Saṃyutta Nikāya
4. Saḷāyatana Vagga
35. Saḷāyatana Saṃyutta
§ II: Paññāsaka Dutiya
5. Saḷa Vagga
The Book of the Kindred Sayings
4. The Book Called the Saḷāyatana-Vagga
Containing Kindred Sayings on the 'Six-Fold Sphere' of Sense and Other Subjects
35. Kindred Sayings the Sixfold Sphere of Sense
§ II: The 'Second Fifty' Suttas
5. The Chapter of the Six
Sutta 94
Cha-Phass'Āyatana (Paṭhama Saṇgayya) Suttaṃ
Including (The Sixfold Sense-Sphere) (i)[1]
Translated by F. L. Woodward
Edited by Mrs. Rhys Davids
Copyright The Pali Text Society
Commercial Rights Reserved
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[1][olds][bodh] Thus have I heard:
The Exalted One once staying near Sāvatthī.
There then he addressed the brethren, saying:
"Brethren."
"Lord," responded those brethren to the Exalted One.
The Exalted One thus spake:
"There are these six spheres of contact, Brethren,
which are —
untamed, unguarded, unwatched, unrestrained —
bringers of ill.
What six?
The eye, brethren, is a sphere of contact,
which is —
untamed, unguarded, unwatched, unrestrained —
a bringer of ill.
The ear, brethren is a sphere of contact,
which is —
untamed, unguarded, unwatched, unrestrained —
a bringer of ill.
The nose, brethren is a sphere of contact,
which is —
untamed, unguarded, unwatched, unrestrained —
a bringer of ill.
The tongue, brethren is a sphere of contact,
which is —
untamed, unguarded, unwatched, unrestrained —
a bringer of ill.
The body, brethren is a sphere of contact,
which is —
untamed, unguarded, unwatched, unrestrained —
a bringer of ill.
The mind, brethren is a sphere of contact,
which is —
untamed, unguarded, unwatched, unrestrained —
a bringer of ill.
These are the six spheres of contact, Brethren,
which are —
untamed, unguarded, unwatched, unrestrained —
bringers of ill.
There are these six spheres of contact, Brethren,
which are —
well tamed, well guarded, well watched, well restrained —
bringers of happiness.
What six?
The eye, brethren is a sphere of contact,
which is —
well tamed, well guarded, well watched, well restrained —
a bringer of happiness.
The ear, brethren is a sphere of contact,
which is —
well tamed, well guarded, well watched, well restrained —
a bringer of happiness.
The nose, brethren is a sphere of contact,
which is —
well tamed, well guarded, well watched, well restrained —
a bringer of happiness.
The tongue, brethren is a sphere of contact,
which is —
well tamed, well guarded, well watched, well restrained —
a bringer of happiness.
The body, brethren is a sphere of contact,
which is —
well tamed, well guarded, well watched, well restrained —
a bringer of happiness.
The mind, brethren is a sphere of contact,
which is —
well tamed, well guarded, well watched, well restrained —
a bringer of happiness.
These are the six spheres of contact, Brethren,
which are —
well tamed, well guarded, well watched, well restrained —
bringers of happiness."
Thus spake the Exalted One.
The Well-Farer having thus spoken,
the Master added this further: -
He meets with ill, Brethren, who hath not tamed
The sixfold impact of the sphere of sense.
They who have learned the mastery of these,
With faith for comrade, - they dwell free from lust.
Beholding with the eye delightful things
Or things unlovely, let him restrain his bent
To lust for loveliness; - and let him not
Corrupt his heart with thoughts of 'O 'tis dear.'
[41] And when, again, sounds sweet or harsh he hears,
Not led astray by sweetness, let him check
The error of his senses. Let him not
Corrupt his heart with thoughts of '0 'tis sweet.'
If some delightful fragrance meet the nose,
And then again some foul malodorous stench,
Let him restrain repugnance for that stench,
Nor yet be led by lust for what is sweet.
Should he taste savours that are sweet and choice,
And then again what's bitter to the tongue,
He should not greedily devour the sweet,
Nor yet show loathing[2] for the bitter taste.
By pleasures' impact not inebriate,
Nor yet distracted by the touch of pain,
To pain and pleasure both indifferent
Let him be free from likings and dislikes.
Obsessed (by lusts) are others:[3] so obsessed
They know and so they fare. But he dispels
All the world's vulgar fashionings of mind,[4]
And treads the path renunciation-bound.[5]
By contact of these six, if mind be trained,
The heart is never shaken any more.
O'ercome these two, O Brethren, - lust and hate.
Pass ye beyond the bounds of birth and death.
[1] Saṇgāyha. Cf. infra. §§ 135-136.
[2] Virodhaṇ asādūsu no padaṇ saye (? padaṇsaye, padassaye). I do not understand padaṇ saye, though the meaning of the line is clear. Comy. is silent and no variants appear in the text. I read pa-dassaye (daṇseti).
[3] Papañca-saññā itarītarā narā. I have mistranslated this couplet in my book Some Sayings of the Buddha, p. 229, verse 7. Of itarītarā Comy. says lāmakā sattā (mean worldlings) vatthuṇ upagacchanti. "For papañca (idée fixe) see Brethren, pp. 246, 328, 343: Dialog, ii, 312 and n.
[4] Sabbaṇ geha-sitaṇ ( = geha-nissitaṇ vitakkaṇ. Comy.), 'connected with the household life.'
[5] Nekhhamma-sitaṇ.
