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Tidipa

Ādittapariyāyasutta (The Discourse on the Exposition of Burning)

· 34 min read

13S4/1.4.3.8, the exposition on burning: better a burning iron through each sense faculty, and better sleep, than grasping at the representations of sense objects or thinking the thoughts that split the Saṅgha; the learned disciple attends instead to the impermanence of each sense.

Original text: 13S4/1.4.3.8 Ādittapariyāyasutta 977–990 in the World Tipitaka Edition

Summary

Section titled “Summary”

The Bhagavā teaches the exposition on burning: better that the eye, ear, nose, tongue and body be lacerated by a burning iron spike, stake, nail-clipper, razor or spear than that one grasp at the representations and details of their objects, since a consciousness tied to their gratification leads at death to hell or the animal realm; and better to sleep than to think the thoughts that split the Saṅgha. The learned disciple sets the torment aside, attends instead to the impermanence of each sense, its objects, consciousness, contact and feeling, and is disenchanted and liberated.

Diagram

Section titled “Diagram”
flowchart TB
    A["the eye-faculty lacerated by a heated iron spike"] --> X["better than grasping at representations and details"]
    B["ear, nose, tongue and body by stake, nail-clipper, razor, spear"] --> X
    S["sleep, barren and fruitless"] --> Y["better than thoughts that split the Saṅgha"]
    X --> D["consciousness tied to gratification"] --> H["at death, hell or the animal realm"]
    X --> R["the learned disciple reflects"]
    Y --> R
    R --> I["each sense, its objects, consciousness, contact, feeling: impermanent"]
    I --> N["disenchantment"] --> L["detachment, liberation, the knowledge"]

Text

Section titled “Text”

(235.)

977. “I will teach you, Bhikkhave, the Parable on Burning, a discourse on the Dhamma. Listen to it. And what, Bhikkhave, is the Parable on Burning, the discourse on the Dhamma? Bhikkhave, it would be better for the eye-faculty to be lacerated by a heated iron spike, ablaze, burning, and glowing, rather than grasping at representations by way of details in forms cognisable by the eye. If, Bhikkhave, viññāṇaṃ (consciousness) remains tied to the gratification in a representation, or tied to the gratification in a detail, and at that time one were to die, it is possible that one would go to one of two destinations — hell or the animal realm. Seeing this danger, Bhikkhave, I indeed say this.

978. Bhikkhave, it would be better for the ear-faculty to be lacerated by a sharp iron stake, ablaze, burning, and glowing, rather than grasping at representations by way of details in sounds cognisable by the ear. If, Bhikkhave, consciousness remains tied to the gratification in a representation, or tied to the gratification in a detail, and at that time one were to die, it is possible that one would go to one of two destinations — hell or the animal realm. Seeing this danger, Bhikkhave, I indeed say this.

979. Bhikkhave, it would be better for the nose-faculty to be lacerated by a sharp nail-clipper, ablaze, burning, and glowing, rather than grasping at representations by way of details in odours cognisable by the nose. If, Bhikkhave, consciousness remains tied to the gratification in a representation, or tied to the gratification in a detail, and at that time one were to die, it is possible that one would go to one of two destinations — hell or the animal realm. Seeing this danger, Bhikkhave, I indeed say this.

980. Bhikkhave, it would be better for the tongue-faculty to be lacerated by a sharp razor, ablaze, burning, and glowing, rather than grasping at representations by way of details in tastes cognisable by the tongue. If, Bhikkhave, consciousness remains tied to the gratification in a representation, or tied to the gratification in a detail, and at that time one were to die, it is possible that one would go to one of two destinations — hell or the animal realm. Seeing this danger, Bhikkhave, I indeed say this.

981. Bhikkhave, it would be better for the body-faculty to be lacerated by a sharp spear, ablaze, burning, and glowing, rather than grasping at representations by way of details in tangibles cognisable by the body. If, Bhikkhave, consciousness remains tied to the gratification in a representation, or tied to the gratification in a detail, and at that time one were to die, it is possible that one would go to one of two destinations — hell or the animal realm. Seeing this danger, Bhikkhave, I indeed say this.

