AN 5.23 Corruptions

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

“Mendicants, there are these five corruptions of native gold. When native gold is corrupted by these it’s not pliable, workable, or radiant, but is brittle and not completely ready for working.

What five?

Iron, copper, tin, lead, and silver.

When native gold is corrupted by these five corruptions it’s not pliable, workable, or radiant, but is brittle and not completely ready for working.

But when native gold is free of these five corruptions it becomes pliable, workable, and radiant, not brittle, and ready to be worked.

Then the goldsmith can successfully create any kind of ornament they want, whether a ring, earrings, a necklace, or a golden garland.

In the same way, there are these five corruptions of the mind. When the mind is corrupted by these it’s not pliable, workable, or radiant. It’s brittle, and not rightly immersed in samādhi for the ending of defilements.

What five?

Sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt.

These are the five corruptions of the mind. When the mind is corrupted by these it’s not pliable, workable, or radiant. It’s brittle, and not rightly immersed in samādhi for the ending of defilements.

But when the mind is free of these five corruptions it’s pliable, workable, and radiant. It’s not brittle, and is rightly immersed in samādhi for the ending of defilements.

You become capable of realizing anything that can be realized by insight to which you extend the mind, since each and every one is within range.

If you wish: ‘May I wield the many kinds of psychic power—multiplying myself and becoming one again; materializing and dematerializing; going unobstructed through a wall, a rampart, or a mountain as if through space; diving in and out of the earth as if it were water; walking on water as if it were earth; flying cross-legged through the sky like a bird; touching and stroking with the hand the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful, controlling the body as far as the realm of divinity.’

You’re capable of realizing it, since each and every one is within range.

If you wish: ‘With clairaudience that is purified and superhuman, may I hear both kinds of sounds, human and heavenly, whether near or far.’

You’re capable of realizing it, since each and every one is within range.

If you wish: ‘May I understand the minds of other beings and individuals, having encompassed them with my mind.

May I understand mind with greed as “mind with greed”,

and mind without greed as “mind without greed”;

mind with hate as “mind with hate”,

and mind without hate as “mind without hate”;

mind with delusion as “mind with delusion”,

and mind without delusion as “mind without delusion”;

constricted mind as “constricted mind”,

and scattered mind as “scattered mind”;

expansive mind as “expansive mind”,

and unexpansive mind as “unexpansive mind”;

mind that is not supreme as “mind that is not supreme”,

and mind that is supreme as “mind that is supreme”;

mind immersed in samādhi as “mind immersed in samādhi”,

and mind not immersed in samādhi as “mind not immersed in samādhi”;

freed mind as “freed mind”,

and unfreed mind as “unfreed mind”.’

You’re capable of realizing it, since each and every one is within range.

If you wish: ‘May I recollect many kinds of past lives. That is: one, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand rebirths; many eons of the world contracting, many eons of the world expanding, many eons of the world contracting and expanding. May I remember: “There, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn somewhere else. There, too, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn here.” May I recollect my many past lives, with features and details.’

You’re capable of realizing it, since each and every one is within range.

If you wish: ‘With clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, may I see sentient beings passing away and being reborn—inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place—and understand how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds: “These dear beings did bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. They denounced the noble ones; they had wrong view; and they chose to act out of that wrong view. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. These dear beings, however, did good things by way of body, speech, and mind. They never denounced the noble ones; they had right view; and they chose to act out of that right view. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.” And so, with clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, may I see sentient beings passing away and being reborn—inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place. And may I understand how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds.’

You’re capable of realizing it, since each and every one is within range.

If you wish: ‘May I realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom in this very life, and live having realized it with my own insight due to the ending of defilements.’

You’re capable of realizing it, since each and every one is within range.”

​

“Pañcime, bhikkhave, jātarūpassa upakkilesā, yehi upakkilesehi upakkiliṭṭhaṁ jātarūpaṁ na ceva mudu hoti na ca kammaniyaṁ na ca pabhassaraṁ pabhaṅgu ca na ca sammā upeti kammāya.

Katame pañca?

Ayo, lohaṁ, tipu, sīsaṁ, sajjhaṁ—

ime kho, bhikkhave, pañca jātarūpassa upakkilesā, yehi upakkilesehi upakkiliṭṭhaṁ jātarūpaṁ na ceva mudu hoti na ca kammaniyaṁ na ca pabhassaraṁ pabhaṅgu ca na ca sammā upeti kammāya.

Yato ca kho, bhikkhave, jātarūpaṁ imehi pañcahi upakkilesehi vimuttaṁ hoti, taṁ hoti jātarūpaṁ mudu ca kammaniyañca pabhassarañca na ca pabhaṅgu sammā upeti kammāya.

Yassā yassā ca piḷandhanavikatiyā ākaṅkhati—yadi muddikāya yadi kuṇḍalāya yadi gīveyyakāya yadi suvaṇṇamālāya—tañcassa atthaṁ anubhoti.

Evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, pañcime cittassa upakkilesā, yehi upakkilesehi upakkiliṭṭhaṁ cittaṁ na ceva mudu hoti na ca kammaniyaṁ na ca pabhassaraṁ pabhaṅgu ca na ca sammā samādhiyati āsavānaṁ khayāya.

Katame pañca?

Kāmacchando, byāpādo, thinamiddhaṁ, uddhaccakukkuccaṁ, vicikicchā—

ime kho, bhikkhave, pañca cittassa upakkilesā yehi upakkilesehi upakkiliṭṭhaṁ cittaṁ na ceva mudu hoti na ca kammaniyaṁ na ca pabhassaraṁ pabhaṅgu ca na ca sammā samādhiyati āsavānaṁ khayāya.

