Samanupassanā
sutta

___

SN 22.47
Saṃyutta Nikāya

SA 63
Saṃyuktāgama 等觀察

SA 45
Saṃyuktāgama 覺

At Savatthi.

***

Thus have I heard. Once the Awakened One lived at Srāvasti’s greater-metropolitan-area, in Jeta’s grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastry.

***

At that time the Blessed One said to the monks: “There are five aggregates of clinging, that is, the bodily form aggregate of clinging … the feeling … the perception … the formations … the consciousness aggregate of clinging.

At that time the World Honoured One said to the mendicants:
“There are five clinging aggregates. What are the five? The form clinging aggregate, feeling..., perception..., formulation... and the consciousness clinging aggregate.

“Bhikkhus, those ascetics and brahmins who regard anything as self in various ways all regard as self the five aggregates subject to clinging, or a certain one among them. What five?

” Monks, if recluses and Brahmins speculate about the existence of a self, they all speculate about the existence of a self in relation to these five aggregates of clinging. What are the five?

If any wanderer or priest considers there is a self, then they see the self in these five aggregates.

“Here, bhikkhus, the uninstructed worldling, who is not a seer of the noble ones and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, who is not a seer of superior persons and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, regards form as self, or self as possessing form, or form as in self, or self as in form. He regards feeling as self … perception as self … volitional formations as self … consciousness as self (viññāṇaṃ attato samanupassati), or self as possessing consciousness (viññāṇavantaṃ vā attānaṃ), or consciousness as in self (attani vā viññāṇaṃ), or self as in consciousness (viññāṇasmiṃ vā attānaṃ).

“Recluses and Brahmins see bodily form as the self, as distinct from the self in the sense of being owned by it, as existing within the self, or a self as existing within bodily form. In the same way they see feeling … perception … formations … consciousness as the self, as distinct from the self in the sense of being owned by it, as existing within the self, or a self as existing within consciousness.

Wanderers and priests consider form is self, form is other than self, self is in form, or form is in self. They consider feeling..., perception..., formulations… and consciousness is self, consciousness is other than self, self is in consciousness, or consciousness is in self.

***

“In this way a foolish unlearned worldling speculates about the self, being ignorant of how to distinguish it.

The foolish untaught common person has ignorance therefore he considers, form is self, other than self, or one is in the other.

“Thus this way of regarding things and the notion ‘I am’ (‘asmī’ti) have not vanished in him. As ‘I am’ has not vanished, there takes place a descent of the five faculties (indriyānaṃ avakkanti hoti)

Contemplating it like this, he is not separated from ‘mine’. One who is not separated from ‘mine’ engages with the sense faculties.

“Saying self is truly real, they do not give up the view. With not giving up the view as the cause, all bases come to be.

—of the eye faculty, the ear faculty, the nose faculty, the tongue faculty, the body faculty.  There is, bhikkhus, the mind, there are mental phenomena, there is the element of ignorance (avijjādhātu).

When the uninstructed worldling is contacted by a feeling born of ignorance-contact, ‘I am’ occurs to him; ‘I am this’ (‘ayamahamasmī’tipissa hoti) occurs to him; ‘I will be’ (‘bhavissan’tipissa hoti) and ‘I will not be, (‘na bhavissan’tipissa hoti)’ and ‘I will consist of form’ (‘rūpī bhavissan’tipissa hoti) and ‘I will be formless,’ (‘arūpī bhavissan’tipissa hoti)  and ‘I will be percipient’ (‘saññī bhavissan’tipissa hoti) and ‘I will be nonpercipient’ (‘asaññī bhavissan’tipissa hoti)  and ‘I will be neither percipient nor nonpercipient’ (‘nevasaññī­nāsaññī bhavissan’tipissa hoti)

Being engaged with the sense faculties gives rise to contact. Through the six contacts engaging with contact, pleasure and pain arise to a foolish unlearned worldling, from which this kind of view or others arise, that is, through the six classes of contact. What are the six?

“That is, there is the eye-contact sphere, the ear-contact … nose-contact … tongue-contact … body-contact … mind-contact sphere. Monks, there is the mind element, the mind-object element and the element of ignorance. Being contacted by ignorant contact, a foolish unlearned worldling proclaims existence, proclaims non-existence, proclaims existence-and-non-existence, proclaims neither-existence-nor-non-existence,

All bases having come to be, all contact comes to be. The six contact organs are that which causes contact. From contact organs arise suffering and pleasurable experience for the foolish untaught common person. What are the six? They are the eye sense organ, the ear..., the nose..., the tongue..., the body... and the mind sense organ. Thus, mendicants there is the mind element, the dhamma element and the ignorance element.

“The foolish untaught common person has ignorance therefore arise: the experience of existence, the experience of non existence, the experience of existence and non existence,

—these occur to him.

proclaims himself to be superior, proclaims himself to be inferior, proclaims himself to be equal, saying: ‘I know it, I see it.’

the experience that I am superior, the experience that I am equal, the experience that I am inferior, the experience that I know, the experience that I see, the experience that I know like this and the experience that I see like this. These are all from the six sense organs.

“The five faculties remain right there, bhikkhus, but in regard to them the instructed noble disciple abandons ignorance and arouses true knowledge. With the fading away of ignorance and the arising of true knowledge, ‘I am’ does not occur to him; ‘I am this’ does not occur to him; ‘I will be’ and ‘I will not be,’ and ‘I will consist of form’ and ‘I will be formless,’ and ‘I will be percipient’ and ‘I will be nonpercipient’ and ‘I will be neither percipient nor nonpercipient’—these do not occur to him.”

“Again, monks, a learned noble disciple, while being established in the six spheres of contact, is able to become disenchanted with ignorance and is able to give rise to knowledge. With the fading away of ignorance and the arising of knowledge he does not proclaim existence, does not proclaim non-existence, does not proclaim existence-and-non-existence, does not proclaim neither-existence-nor-non-existence, does not proclaim himself to be superior, does not proclaim himself to be inferior, does not proclaim himself to be equal, saying: ‘I know it, I see it.’

“Therefore the well-learned noble disciple, having given up ignorance regarding these six sense organs and wisdom arises and: the experience of existence, the experience of non existence, the experience of existence and non existence, the experience that I am superior, the experience that I am equal, the experience that I am inferior, the experience that I know, the experience that I see, the experience that I know like this and the experience that I see like this, do not arise.

***

Having produced knowledge like this, vision like this, the formerly arisen contact by ignorance ceases, whereon contact by knowledge arises.”

The ignorant contact which had arisen before is destroyed and thereafter wise contact and experience arise.”

***

When the Buddha had spoken this discourse, the monks, hearing what the Buddha had said, were delighted and received it respectfully.

The Awakened One said this discourse. The mendicants heard what the Awakened One had said and happily practised.