Itivuttaka 44

Tipitaka >> Sutta Pitaka >> Khuddaka Nikaya >> Itivuttaka >> '''44. Nibbanadhatusuttam'''

Adapted From the Translation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu(Geoffrey DeGraff)

Compared with the Pali Tipitaka at www.tipitaka.org

44. Nibbanadhatusuttam (What is Nirvana/Nibbana)

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

“Monks, there are these two forms of the Unbinding (nibbana) property. Which two? The Unbinding property with fuel remaining, & the Unbinding property with no fuel remaining.

And what is the Unbinding (nibbana) property with fuel remaining? There is the case where a monk is an Arahant whose asavas(wants/desires) have decayed, who has reached fulfillment, finished the task, laid down the burden, attained the true goal, destroyed the fetter of becoming (bhava), and is released through right divine awakening. His five sense faculties still remain and, owing to their being intact, he experiences the pleasing & the displeasing, and is sensitive to pleasure & pain. His ending of passion(raag), aversion, & delusion is termed the Unbinding property with fuel remaining.[1]

And what is the Unbinding (nibbana) property with no fuel remaining? There is the case where a monk is an Arahant whose asavas(wants/desires) have decayed, who has reached fulfillment, finished the task, laid down the burden, attained the true goal, destroyed the fetter of becoming (bhava), and is released through right divine awakening. For him, all that is sensed, being unrelished, will grow cold right here.

This is termed the Unbinding property with no fuel remaining.” These two proclaimed by the one with vision, Unbinding (nibbana) properties the one independent, the one who is Such: [2] one property, here in this life, with fuel remaining from the destruction of [craving], the guide to becoming (bhava), and that with no fuel remaining, after this life, in which all becoming (bhava) totally ceases. Those who know this unfabricated state, their minds released through the destruction of [craving], <p style="text-align:center;">the guide to becoming, <p style="text-align:center;">they, attaining the Dhamma's core, <p style="text-align:center;">delighting in ending,[3] <p style="text-align:center;">have abandoned all becoming: <p style="text-align:center;">they, the Such.

NOTES

1. With fuel remaining (sa-upadisesa) and with no fuel remaining (anupadisesa): The analogy here is to a fire. In the first case, the flames are out, but the embers are still glowing. In the second, the fire is so thoroughly out that the embers have grown cold. The “fuel” here is the five aggregates (Khandas : form, feelings(sensations), perceptions, thoughts & awareness : see the Glossary). While the Arahant is still alive, he/she still experiences the five aggregates, but they do not burn with the fires of passion(raag), aversion, or delusion. When the Arahant passes away, there is no longer any experience of aggregates here or anywhere else.

2. Such (tadin): An adjective to describe one who has attained the goal. It indicates that the person’s state is undefinable and not subject to change or influence of any sort.

3. Following the reading in the Burmese and PTS editions: dhamma-saradigama khaye rata. The Thai edition reads, dhamma-saradigamakkhaye rata—delighting in the ending of the attaining of the Dhamma’s core—which doesn’t make sense.

See also: MN 140