear.
[80] He comprehends thus:
'Thus indeed things that have not been in me come to be;
having been they pass away.'
He, not feeling attracted by these things,
not feeling repelled,
independent, not infatuated, freed, released,
dwells with a mind that is unconfined.
He comprehends: 'There is a further escape.'
There is zealous practice for him concerning that.
[10][ntbb][than][olds] And again, monks, Sāriputta,
by passing quite beyond the plane of infinite ether,
thinking, 'Consciousness is unending,'
enters on and abides in the plane of infinite consciousness.
[10][ntbb][than][olds] And those things which belong to the plane of infinite consciousness:
perception in the plane of infinite consciousness
and one-pointedness of mind and
impingement, feeling ... equanimity, attention, are uninterruptedly set up by him;
known to him these things arise,
known they persist,
known they disappear.
He comprehends thus: 'Thus indeed things that have not been in me come to be;
having been they pass away.'
He, not feeling attracted by these things,
not feeling repelled,
independent, not infatuated, freed, released,
dwells with a mind that is unconfined.
He comprehends: 'There is a further escape.'
There is zealous practice for him concerning that.
[28] [10][ntbb][than][olds] And again, monks, Sāriputta,
by passing quite beyond the plane of infinite consciousness,
thinking: 'There is not anything,'
enters on and abides in the plane of no-thing.
[10][ntbb][than][olds] And those things which belong to the plane of no-thing:
perception in the plane of no-thing
and one-pointedness of mind and
impingement, feeling, perception,
will, thought, desire,
determination, energy, mindfulness,
equanimity, attention,
are uninterruptedly set up by him;
known to him these things arise,
known they persist,
known they disappear.
He comprehends thus: 'Thus indeed things that have not been in me come to be;
having been they pass away.'
He, not feeling attracted by these things,
not feeling repelled,
independent, not infatuated, freed, released,
dwells with a mind that is unconfined.
He comprehends: 'There is a further escape.'
There is zealous practice for him concerning that.
[17][ntbb][than][olds] And again, monks, Sāriputta,
by passing quite beyond the plane of no-thing,
enters on and abides in the plane of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
[18][ntbb][than][olds] Mindful, he emerges from that attainment.
When he has emerged, mindful, from that attainment
he regards those things that are past, stopped, changed as:
'Thus indeed things that have not been in me come to be;
having been they pass away.'
He, not feeling attracted by these things,
not feeling repelled,
independent, not infatuated, freed, released,
dwells with a mind that is unconfined.
He comprehends: 'There is a further escape.'
There is zealous practice for him concerning that.
[19][ntbb][than][olds] And again, monks, Sāriputta,
by passing quite beyond the plane of neither-perception-nor-non-perception,
enters on and abides in the stopping of perception and feeling.
And having seen by means of intuitive wisdom,
his cankers are utterly destroyed.
[20][ntbb][than][olds] Mindful, he emerges from that attainment.
When he has emerged, mindful, from that attainment
he regards those things that are past, stopped, changed as:
'Thus indeed things that have not been in me come to be;
having been they pass away.'
He, not feeling attracted by these things,
not feeling repelled,
independent, not infatuated, freed, released,
dwells with a mind that is unconfined.
He comprehends: 'There is no further escape.'
There is zealous practice for him concerning that.
[81] [21][ntbb][than][olds] Monks, if anyone speaking rightly could say of a man:
'He has attained to mastery,
he has attained to going beyond[27]
in the ariyan moral habit;
he has attained to mastery,
[29] he has attained to going beyond
in the ariyan concentration;
he has attained to mastery,
he has attained to going beyond
in the ariyan wisdom;
he has attained to mastery,
he has attained to going beyond
in the ariyan freedom'
— speaking rightly he could say of Sāriputta:
'He has attained to mastery,
he has attained to going beyond
in the ariyan moral habit;
he has attained to mastery,
he has attained to going beyond
in the ariyan concentration;
he has attained to mastery,
he has attained to going beyond
in the ariyan wisdom;
he has attained to mastery,
he has attained to going beyond
in the ariyan freedom'
[22][ntbb][than][olds] Monks, if anyone speaking rightly could say of a man:
'He is the Lord's own son,
born of his mouth,
born of dhamma,
formed by dhamma,
an heir to dharnma,
not an heir to material things'
speaking rightly he could say of Sāriputta:
'He is the Lord's own son,
born of his mouth,
born of dhamma,
formed by dhamma,
an heir to dharnma,
not an heir to material things'
[23][ntbb][than][olds] Sāriputta, monks,
rolls on rightly
the incomparable wheel of dhamrna
set rolling by the Tathāgata."
