sn.35.31 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

Suitable for Uprooting (1)

“Bhikkhus, I will teach you the way that is suitable for uprooting all conceivings. Listen to that….

“And what, bhikkhus, is the way that is suitable for uprooting all conceivings? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu does not conceive the eye, does not conceive in the eye, does not conceive from the eye, does not conceive, ‘The eye is mine.’ He does not conceive forms … eye-consciousness … eye-contact … and as to whatever feeling arises with eye-contact as condition—whether pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant—he does not conceive that, does not conceive in that, does not conceive from that, does not conceive, ‘That is mine.’ For, bhikkhus, whatever one conceives, whatever one conceives in, whatever one conceives from, whatever one conceives as ‘mine’—that is otherwise. The world, becoming otherwise, attached to becoming, seeks delight only in becoming.

“He does not conceive the ear … … He does not conceive the mind … and as to whatever feeling arises with mind-contact as condition … he does not conceive that, does not conceive in that, does not conceive from that, does not conceive, ‘That is mine.’ For, bhikkhus, whatever one conceives, whatever one conceives in, whatever one conceives from, whatever one conceives as ‘mine’—that is otherwise. The world, becoming otherwise, attached to becoming, seeks delight only in becoming.

“Whatever, bhikkhus, is the extent of the aggregates, the elements, and the sense bases, he does not conceive that, does not conceive in that, does not conceive from that, does not conceive, ‘That is mine.’

“Since he does not conceive anything thus, he does not cling to anything in the world. Not clinging, he is not agitated. Being unagitated, he personally attains Nibbāna. He understands: ‘Destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being.’

“This, bhikkhus, is the way that is suitable for uprooting all conceivings.”

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh

The Practice Conducive to Uprooting (1st)

“Mendicants, I will teach you the practice that’s conducive to uprooting all identifying.
Listen …
And what is the practice that’s conducive to uprooting all identifying?
It’s when a mendicant does not identify with the eye, does not identify in the eye, does not identify from the eye, and does not identify: ‘The eye is mine.’
They don’t identify with sights …
eye consciousness … eye contact. And they don’t identify with the pleasant, painful, or neutral feeling that arises conditioned by eye contact. They don’t identify in that, they don’t identify from that, and they don’t identify: ‘That is mine.’
For whatever you identify with, whatever you identify in, whatever you identify as, and whatever you identify as ‘mine’: that becomes something else.
The world is attached to being, taking pleasure only in being, yet it becomes something else.
They don’t identify with the ear … nose … tongue …

body …
mind …

They don’t identify with the pleasant, painful, or neutral feeling that arises conditioned by mind contact. They don’t identify in that, they don’t identify from that, and they don’t identify: ‘That is mine.’
For whatever you identify with, whatever you identify in, whatever you identify as, and whatever you identify as ‘mine’: that becomes something else.
The world is attached to being, taking pleasure only in being, yet it becomes something else.
As far as the aggregates, elements, and sense fields extend, they don’t identify with that, they don’t identify in that, they don’t identify from that, and they don’t identify: ‘That is mine.’
Not identifying, they don’t grasp at anything in the world.
Not grasping, they’re not anxious. Not being anxious, they personally become extinguished.
They understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is no return to any state of existence.’
This is the practice that’s conducive to uprooting all identifying.”