Itivuttaka 46

Tipitaka >> Sutta Pitaka >> Khuddaka Nikaya >> Itivuttaka >> '''46. Sikkhanisamsasuttam'''

Adapted From the Translation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu(Geoffrey DeGraff)

Compared with the Pali Tipitaka at www.tipitaka.org

46. Sikkhanisamsasuttam (Training to be followed)

This was said by the Lord Buddha(Bhagavata), said by the Arahant, so I have heard:

“Monks, live with the trainings [in heightened virtue, heightened mind, & heightened direct-understanding(panna)] as your reward, with direct-understanding(panna) uppermost, release(moksha) the essence, & mindfulness the governing principle.As you live with the trainings as your reward, with Direct Experiential Knowledge(Panna) uppermost, release(moksha) the essence, & mindfulness the governing principle, then one of two fruits can be expected: either divine awakening right in the here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance nonreturn.”

Complete in the training, not subject to falling away,[1] one with Direct Experiential Knowledge(Panna) uppermost, seeing the stopping, the ending of birth: that sage bears his last body, has shaken off Mara(deathlord), I tell you, has gone beyond aging. So, always delighting in jhana(meditation), centered(in trance), ardent(exerting), seeing the stopping, the ending of rebirth, conquering Mara(devil), along with his armies,[2] monks, <p style="text-align:center;">be gone-beyond aging & death.

NOTES:

1. Following the reading found in one of the Sri Lankan editions: aparihana-dhammam. The Thai, Burmese, and another Sri Lankan edition read: apahana-dhammam, “not subject to abandoning,” which fits the meter better, but not the sense of the verse. The Commentary interprets the more common reading as meaning “not subject to falling away,” but it doesn’t explain how this can be so.

2. Sn 3:2 identifies Mara's(devil's) armies as: sensual passions; discontent; hunger & thirst; craving; sloth & torpor; terror; uncertainty; hypocrisy & stubbornness; gains, offerings, fame, & status; and the attitude that praises self while disparaging others.

See also: AN 4:245; AN 10:58