Saṃyutta Nikāya
4. Saḷāyatana Vagga
36. Vedanā Saṃyutta
1. Sagāthā 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
36. Kindred Sayings about Feeling
1. With Verses
Sutta 6
Sallattena Suttaṃ
By the Barb
Translated by F. L. Woodward
Edited by Mrs. Rhys Davids
Copyright The Pali Text Society
Commercial Rights Reserved
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[1][than][nypo][bodh][olds] Thus have I heard:
The Exalted One once addressed the brethren, saying:
"Brethren."
"Lord," responded those brethren to the Exalted One.
The Exalted One thus spake:
"The untaught manyfolk, Brethren,
feels feeling that is pleasant,
feeling that is painful
and feeling that is neutral.
The well-taught Ariyan disciple, Brethren,
feels feeling that is pleasant,
feeling that is painful
and feeling that is neutral.
Now herein, Brethren,
what is the distinction,
what is the specific feature,[1]
what is the difference
between the well-taught Ariyan disciple
and the untaught manyfolk?"
"For us, lord,
things have the Exalted one as their root,
their guide,
their resort.
Well indeed were it
if the meaning of this that has been spoken
were to manifest itself in the Exalted One.
Hearing it from him
the brethren will remember it."[ed1]
"The untaught manyfolk, Brethren,
being touched by feeling that is painful,
weeps and wails,
cries aloud,
knocks the breast,
falls into utter bewilderment.
For he feels a twofold feeling,
bodily
and mental.
Suppose, Brethren, they pierce a man with a barb,
then with a second barb,
just so, Brethren,
that man feels the pain of two barbs.
Thus does the untaught manyfolk
being touched by feeling that is painful,
weep and wail,
crie aloud,
knock the breast,
fall into utter bewilderment.
For he feels a twofold feeling,
bodily
and mental.
[140] Touched by that painful feeling
he feels repugnance for it.
Feeling that repugnance for the painful feeling,
the lurking tendency to repugnance
fastens on him.
Touched by the painful feeling,
he delights in pleasant feeling.
Why so?
The untaught manyfolk, Brethren,
knows of no refuge from painful feeling
save sensual pleasure.
Delighting in that sensual pleasure,
the lurking tendency to sensual pleasure
fastens on him.
He understands not,
as it really is,
the arising
and the destruction of feelings,
nor the satisfaction,
the misery,
the way of escape from feelings.
As he understands them not,
the lurking tendency to ignorance of neutral feeling
fastens on him.
If he feels feeling that is pleasant,
he feels it as one in bondage.[2]
If he feels feeling that is painful,
he feels it as one in bondage.
If he feels feeling that is neutral,
he feels it as one in bondage.
This untaught many-folk, Brethren, is called
'in bondage to birth,
death,
sorrow
and grief,
woe,
lamentation
and despair.'
He is in bondage to ill.
So I declare.
§
But, Brethren, the well-taught Ariyan disciple,
when touched by painful feeling,
weeps not,
wails not,
cries not aloud,
knocks not the breast,
falls not into utter bewilderment.
He feels but one feeling,
the bodily,
not the mental.
Suppose, Brethren, they pierce a man with a barb,
but do not pierce him with a second barb.
Thus that man feels
but the pain caused by the one barb.
Even so, Brethren, the well-taught Arivan disciple,
when touched by painful feeling,
weeps not,
wails not,
cries not aloud,
knocks not the breast,
falls not into utter bewilderment.
He feels but one feeling,
bodily pain,
not mental.
Moreover, he has no repugnance for painful feeling.
As he has no repugnance for it,
the lurking tendency to repugnance for painful feeling
fastens not on him.
He, when touched by painful feeling,
delights not in sensual pleasure.
Why so?
Because, Brethren, the well-taught Ariyan disciple
knows of a refuge from painful feeling
apart from sensual ease.
As he delights not in sensual ease,
the [141] lurking tendency to sensual ease
fastens not on bim.
As be understands, as they really are,
both the arising
and the destruction
of these feelings,
the satisfaction,
the misery of them,
the way of escape therefrom,
the lurking tendency to ignorance of neutral feeling
fastens not on him.
If he feels a feeling that is pleasant,
he feels it as one freed from bondage.
If he feels a feeling that is painful,
he feels it as one that is freed from bondage.
If he feels a neutral feeling,
he feels it as one that is freed from bondage.
This well-taught Axiyan disciple, Brethren,
is called
'freed from the bondage of birth,
old age,[3]
from sorrow and grief,
from woe,
lamentation
and despair.'
He is freed from the bondage of ill.
So I declare.
Such, Brethren, is the distinction,
the specific feature,
the difference
between the well-taught Ariyan disciple
and the untaught manyfolk."
"Not swayed by feelings is the sage. Nor ease
Nor pain affecteth him of knowledge wide.
Betwixt the wise man and the worldly one
Vast is the difference in goodliness.
A searcher of the Norm,[4] of knowledge wide,
Who rightly views this world and that beyond,
Is not heart-harassed by things desired:
By undesired things he is not repelled.
By his disinclination and dislike
They're blown away, departed, are no more.
Knowing the stainless path and sorrowless,
He rightly knows, becoming he's o'erpassed."[5]
[1] Cf. K.S. iii, 58 for adhippāyoso and the usual phrase that follows.
[2] Saṃyutta.
[3] Jarā, omitted in the former paragraph.
[4] Snñkhātā-dhammassa. Cf. K.S. ii, 36; Sn. 70: -
Aneḷamūgo sutavā satīmā||
Sañkhala-dhāmmo niyato padhānavā|| ||
where Comy. expl. = 'pariññāta-dhammo': Sn. 1038. Comy. 'a name for the arahant.'
[5] Bhavassa pāragū.
[ed1] Woodward abridges. This is taken from his translation of SN 4.35.152.