Yato ca kho, bhikkhave, cittaṁ imehi pañcahi upakkilesehi vimuttaṁ hoti, taṁ hoti cittaṁ mudu ca kammaniyañca pabhassarañca na ca pabhaṅgu sammā samādhiyati āsavānaṁ khayāya.

Yassa yassa ca abhiññāsacchikaraṇīyassa dhammassa cittaṁ abhininnāmeti abhiññāsacchikiriyāya tatra tatreva sakkhibhabbataṁ pāpuṇāti sati sati āyatane.

So sace ākaṅkhati: ‘anekavihitaṁ iddhividhaṁ paccanubhaveyyaṁ—ekopi hutvā bahudhā assaṁ, bahudhāpi hutvā eko assaṁ; āvibhāvaṁ, tirobhāvaṁ; tirokuṭṭaṁ tiropākāraṁ tiropabbataṁ asajjamāno gaccheyyaṁ, seyyathāpi ākāse; pathaviyāpi ummujjanimujjaṁ kareyyaṁ, seyyathāpi udake; udakepi abhijjamāno gaccheyyaṁ, seyyathāpi pathaviyaṁ; ākāsepi pallaṅkena kameyyaṁ, seyyathāpi pakkhī sakuṇo; imepi candimasūriye evaṁmahiddhike evaṁmahānubhāve pāṇinā parimaseyyaṁ parimajjeyyaṁ yāva brahmalokāpi kāyena vasaṁ vatteyyan’ti,

tatra tatreva sakkhibhabbataṁ pāpuṇāti sati sati āyatane.

So sace ākaṅkhati: ‘dibbāya sotadhātuyā visuddhāya atikkantamānusikāya ubho sadde suṇeyyaṁ—dibbe ca mānuse ca ye dūre santike cā’ti,

tatra tatreva sakkhibhabbataṁ pāpuṇāti sati sati āyatane.

So sace ākaṅkhati: ‘parasattānaṁ parapuggalānaṁ cetasā ceto paricca pajāneyyaṁ—

sarāgaṁ vā cittaṁ sarāgaṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

vītarāgaṁ vā cittaṁ vītarāgaṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

sadosaṁ vā cittaṁ sadosaṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

vītadosaṁ vā cittaṁ vītadosaṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

samohaṁ vā cittaṁ samohaṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

vītamohaṁ vā cittaṁ vītamohaṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

saṅkhittaṁ vā cittaṁ saṅkhittaṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

vikkhittaṁ vā cittaṁ vikkhittaṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

mahaggataṁ vā cittaṁ mahaggataṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

amahaggataṁ vā cittaṁ amahaggataṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

sauttaraṁ vā cittaṁ sauttaraṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

anuttaraṁ vā cittaṁ anuttaraṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

samāhitaṁ vā cittaṁ samāhitaṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

asamāhitaṁ vā cittaṁ asamāhitaṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

vimuttaṁ vā cittaṁ vimuttaṁ cittanti pajāneyyaṁ,

avimuttaṁ vā cittaṁ avimuttaṁ cittanti pajāneyyan’ti,

tatra tatreva sakkhibhabbataṁ pāpuṇāti sati sati āyatane.

So sace ākaṅkhati: ‘anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussareyyaṁ, seyyathidaṁ—ekampi jātiṁ dvepi jātiyo tissopi jātiyo catassopi jātiyo pañcapi jātiyo dasapi jātiyo vīsampi jātiyo tiṁsampi jātiyo cattārīsampi jātiyo paññāsampi jātiyo jātisatampi jātisahassampi jātisatasahassampi anekepi saṁvaṭṭakappe anekepi vivaṭṭakappe anekepi saṁvaṭṭavivaṭṭakappe—amutrāsiṁ evaṁnāmo evaṅgotto evaṁvaṇṇo evamāhāro evaṁsukhadukkhappaṭisaṁvedī evamāyupariyanto, so tato cuto amutra udapādiṁ; tatrāpāsiṁ evaṁnāmo evaṅgotto evaṁvaṇṇo evamāhāro evaṁsukhadukkhappaṭisaṁvedī evamāyupariyanto, so tato cuto idhūpapannoti, iti sākāraṁ sauddesaṁ anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussareyyan’ti,

tatra tatreva sakkhibhabbataṁ pāpuṇāti sati sati āyatane.

So sace ākaṅkhati: ‘dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passeyyaṁ cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe, sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajāneyyaṁ—ime vata bhonto sattā kāyaduccaritena samannāgatā vacīduccaritena samannāgatā manoduccaritena samannāgatā ariyānaṁ upavādakā micchādiṭṭhikā micchādiṭṭhikammasamādānā, te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ nirayaṁ upapannā; ime vā pana bhonto sattā kāyasucaritena samannāgatā vacīsucaritena samannāgatā manosucaritena samannāgatā ariyānaṁ anupavādakā sammādiṭṭhikā sammādiṭṭhikammasamādānā, te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā sugatiṁ saggaṁ lokaṁ upapannāti, iti dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passeyyaṁ cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe, sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajāneyyan’ti,

tatra tatreva sakkhibhabbataṁ pāpuṇāti sati sati āyatane.

So sace ākaṅkhati: ‘āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihareyyan’ti,

tatra tatreva sakkhibhabbataṁ pāpuṇāti sati sati āyatane”ti.

Tatiyaṁ.