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an.4.178 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

The Waste-water Pool

“Monks, these four types of individuals are to be found existing in the world. Which four?

“There is the case where a monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the cessation of self-identification, but as he is attending to the cessation of self-identification his mind doesn’t leap up, grow confident, steadfast, or firm in the cessation of self-identification. For him the cessation of self-identification is not to be expected. Just as if a man were to grasp a branch with his hand smeared with resin, his hand would stick to it, grip it, adhere to it; in the same way, the monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the cessation of self-identification, but as he is attending to the cessation of self-identification his mind doesn’t leap up, grow confident, steadfast, or firm in the cessation of self-identification. For him the cessation of self-identification is not to be expected.

“Now, there is the case where a monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the cessation of self-identification, and as he is attending to the cessation of self-identification his mind leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & firm in the cessation of self-identification. For him the cessation of self-identification is to be expected. Just as if a man were to grasp a branch with a clean hand, his hand would not stick to it, grip it, or adhere to it; in the same way, the monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the cessation of self-identification, and as he is attending to the cessation of self-identification his mind leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & firm in the cessation of self-identification. For him the cessation of self-identification is to be expected.

“Now, there is the case where a monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the breaching of ignorance, but as he is attending to the breaching of ignorance his mind doesn’t leap up, grow confident, steadfast, or firm in the breaching of ignorance. For him the breaching of ignorance is not to be expected. Just as if there were a waste-water pool that had stood for countless years, where a man were to block all the inlets and open all the outlets, and the sky were to not rain down in good streams of rain: the breaching of the waste-water pool’s embankment would not be expected; in the same way, the monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the breaching of ignorance, but as he is attending to the breaching of ignorance his mind doesn’t leap up, grow confident, steadfast, or firm in the breaching of ignorance. For him the breaching of ignorance is not to be expected.

“Now, there is the case where a monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the breaching of ignorance, and as he is attending to the breaching of ignorance his mind leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & firm in the breaching of ignorance. For him the breaching of ignorance is to be expected. Just as if there were a waste-water pool that had stood for countless years, where a man were to open all the inlets and block all the outlets, and the sky were to rain down in good streams of rain: the breaching of the waste-water pool’s embankment would be expected; in the same way, the monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the breaching of ignorance, and as he is attending to the breaching of ignorance his mind leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & firm in the breaching of ignorance. For him the breaching of ignorance is to be expected.

“These are four types of individuals to be found existing in the world.”

- Translator: Thanissaro Bhikkhu

- Editor: Gabriel Laera

Billabong

“Mendicants, these four people are found in the world.
What four?
Take a mendicant who enters and remains in a peaceful release of the heart.
They focus on the cessation of identification,
but their mind isn’t eager, confident, settled, and decided about it.
You wouldn’t expect that mendicant to stop identifying.
Suppose a person were to grab a branch with a glue-smeared hand. Their hand would stick, hold, and bind to it.
In the same way, take a mendicant who enters and remains in a peaceful release of the heart.
They focus on the cessation of identification,
but their mind isn’t eager, confident, settled, and decided about it.
You wouldn’t expect that mendicant to stop identifying.
Next, take a mendicant who enters and remains in a peaceful release of the heart.
They focus on the cessation of identification,
and their mind is eager, confident, settled, and decided about it.
You’d expect that mendicant to stop identifying.
Suppose a person were to grab a branch with a clean hand. Their hand wouldn’t stick, hold, or bind to it.
In the same way, take a mendicant who enters and remains in a peaceful release of the heart.
They focus on the cessation of identification,
and their mind is eager, confident, settled, and decided about it.
You’d expect that mendicant to stop identifying.
Next, take a mendicant who enters and remains in a peaceful release of the heart.
They focus on smashing ignorance,
but their mind isn’t eager, confident, settled, and decided about it.
You wouldn’t expect that mendicant to smash ignorance.
Suppose there was a billabong that had been stagnant for many years.
And someone was to close off the inlets and open up the drains, and the heavens didn’t provide enough rain.
You wouldn’t expect that billabong to break its banks.
In the same way, take a mendicant who enters and remains in a certain peaceful release of the heart.
They focus on smashing ignorance,
but their mind isn’t eager, confident, settled, and decided about it.
You wouldn’t expect that mendicant to smash ignorance.
Next, take a mendicant who enters and remains in a peaceful release of the heart.
They focus on smashing ignorance,
and their mind is eager, confident, settled, and decided about it.
You’d expect that mendicant to smash ignorance.
Suppose there was a billabong that had been stagnant for many years.
And someone was to open up the inlets and close off the drains, and the heavens provided plenty of rain.
You’d expect that billabong to break its banks.
In the same way, take a mendicant who enters and remains in a certain peaceful release of the heart.
They focus on smashing ignorance,
and their mind is eager, confident, settled, and decided about it.
You’d expect that mendicant to smash ignorance.
These are the four people found in the world.”