sn.35.228 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

The Ocean (1)

“Bhikkhus, the uninstructed worldling speaks of ‘the ocean, the ocean.’ But that is not the ocean in the Noble One’s Discipline; that is only a great mass of water, a great expanse of water.

“The eye, bhikkhus, is the ocean for a person; its current consists of forms. One who withstands that current consisting of forms is said to have crossed the ocean of the eye with its waves, whirlpools, sharks, and demons. Crossed over, gone beyond, the brahmin stands on high ground.

“The ear, bhikkhus, is the ocean for a person…. The mind is the ocean for a person; its current consists of mental phenomena. One who withstands that current consisting of mental phenomena is said to have crossed the ocean of the mind with its waves, whirlpools, sharks, and demons. Crossed over, gone beyond, the brahmin stands on high ground.”

This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this:

“One who has crossed this ocean so hard to cross,
With its dangers of sharks, demons, waves,
The knowledge-master who has lived the holy life,
Reached the world’s end, is called one gone beyond.”

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh

---

The Ocean (1st)

“Mendicants, an unlearned ordinary person speaks of the ocean.
But that’s not the ocean in the training of the Noble One.
That’s just a large body of water, a large sea of water.
For a person, the eye is an ocean,
and its currents are made of sights.
Someone who can withstand those currents is said to have crossed over the ocean of the eye, with its waves and whirlpools, its saltwater crocodiles and monsters.
Crossed over, the brahmin stands on the far shore.
For a person, the ear … nose … tongue … body …



mind is an ocean,
and its currents are made of thoughts.
Someone who can withstand those currents is said to have crossed over the ocean of the mind, with its waves and whirlpools, its saltwater crocodiles and monsters.
Crossed over, the brahmin stands on the far shore.”
That is what the Buddha said.
Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say:
“A knowledge master who’s crossed the ocean so hard to cross,
with its saltwater crocodiles and monsters, its waves, whirlpools, and dangers;
they’ve completed the spiritual journey, and gone to the end of the world,
they’re called ‘one who has gone beyond’.”