22.33 Not Yours (1)

SN 22:33 Not Yours

Translated from the Pali by John D. Ireland

At one time the Lord was staying near Savatthi … and said: “What is not yours, Bhikkhus, renounce it. Renouncing it will be to your good, to your happiness. And what, Bhikkhus, is not yours? The body, Bhikkhus, is not yours … Feeling … Perception … Mental activities … Consciousness, Bhikkhus, is not yours, renounce it. Renouncing it will be to your good, to your happiness.

“It is as if a person were to carry away, burn or do as he pleased with the grass, twigs, branches and foliage in this Jeta Grove. Would it occur to you to say, ’The person is carrying us away, is burning us, is doing as he pleases with us’?”

“Certainly not, Sir.”

“For what reason?”

“Because, Lord, this is not ourselves nor what belongs to ourselves.”

“So also, Bhikkhus, the body is not yours, renounce it. Renouncing it will be to your good, to your happiness. Feeling is not yours … Perception is not yours … Mental activities are not yours … Consciousness is not yours, renounce it. Renouncing it will be to your good, to your happiness.”