"Monks,
an uninstructed run-of-the-mill person feels feelings of pleasure,
feelings of pain, feelings of neither-pleasure-nor-pain. A
well-instructed disciple of the noble ones also feels feelings of
pleasure, feelings of pain, feelings of neither-pleasure-nor-pain. So
what difference, what distinction, what distinguishing factor is there
between the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones and the
uninstructed run-of-the-mill person?"
"For
us, lord, the teachings have the Blessed One as their root, their
guide, & their arbitrator. It would be good if the Blessed One
himself would explicate the meaning of this statement. Having heard it
from the Blessed One, the monks will remember it."
"In that case, monks, listen & pay close attention. I will speak."
"As you say, lord," the monks responded.
The
Blessed One said, "When touched with a feeling of pain, the
uninstructed run-of-the-mill person sorrows, grieves, & laments,
beats his breast, becomes distraught. So he feels two pains, physical
& mental. Just as if they were to shoot a man with an arrow and,
right afterward, were to shoot him with another one, so that he would
feel the pains of two arrows; in the same way, when touched with a
feeling of pain, the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person sorrows,
grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. So he
feels two pains, physical & mental.
"As
he is touched by that painful feeling, he is resistant. Any
resistance-obsession with regard to that painful feeling obsesses him.
Touched by that painful feeling, he delights in sensual pleasure. Why is
that? Because the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person does not discern
any escape from painful feeling aside from sensual pleasure. As he is
delighting in sensual pleasure, any passion-obsession with regard to
that feeling of pleasure obsesses him. He does not discern, as it
actually is present, the origination, passing away, allure, drawback, or
escape from that feeling. As he does not discern the origination,
passing away, allure, drawback, or escape from that feeling, then any
ignorance-obsession with regard to that feeling of
neither-pleasure-nor-pain obsesses him.
"Sensing
a feeling of pleasure, he senses it as though joined with it. Sensing a
feeling of pain, he senses it as though joined with it. Sensing a
feeling of neither-pleasure-nor-pain, he senses it as though joined with
it. This is called an uninstructed run-of-the-mill person joined with
birth, aging, & death; with sorrows, lamentations, pains,
distresses, & despairs. He is joined, I tell you, with suffering
& stress.
"Now, the
well-instructed disciple of the noble ones, when touched with a feeling
of pain, does not sorrow, grieve, or lament, does not beat his breast or
become distraught. So he feels one pain: physical, but not mental. Just
as if they were to shoot a man with an arrow and, right afterward, did
not shoot him with another one, so that he would feel the pain of only
one arrow. In the same way, when touched with a feeling of pain, the
well-instructed disciple of the noble ones does not sorrow, grieve, or
lament, does not beat his breast or become distraught. He feels one
pain: physical, but not mental.
"As
he is touched by that painful feeling, he is not resistant. No
resistance-obsession with regard to that painful feeling obsesses him.
Touched by that painful feeling, he does not delight in sensual
pleasure. Why is that? Because the well-instructed disciple of the noble
ones discerns an escape from painful feeling aside from sensual
pleasure. As he is not delighting in sensual pleasure, no
passion-obsession with regard to that feeling of pleasure obsesses him.
He discerns, as it actually is present, the origination, passing away,
allure, drawback, and escape from that feeling. As he discerns the
origination, passing away, allure, drawback, and escape from that
feeling, no ignorance-obsession with regard to that feeling of
neither-pleasure-nor-pain obsesses him.
"Sensing
a feeling of pleasure, he senses it disjoined from it. Sensing a
feeling of pain, he senses it disjoined from it. Sensing a feeling of
neither-pleasure-nor-pain, he senses it disjoined from it. This is
called a well-instructed disciple of the noble ones disjoined from
birth, aging, & death; from sorrows, lamentations, pains,
distresses, & despairs. He is disjoined, I tell you, from suffering
& stress.
"This is the
difference, this the distinction, this the distinguishing factor between
the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones and the uninstructed
run-of-the-mill person."
The
discerning person, learned, doesn't sense a (mental) feeling of pleasure
or pain: This is the difference in skillfulness between the sage &
the person run-of-the-mill. For a learned person who has fathomed the
Dharma, clearly seeing this world & the next, desirable things don't
charm the mind, undesirable ones bring no resistance. His acceptance
& rejection are scattered, gone to their end, do not exist. Knowing
the dustless, sorrowless state, he discerns rightly, has gone, beyond
becoming, to the Further Shore.
The discerning person, learned,
doesn't sense a (mental) feeling of pleasure or pain:
This is the difference in skillfulness
between the sage & the person run-of-the-mill.
For a learned person
who has fathomed the Dharma,
clearly seeing this world & the next,
desirable things don't charm the mind,
undesirable ones bring no resistance.
His acceptance & rejection are scattered,
gone to their end, do not exist.
Knowing the dustless, sorrowless state,
he discerns rightly, has gone,
beyond becoming, to the Further Shore.