At Sāvatthi.
“Bhikkhus, whoever among the ascetics or brahmins who recollect their manifold past lives, all of them are recollecting the |five aggregates that are subject to clinging::the physical and mental heaps that are appropriated, grasped at, or taken as self; the fivefold collection of form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness bound up with attachment [pañca + upādānakkhandha]|, or a certain one among them. What five? When recollecting thus, ‘Such was my form in the past,’ one is merely recollecting |form::materiality, material existence, experience of the material world, i.e. encompassing both one’s body and external objects, whether near or far, gross or subtle, deficient or refined; first of the five aggregates [rūpa]|. When recollecting thus, ‘Such was my felt experience in the past,’ one is merely recollecting |felt experience::pleasant, neutral, or painful sensation, feeling, second of the five aggregates [vedanā]|. When recollecting thus, ‘Such was my perception in the past,’ one is merely recollecting |perception::The mental process of recognizing and giving meaning to experience. It marks things by signs, labels, or associations drawn from memory and the field of contact. Perception shapes how one experiences the world; third of the five aggregates [sañña]|. When recollecting thus, ‘Such were my intentional constructs in the past,’ one is merely recollecting |intentional constructs::intentions, volitions, and choices expressed as mental, verbal, and bodily activities; thought formations and constructed experiences (including proliferative tendencies); processes that produce kamma [saṅkhāra]|. When recollecting thus, ‘Such was my consciousness in the past,’ one is merely recollecting |consciousness::quality of awareness — distinctive knowing that arises in dependence on the meeting of eye and form, ear and sound, nose and odor, tongue and taste, body and tangible object, mind and mind object [viññāṇa]|.
And what, bhikkhus, do you say is form? ‘That which is |affected::afflicted, deformed, oppressed, hurt [ruppati]|,’ bhikkhus, is called form. Affected by what? Affected by cold, affected by heat, affected by hunger, affected by thirst, affected by contact with flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and creeping creatures. It is because it is affected, bhikkhus, that it is called form.
And what, bhikkhus, do you say is felt experience? ‘That which |experiences::feels, senses [vedayati]|,’ bhikkhus, therefore, is called felt experience. And what does it experience? It experiences |pleasure::ease, comfort, happiness, contentment [sukha]|, experiences |pain::unease, discomfort, unpleasantness, discontentment [dukkha]|, and experiences |neither-pleasure-nor-pain::neutral sensation, feeling which is neither unpleasant nor pleasant, neither comfortable nor uncomfortable sensation [adukkhamasukha]|. It is because it experiences, bhikkhus, that it is called felt experience.
And what, bhikkhus, do you say is perception? ‘That which |perceives::conceives, recognizes [sañjānāti]|,’ bhikkhus, is called perception. And what does it perceive? It perceives blue, it perceives yellow, it perceives red, it perceives white. It is because it perceives, bhikkhus, that it is called perception.
And what, bhikkhus, do you say are intentional constructs? ‘They |construct::formulate, fabricate, fashion, generate [abhisaṅkharoti]| the |conditioned::constructed, created, fabricated [saṅkhata]|, bhikkhus, therefore, they are called intentional constructs. And what is the conditioned that they construct? They construct conditioned form as form, they construct the conditioned felt experience as felt experience, they construct the conditioned perception as perception, they construct the conditioned intentional constructs as intentional constructs, and they construct the conditioned consciousness as consciousness. It is because they construct the conditioned, bhikkhus, that they are called intentional constructs.
And what, bhikkhus, do you say is consciousness? ‘That which |distinguishes::learns, understands, is aware of [vijānāti]|,’ bhikkhus, is called consciousness. And what does it distinguish? It distinguishes sour taste, it distinguishes bitter taste, it distinguishes pungent taste, it distinguishes sweet taste, it distinguishes alkaline taste, it distinguishes mild taste, it distinguishes salty taste, it distinguishes bland taste. It is because it distinguishes, bhikkhus, that it is called consciousness.
Therein, bhikkhus, a learned disciple of the Noble Ones reflects thus: ‘I am presently being |afflicted::burdened, consumed, or impacted by suffering, stress, or irritation; affected in a way that is involuntary, painful, or destabilizing due to contact and clinging; used metaphorically for being “gnawed at” or “worn down” by experience, especially in relation to the aggregates [khajjati]| by form. In the past too, I was afflicted by form just as I am now being afflicted by present form. If I were to delight in future form, then in the future too, I shall be afflicted by form just as I am now being afflicted by present form.’ Reflecting thus, he becomes |indifferent towards::disinterested in, unconcerned about [anapekkha]| past form, he does not take delight in future form, and he practices for |disenchantment::de-illusionment, disinterest, dispassion [nibbidā]|, for the |fading of desire::dispassion, detachment [virāga]|, and for the |ending::cessation, termination [nirodha]| of [clinging to] present form.
‘I am presently being afflicted by felt experience. In the past too, I was afflicted by felt experience just as I am now being afflicted by present felt experience. If I were to delight in future felt experience, then in the future too, I shall be afflicted by felt experience just as I am now being afflicted by present felt experience.’ Reflecting thus, he becomes indifferent towards past felt experience, he does not take delight in future felt experience, and he practices for disenchantment, for the fading of desire, and for the ending of [clinging to] present felt experience.
‘I am presently being afflicted by perception
‘I am presently being afflicted by intentional constructs. In the past too, I was afflicted by intentional constructs just as I am now being afflicted by present intentional constructs. If I were to delight in future intentional constructs, then in the future too, I shall be afflicted by intentional constructs just as I am now being afflicted by present intentional constructs.’ Reflecting thus, he becomes indifferent towards past intentional constructs, he does not take delight in future intentional constructs, and he practices for disenchantment, for the fading of desire, and for the ending of [clinging to] present intentional constructs.
