Atthinukhopariyaayo Sutta
Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia is now 14 years old
Our Encyclopedia recently received a wonderful opportunity for a major renewal on its 14th birthday . After many years of growing our Encyclopedia had become bit slow and sometimes even decided not to answer when people knocked on the door.
A very big thank you and blessings to Dmytro Rudiy (rudiy.nl) for his great work in upgrading the server, website and all of the infrastructure and helping make TBE fast and reliable again for everyone!
We kindly ask our readers to help us cover the cost of this important upgrade and also help with the ongoing costs of keeping the Encyclopedia alive and freely available.
or card
Every little donation helps and every one is deeply appreciated. 🙏🙏🙏
OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM 🙏🙏🙏
May blessings shower down on all of yous 🙏🙏🙏
Atthinukhopariyaayo Sutta: Is There a Criterion?
translated from the Pali by
Maurice O'Connell Walshe
[1] "Is there, monks, any criterion whereby a monk, apart from faith, apart from persuasion,[2] apart from inclination, apart from rational speculation, apart from delight in views and theories, could affirm the attainment of enlightenment:[3] 'Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been accomplished, what was to be done is done, there is no further living in this world'?"
"For us, Lord, all things have the Blessed One as their root, their guide, their refuge. It would be well, Lord, if the meaning of these words were to be made clear by the Blessed One.[4] Hearing it from the Blessed One, the monks will remember it."
"There is such a criterion, monks, whereby a monk... could affirm the attainment of enlightenment... What is that method?
"In this, monks, a monk seeing an object with the eye recognizes within himself the presence of lust, hatred or delusion, knowing 'Lust, hatred or delusion is present in me,' or he recognizes the absence of these things, knowing 'There is no lust, hatred or delusion present in me.' Now, monks, as regards that recognition of the presence or absence of these things within him, are these matters to be perceived by faith, by persuasion, by inclination, by rational speculation, by delight in views and theories?"
"No, indeed, Lord."
"Are not these matters to be perceived by the eye of wisdom?"[5]
"Indeed, Lord."
"Then, monks, this is the criterion whereby a monk, apart from faith, apart from persuasion, apart from inclination, apart from rational speculation, apart from delight in views and theories, could affirm the attainment of enlightenment: 'Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been accomplished, what was to be done is done, there is no further living in this world.'"
[Similarly for ear, nose, tongue, body (touch), mind.]
Notes
1. Pariyaaya: a word with several meanings, lit. "going around," hence "succession," "mode," "procedure," etc. This short sutta deals with the very basic question of how, objectively, one can be sure that the declared goal of the Buddha's practice has been achieved: thus the rendering "criterion" is appropriate. It may be compared with the frequently-quoted Kaalaama Sutta (AN 3.65: translated in WH 8).
2. Not influenced by anybody else.
3. Añña.m vyaakareyya. Woodward's rendering "could affirm insight" is inadequate, because aññaa definitely means the highest insight of enlightenment. The declaration takes the form shown below: "Birth is destroyed... etc."
4. The formula is abbreviated in the text here. It is found in full elsewhere.
5.I follow Woodward's rendering for paññaaya (lit. "with wisdom"). The actual expression paññaacakkhu "eye of wisdom" occurs elsewhere.