982. Bhikkhave, it would be better to sleep. Now sleep, Bhikkhave, I indeed declare barren of life, fruitless of life, bewildered of life, but one would not think such thoughts as, having come under their power, one would split the Saṅgha. Seeing this danger of barrenness of life, Bhikkhave, I indeed say this.

983. There, Bhikkhave, the sutavā (learned) ariyasāvako (disciple of the liberated) reflects thus— ‘Never mind for now the eye-faculty lacerated by a heated iron spike, ablaze, burning, and glowing. Come, let me attend to just this: the eye is impermanent, forms are impermanent, eye-consciousness is impermanent, eye-contact is impermanent, and whatever vedayitaṃ (feeling) arises with eye-contact as cause, whether pleasant or painful or neutral, that too is impermanent.’

984. Never mind for now the ear-faculty lacerated by a sharp iron stake, ablaze, burning, and glowing. Come, let me attend to just this: the ear is impermanent, sounds are impermanent, ear-consciousness is impermanent, ear-contact is impermanent, and whatever feeling arises with ear-contact as cause, whether pleasant or painful or neutral, that too is impermanent.

985. Never mind for now the nose-faculty lacerated by a sharp nail-clipper, ablaze, burning, and glowing. Come, let me attend to just this: the nose is impermanent, odours are impermanent, nose-consciousness is impermanent, nose-contact is impermanent, and whatever feeling arises with nose-contact as cause … and so on … that too is impermanent.

986. Never mind for now the tongue-faculty lacerated by a sharp razor, ablaze, burning, and glowing. Come, let me attend to just this: the tongue is impermanent, tastes are impermanent, tongue-consciousness is impermanent, tongue-contact is impermanent, and whatever [feeling] arises with tongue-contact as cause … and so on … that too is impermanent.

987. Never mind for now the body-faculty lacerated by a sharp spear, ablaze, burning, and glowing. Come, let me attend to just this: the body is impermanent, tangibles are impermanent, body-consciousness is impermanent, body-contact is impermanent, and whatever feeling arises with body-contact as cause … and so on … that too is impermanent.

988. Never mind sleep for now. Come, let me attend to just this: the mind is impermanent, dhammā (mental phenomena) are impermanent, mind-consciousness is impermanent, mind-contact is impermanent, and whatever feeling arises with mind-contact as cause, whether pleasant or painful or neutral, that too is impermanent.”

989. Thus seeing, Bhikkhave, the learned disciple of the liberated nibbindati (is disenchanted with) the eye, is disenchanted with forms, is disenchanted with eye-consciousness, is disenchanted with eye-contact … and so on … and whatever feeling arises with mind-contact as cause, whether pleasant or painful or neutral, that too he is disenchanted with. Being disenchanted, he virajjati (becomes detached); from detachment he vimuccati (becomes liberated); in liberation there is the ñāṇaṃ (knowledge): ‘liberated’. He pajānāti (knows clearly): ‘Birth (of suffering) is finished, the optimal life is lived, what had to be done is done, there is nothing further for this present state of existence.’ This, Bhikkhave, is the Parable on Burning, the discourse on the Dhamma.”

990. The eighth [discourse of the chapter].

Commentary

Section titled “Commentary”
  • The whole text stands on buddhavacana’s Senses page; every sentence from 977.4 on is its twin, the quotation marks here follow the edition’s, and …pe… is “… and so on …”.
  • pariyāya is “exposition” in the page title and “Parable” in the twin’s closing sentence (989, “the Parable on Burning”); the title’s gloss stands as given.
  • Renderings, the buddhavacana page’s: nimitta “representation”, anubyañjana “detail”, assāda “gratification”, ādīnava “danger”, sampalimaṭṭha “lacerated”, gati “destination”, sotta “sleep”.
  • The six torments, the alternative of sleep, and the two destinations (niraya, tiracchānayoni) are the text’s rhetoric of comparison; a note for the author’s rational reading.
  • The disenchantment run (989) is the fire sermon’s (13S4/1.1.3.6 Ādittasutta); the textbook’s chapter 9 reads its words one by one.

