Before his awakening, the Buddha reflected on the gratification in the world, the drawback in it, and the escape from it.
“Pubbeva me, bhikkhave, sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato etadahosi: ‘ko nu kho loke assādo, ko ādīnavo, kiṁ nissaraṇan’ti?
“Before my full awakening, when I was still a |bodhisatta::Buddha before his awakening, aspirant Buddha [bodhisatta]|, it occurred to me: ‘What is the |gratification::satisfaction, pleasure, enjoyment, sweetness [assāda]| in the world? What is the |drawback::disadvantage, unsatisfactoriness, inadequacy, danger [ādīnava]| in it? And what is the |escape::way out, remedy [nissaraṇa]| from it?
Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘yaṁ kho lokaṁ paṭicca uppajjati sukhaṁ somanassaṁ, ayaṁ loke assādo.
Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘Whatever |happiness::contentment, ease, pleasant abiding [sukha]| and |pleasure::gladness, joy, positive state of mind [somanassa]| arise dependent on the world — this is the gratification in the world.
Yaṁ loko anicco dukkho vipariṇāmadhammo, ayaṁ loke ādīnavo.
Whatever is |impermanent::not lasting, transient, unreliable [anicca]|, |dissatisfactory::uncomfortable, unpleasant [dukkha]|, and |subject to change::of the nature of alteration, decay [vipariṇāmadhamma]| — this is the drawback in the world.
Yo loke chandarāgavinayo chandarāgappahānaṁ, idaṁ loke nissaraṇan’ti.
The removal of |desire and attachment::desire-passion, sensual craving, intention of sensuality and lust [chandarāga]|, the abandoning of desire and attachment — this is the escape from the world.’
Yāvakīvañcāhaṁ, bhikkhave, evaṁ lokassa assādañca assādato ādīnavañca ādīnavato nissaraṇañca nissaraṇato yathābhūtaṁ nābbhaññāsiṁ, neva tāvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, sadevake loke samārake sabrahmake sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya ‘anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddho’ti paccaññāsiṁ.
Bhikkhus, as long as I did not |experientially understand::directly knew, realized [abbhaññāsi]|, |as they truly are::as they have come to be, in reality [yathābhūta]|, the gratification in the world as gratification, the drawback as drawback, and the escape as escape, I did not claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect awakening in this world with its |deities::gods [devas]|, |Māras::demons, tempters, beings of delusion; lit. causing death [mārake]|, |Brahmas::Gods; celestial beings residing in the Brahmā realms, often considered to be highly refined and long-lived deities. [brahmā]|, among this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its kings and commoners.
Yato ca khvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, evaṁ lokassa assādañca assādato ādīnavañca ādīnavato nissaraṇañca nissaraṇato yathābhūtaṁ abbhaññāsiṁ, athāhaṁ, bhikkhave, sadevake loke samārake sabrahmake sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya ‘anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddho’ti paccaññāsiṁ.
But bhikkhus, when I experientially understood, as they truly are, the gratification in the world as gratification, the drawback as drawback, and the escape as escape, only then did I claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect awakening in this world with its deities, Māras, Brahmas, among this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its kings and commoners.
Ñāṇañca pana me dassanaṁ udapādi: ‘akuppā me vimutti, ayamantimā jāti, natthi dāni punabbhavo’”ti.
|Insight::understanding, knowing [ñāṇa]| and |vision::realization [dassana]| arose in me: ‘My liberation is unshakeable, this is my final birth, now there is no more |renewed existence::renewal of being, reappearance, rebirth, future life [punabbhava]|.’”
“Before my full awakening, when I was still a |bodhisatta::Buddha before his awakening, aspirant Buddha [bodhisatta]|, it occurred to me: ‘What is the |gratification::satisfaction, pleasure, enjoyment, sweetness [assāda]| in the world? What is the |drawback::disadvantage, unsatisfactoriness, inadequacy, danger [ādīnava]| in it? And what is the |escape::way out, remedy [nissaraṇa]| from it?
Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘Whatever |happiness::contentment, ease, pleasant abiding [sukha]| and |pleasure::gladness, joy, positive state of mind [somanassa]| arise dependent on the world — this is the gratification in the world.
Whatever is |impermanent::not lasting, transient, unreliable [anicca]|, |dissatisfactory::uncomfortable, unpleasant [dukkha]|, and |subject to change::of the nature of alteration, decay [vipariṇāmadhamma]| — this is the drawback in the world.
The removal of |desire and attachment::desire-passion, sensual craving, intention of sensuality and lust [chandarāga]|, the abandoning of desire and attachment — this is the escape from the world.’
Bhikkhus, as long as I did not |experientially understand::directly knew, realized [abbhaññāsi]|, |as they truly are::as they have come to be, in reality [yathābhūta]|, the gratification in the world as gratification, the drawback as drawback, and the escape as escape, I did not claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect awakening in this world with its |deities::gods [devas]|, |Māras::demons, tempters, beings of delusion; lit. causing death [mārake]|, |Brahmas::Gods; celestial beings residing in the Brahmā realms, often considered to be highly refined and long-lived deities. [brahmā]|, among this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its kings and commoners.
But bhikkhus, when I experientially understood, as they truly are, the gratification in the world as gratification, the drawback as drawback, and the escape as escape, only then did I claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect awakening in this world with its deities, Māras, Brahmas, among this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its kings and commoners.
|Insight::understanding, knowing [ñāṇa]| and |vision::realization [dassana]| arose in me: ‘My liberation is unshakeable, this is my final birth, now there is no more |renewed existence::renewal of being, reappearance, rebirth, future life [punabbhava]|.’”
“Pubbeva me, bhikkhave, sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato etadahosi: ‘ko nu kho loke assādo, ko ādīnavo, kiṁ nissaraṇan’ti?
Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘yaṁ kho lokaṁ paṭicca uppajjati sukhaṁ somanassaṁ, ayaṁ loke assādo.
Yaṁ loko anicco dukkho vipariṇāmadhammo, ayaṁ loke ādīnavo.
Yo loke chandarāgavinayo chandarāgappahānaṁ, idaṁ loke nissaraṇan’ti.
Yāvakīvañcāhaṁ, bhikkhave, evaṁ lokassa assādañca assādato ādīnavañca ādīnavato nissaraṇañca nissaraṇato yathābhūtaṁ nābbhaññāsiṁ, neva tāvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, sadevake loke samārake sabrahmake sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya ‘anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddho’ti paccaññāsiṁ.
Yato ca khvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, evaṁ lokassa assādañca assādato ādīnavañca ādīnavato nissaraṇañca nissaraṇato yathābhūtaṁ abbhaññāsiṁ, athāhaṁ, bhikkhave, sadevake loke samārake sabrahmake sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya ‘anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddho’ti paccaññāsiṁ.
Ñāṇañca pana me dassanaṁ udapādi: ‘akuppā me vimutti, ayamantimā jāti, natthi dāni punabbhavo’”ti.