Thus spoke the Lord.
Delighted, these monks rejoiced in what the Lord had said.
Discourse on the Uninterrupted:
The First
[1] anupada is continuous, or uninterrupted, "the next step following."
[2] paṇḍita, clever or wise. For this and the following words for wisdom (spoken to Sāriputta) see S. i. 191. MA. iv. 82 says he was skilled in the dhātu, the āyatana, dependent origination and in causal occasion and what is not causal occasion (ṭhān-ā-ṭhāna, or, the possible and the impossible), with which cf. M. iii. 62.
[3] mahāpañña. Cf. Pts. ii. 190, MA. iv. 83 which enumerate various kinds of "great wisdom," such as in the moral habits, concentration, freedom, the knowlcdge and vision of freedom, the causal occasion and what is not, attainments in the great abidings, the ariyan truths, the 37 things helpful to enlightenment, the fruits of recluseship, the super-knowledges and the great incomparable Nibbāna. See also A. ii. 67.
[4] puthupañña. Cf. Pts. ii. 191, MA. iv. 83, the same as mahāpañña but with some additions. See also A. i. 131, ii. 67.
[5] hāsupañña. Cf. S. v. 376, Pts. ii. 199. The word hāsu would appear from MA. iv. 84 and Pts. to be connected with contentment and rapture in fulfilling the sīla, the control of the sense-organs, moderation in eating, vigilance, and the body of moral habits, concentration, wisdom and freedom. Cf. hasati, to be glad. Hāsa also found in Dhs., e.g. §9, 86, etc., in definition of pīti, rapture.
[6] javana-pañña. Cf. S. v. 376-377, Pts. ii. 200. MA. iv. 84: he hastens quickly (in knowing) that all the khandhā are impermanent, suffering, not-self.
[7] tikkhapañña. Cf. M. i. 11, D. iii. 126 and also see A. i. 45. MA. iv. 85: he quickly cuts through the defilements, and gets rid of evil unskilled states of mind, attachment, aversion and confusion, etc., that have arisen.
[8] nibbedhika-pañña; cf. Pts. ii. 201 ff., and for references see P.E.D. All these forms of wisdom are mentioned at S. i. 63 (again of Sāriputta) and at Jā. iv. 136. See K.S. i. 88, n. 1.
[9] Sāriputta then gained arahantship in a fortnight, MA. iv. 86; also MA. iii. 203, DA. 418, DhA. i. 97.
[10] See Dhs. 7-11, 84-88, 283-287, 371-375. For an extremely valuable discussion of these and many of the following terms see Bud. Psych. Ethics, especially the notes on p. 5-18.
[11] See Dhs. 2-6. 278-282, 366-370.
[12] See Dhs. 13.
[13] Dhs. 332.
[14] Dhs. 153.
[15] Dhs. 1334.
[16] anupadavavatthitā.
[17] anupāya. The following sequence of terms occurs also at M. iii. 30.
[18] anapāya.
[19] anissita, i.e. of craving and wrong views, MA. iv. 89.
[20] apaṭibaddha, i.e. by attachment and desire.
[21] vippamutta, i.e. from attachment to sense-pleasures.
[22] visaṃyutta, i.e. from the four yokes or all the defilements, MA. iv. 89.
[23] vimariyādikatena cetasā; cf. S. iii. 31. Unconfined because of what it has eliminated.
[24] Cf. M. i. 38, and see M.L.S. i. 48, n. 7. But here it means, not Nibbāna, but the next excellent attainment.
[25] The textual reading, passi vedanā, is unintelligible to me. Neumann appears to give "Reinheit." The Comy. is silent.
[26] cetaso anābhogo, impassivity of thought, lack of mental interest, lack of ideation, lack of inclination. See Pts. Contr., p. 221, n. 4 on ābhoga; and see Vism. 164, quoted at MA. iv. 90 to show that cetaso ābhogo, which was present in the third jhāna, is absent in the fourth. Cf. also Vbh. 307, quoted Kvu. 425, pañca vññāṇā anābhogā; and MA. ii. 63 anāvattano anābhogo. B.H.S.D. under anābhoga suggests "effortless" (adj.) and "Non-effort, impassivity" (subst.); see also s.v. ābhoga.
[27] pāramippatta. Pāramī, excellence, perfection, accomplishment, going beyond. MA. iv. 91 gives nipphattipatta, attained accomplishment, completion, perfection.