Parallels

Section titled “Parallels”

The Chinese parallel is the 241st sūtra of the 雜阿含經 (fascicle 9, CBETA T02, no. 99, pp. 58a–b), in the Saṃyuktāgama’s section on the sense bases (Choong, 2000), read here in CBETA’s text. The two agree in sequence: better that each sense faculty be destroyed by a heated or sharp instrument than that one grasp at the representation and the details of its objects (取於色相、取隨形好, p. 58a); sleep, though a barren and foolish way of living, is better than the thoughts that follow; the learned disciple resolves instead to contemplate the impermanence of each sense, its objects, consciousness, contact and feeling (p. 58b); and so he is disenchanted, detached and liberated, with the knowledge “birth is ended, the optimal life established, what was to be done done” (我生已盡，梵行已立，所作已作，自知不受後有, p. 58b). The differences:

  • The setting and the subject. The Chinese opens at Vesālī, in the hall with the peaked roof by the Monkey Pond (毘舍離獼猴池側重閣講堂, p. 58a); the edition’s Pāḷi begins with the Bhagavā’s words. The Chinese makes “the foolish unlearned ordinary person” (愚癡無聞凡夫) the one for whom the torment would be better, in every section; the Pāḷi names no one, “it would be better for the eye-faculty to be lacerated” (977).
  • The instruments. A heated copper spike (火燒熱銅籌) burns out the eyes, a heated iron awl (燒鐵錐) bores the ears, a sharp knife (利刀) cuts off the nose and the tongue, a sharp steel spear (剛鐵利槍) pierces the body (p. 58a); the Pāḷi has a heated iron spike, a sharp iron stake, a sharp nail-clipper, a sharp razor and a sharp spear, each “ablaze, burning, and glowing”, and the faculty “lacerated” (977–981).
  • The danger. The Pāḷi’s reason is a consciousness tied to the gratification in a representation or a detail, which at death may lead to one of two destinations, hell or the animal realm (977–981); the Chinese says only that one “falls into a bad destination like a sinking iron ball” (墮惡趣中如沈鐵丸, p. 58a), from the ear onward “with the breakup of the body at the end of life” (身壞命終), and in the disciple’s reflection “falls into the three bad destinations and suffers for a long night” (墮三惡趣，長夜受苦, p. 58b).
  • Sleep. Both call sleep barren and foolish (愚癡活、是癡命，無利、無福, p. 58a); the Pāḷi’s alternative is “such thoughts as, having come under their power, one would split the Saṅgha” (982), the Chinese’s “thoughts about those forms” (於彼色而起覺想) which “give rise to bonds and disputes, make many act against the good, and cannot benefit and gladden gods and humans” (必生纏縛諍訟，能令多眾起於非義，不能饒益安樂天人, p. 58a); the Saṅgha is not mentioned.
  • The reflection. The Pāḷi disciple sets each torment aside (“never mind for now”) and attends to “impermanent” alone (983–988); the Chinese disciple resolves “from today I shall rightly reflect” (我從今日當正思惟) on each as “impermanent, conditioned, a phenomenon arisen with the mind as condition” (無常、有為、心緣生法, p. 58b), the eye torment there being a blazing iron spear through the eyes (熾然鐵槍以貫其目). The Chinese writes out the eye and the body and dismisses the ear, nose and tongue with “should train likewise”; the Pāḷi gives all six, abbreviating only the feeling clause.
  • The mind and sleep. In the Pāḷi the sixth reflection sets sleep aside and contemplates the mind, mental phenomena, mind-consciousness and mind-contact (988); in the Chinese the disciple resolves “I shall not sleep, nor arouse thoughts” (我當不眠，亦不起覺想, p. 58b) and the mind has no section of its own, being added at the end, “the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind likewise” (耳、鼻、舌、身、意亦復如是, p. 58b).
  • The close. The Pāḷi ends with the title statement, “This, Bhikkhave, is the Parable on Burning, the discourse on the Dhamma” (989); the Chinese with the standard close, the bhikkhus rejoicing (歡喜奉行, p. 58b).

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References

Section titled “References”
Choong, M. (2000). The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: A Comparative Study Based on the Sūtrāṅga Portion of the Pāli Saṃyutta-Nikāya and the Chinese Saṃyuktāgama. Harrassowitz.

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