‘I am presently being afflicted by consciousness. In the past too, I was afflicted by consciousness just as I am now being afflicted by present consciousness. If I were to delight in future consciousness, then in the future too, I shall be afflicted by consciousness just as I am now being afflicted by present consciousness.’ Reflecting thus, he becomes indifferent towards past consciousness, he does not take delight in future consciousness, and he practices for disenchantment, for the fading of desire, and for the ending of [clinging to] present consciousness.
What do you |think::presume, suppose, imagine, conceive [maññati]|, bhikkhus, is form |permanent::stable, not in flux [nicca]| or |impermanent::not lasting, transient, unreliable [anicca]|?”
“Impermanent, venerable sir.”
“And that which is impermanent—is it |dissatisfactory::uncomfortable, unpleasant [dukkha]| or |happiness::contentment, ease, pleasant abiding [sukha]|?”
“Dissatisfactory, venerable sir.”
“And that which is impermanent, dissatisfactory, and |subject to change::of the nature of alteration, decay [vipariṇāmadhamma]|—is it fitting to regard that as: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self’?”
“Indeed not, venerable sir.”
“What do you think, bhikkhus, is felt experience, perception, intentional constructs, and consciousness permanent or impermanent?”
“Impermanent, venerable sir.”
“And that which is impermanent—is it dissatisfactory or happiness?”
“Dissatisfactory, venerable sir.”
“And that which is impermanent, dissatisfactory, and subject to change—is it fitting to regard that as: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self’?”
“Indeed not, venerable sir.”
“Therefore, bhikkhus, any kind of form whatsoever, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, deficient or refined, far or near—all form is to be seen with proper wisdom as it truly is: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’ Any kind of felt experience, perception, intentional constructs, or any kind of consciousness whatsoever, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, deficient or refined, far or near—all consciousness is to be seen with proper wisdom as it truly is: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’
This, bhikkhus, is called a noble disciple—who discards and does not accumulate, who abandons and does not cling, who unbinds and does not get involved, who scatters and does not kindle.
And what does he discard and not accumulate? He discards form and does not accumulate it; he discards felt experience ... he discards perception ... he discards intentional constructs ... he discards consciousness and does not accumulate it.
And what does he abandon and not cling to? He abandons form and does not cling to it; he abandons felt experience ... he abandons perception ... he abandons intentional constructs ... he abandons consciousness and does not cling to it.
And what does he unbind and not get involved with? He unbinds form and does not get involved with it; he unbinds felt experience ... he unbinds perception ... he unbinds intentional constructs ... he unbinds consciousness and does not get involved with it.
And what does he scatter and not kindle? He scatters form and does not kindle it; he scatters felt experience ... he scatters perception ... he scatters intentional constructs ... he scatters consciousness and does not kindle it.
Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the learned noble disciple becomes disenchanted with form, disenchanted with felt experience, disenchanted with perception, disenchanted with intentional constructs, and disenchanted with consciousness. Disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate; through dispassion, he is liberated. When liberated, there arises the knowledge: ‘I am liberated.’”
They understand: ‘Birth is ended, the spiritual life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of existence.’
This, bhikkhus, is called a bhikkhu who neither accumulates nor discards, but abides having discarded; who neither abandons nor clings, but abides having abandoned; who neither unbinds nor gets involved, but abides having unbound; who neither scatters nor kindles, but abides having scattered.
And what is it, bhikkhus, that he neither accumulates nor discards, but abides having discarded? He neither accumulates form nor discards form, but abides having discarded it; he neither accumulates felt experience ... he neither accumulates perception ... he neither accumulates intentional constructs ... he neither accumulates consciousness nor discards consciousness, but abides having discarded it.
And what is it, bhikkhus, that he neither abandons nor clings to, but abides having abandoned? He neither abandons form nor clings to form, but abides having abandoned it; he neither abandons felt experience ... he neither abandons perception ... he neither abandons intentional constructs ... he neither abandons consciousness nor clings to consciousness, but abides having abandoned it.
And what is it, bhikkhus, that he neither unbinds nor gets involved with, but abides having unbound? He neither unbinds form nor gets involved with form, but abides having unbound it; he neither unbinds felt experience ... he neither unbinds perception ... he neither unbinds intentional constructs ... he neither unbinds consciousness nor gets involved with consciousness, but abides having unbound it.
And what is it, bhikkhus, that he neither scatters nor kindles, but abides having scattered? He neither scatters form nor kindles form, but abides having scattered it; he neither scatters felt experience ... he neither scatters perception ... he neither scatters intentional constructs ... he neither scatters consciousness nor kindles consciousness, but abides having scattered it.
Bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu’s mind is liberated in such a way, the gods together with |Indra::king of the gods [inda]|, |Brahmā::God, the first deity to be born at the beginning of a new cosmic cycle and whose lifespan lasts for the entire cycle [brahmā]|, and |creator god::Prajāpati, “lord of creation,” is a name given by the Vedas to Indra, Agni, etc., as the highest of the Vedic divinities. But according to MA, Pajāpati here is a name for Māra because he is the ruler of this “generation” (pajā) made up of living beings [pajāpati]| honor him from afar, saying:
‘Homage to you, O thoroughbred among men!
Homage to you, O best among men!
We ourselves do not directly know,
dependent upon what you contemplate.’”