SN 36.8 Gelanna Sutta

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SN 36.8 Gelanna Sutta : At the Sick Room (2)
This sutta is identical to SN-36.7, except that this one states that the feeling/sensation of pleasure, etc., is dependent on contact instead of on the body. Once the Lord Buddha dwelt at Vesali, in the Great Forest, at the Gabled House. In the evening, after had arisen from his seclusion, he went to the sick room and sat down on a prepared seat. Being seated, he addressed the monks as follows:

"O monks, mindfully and clearly comprehending should a monk spend his time! This is my injunction to you!

(1) "And how, O monks, is a monk mindful? He dwells practicing body-contemplation on the body, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the world. He dwells practicing feeling-contemplation on feelings/sensations, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the world. He dwells practicing mind-contemplation on the mind, having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the world. He dwells practicing mind-object-contemplation on mind-objects, having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the world. So, monks, is a monk mindful.

"And how, O monks, is a monk clearly comprehending? He applies clear comprehension in going forward and going back; in looking straight on and in looking elsewhere; in bending and in stretching (his limbs); in wearing the robes and carrying the alms bowl; in eating, drinking, chewing and savoring; in obeying the calls of nature; in walking, standing sitting, falling asleep waking, speaking and being silent — in all that he applies clear comprehension. So, monks, is a monk clearly comprehending.

"If a monk is thus mindful and clearly comprehending, ardent, earnest and resolute, and a pleasant feeling/sensation arises in him, he knows: 'Now a pleasant feeling/sensation has arisen in me. It is conditioned, not unconditioned. Conditioned by what? Even by this sense-impression(2) it is conditioned. And this sense-impression, indeed, is impermanent, compounded, dependently arisen. But if this pleasant feeling/sensation that has arisen is conditioned by a sense-impression which is impermanent, compounded, and dependently arisen, how could such a pleasant feeling/sensation be permanent?'

"In regard to both sense-impression and the pleasant feeling, he dwells contemplating impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells contemplating relinquishment. And in him who thus dwells, the underlying tendency to lust in regard to sense-impressions and pleasant feeling/sensation vanishes.

"If a painful feeling/sensation arises in him, he knows: 'Now a painful feeling/sensation has arisen in me. It is conditioned, not unconditioned. Conditioned by what? Even by this sense-impression it is conditioned. And this sense-impression, indeed, is impermanent, compounded, dependently arisen. But if this painful feeling/sensation that has arisen is conditioned by a sense-impression which is impermanent, compounded and dependently arisen, how could such a painful feeling/sensation be permanent?'

"In regard to both sense-impression and painful feeling, he dwells contemplating impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells contemplating relinquishment. And in him who thus dwells, the underlying tendency to resistance in regard to sense-impression and painful feeling/sensation vanishes.

"If a neutral feeling/sensation arises in him, he knows: 'Now a neutral feeling/sensation has arisen in me. It is conditioned, not unconditioned. Conditioned by what? Even by this sense-impression it is conditioned. And this sense-impression, indeed, is impermanent, compounded, dependently arisen. But if this neutral feeling/sensation that has arisen is conditioned by a sense-impression, which is impermanent, compounded and dependently arisen, how could such a neutral feeling/sensation be permanent?'

"In regard to both sense-impression and neutral feeling, he dwells contemplating impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells contemplating relinquishment. And in him who thus dwells, the underlying tendency to ignorance in regard to sense-impression and neutral feeling/sensation vanishes."

(The concluding sections are identical with those in SN-36.7, from "If he experiences..." up to the end.)

Notes:

1.This paragraph and the one following were omitted from the BPS Wheel edition. They are identical to the corresponding paragraphs in the preceding sutta (SN-36.7) and are included here for the sake of completeness. — JTB.

2.Sense-impression, or contact(of senses with their objects) (phassa), is a mental factor and does not signify physical impingement.