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an.11.9 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

To Sandha

On one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Nadika in the Brick Hall. Then Ven. Sandha went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there the Blessed One said to him, “Sandha, practice the absorption of a thoroughbred horse, not the absorption of an unbroken colt. And how is an unbroken colt absorbed?

“An unbroken colt, tied to the feeding trough, is absorbed with the thought, ‘Barley grain! Barley grain!’ Why is that? Because as he is tied to the feeding trough, the thought does not occur to him, ‘I wonder what task the trainer will have me do today? What should I do in response?’ Tied to the feeding trough, he is simply absorbed with the thought, ‘Barley grain! Barley grain!’

“In the same way, there are cases where an unbroken colt of a man, having gone to the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, dwells with his awareness overcome by sensual passion, obsessed with sensual passion. He does not discern the escape, as it actually is present, from sensual passion once it has arisen. Making that sensual passion the focal point, he absorbs himself with it, besorbs, resorbs, & supersorbs himself with it.

“He dwells with his awareness overcome by ill will… sloth & drowsiness… restlessness & anxiety… uncertainty, obsessed with uncertainty. He does not discern the escape, as it actually is present, from uncertainty once it has arisen. Making that uncertainty the focal point, he absorbs himself with it, besorbs, resorbs, & supersorbs himself with it.

“He is absorbed dependent on earth… liquid… fire… wind… the sphere of the infinitude of space… the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness… the sphere of nothingness… the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception… this world… the next world… whatever is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, pondered by the intellect. That is how an unbroken colt of a man is absorbed.

“And how is a thoroughbred absorbed? An excellent thoroughbred horse tied to the feeding trough, is not absorbed with the thought, ‘Barley grain! Barley grain!’ Why is that? Because as he is tied to the feeding trough, the thought occurs to him, ‘I wonder what task the trainer will have me do today? What should I do in response?’ Tied to the feeding trough, he is not absorbed with the thought, ‘Barley grain! Barley grain!’ The excellent thoroughbred horse regards the feel of the spur as a debt, an imprisonment, a loss, a piece of bad luck.

“In the same way, an excellent thoroughbred of a man, having gone to the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, dwells with his awareness not overcome by sensual passion, not obsessed with sensual passion. He discerns the escape, as it actually is present, from sensual passion once it has arisen.

“He dwells with his awareness not overcome by ill will… sloth & drowsiness… restlessness & anxiety… uncertainty, obsessed with uncertainty. He discerns the escape, as it actually is present, from uncertainty once it has arisen.

“He is absorbed dependent neither on earth, liquid, fire, wind, the sphere of the infinitude of space, the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness, the sphere of nothingness, the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, this world, the next world, nor on whatever is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, or pondered by the intellect—and yet he is absorbed. And to this excellent thoroughbred of a man, absorbed in this way, the gods, together with Indra, the Brahmas, & Pajapati, pay homage even from afar:

‘Homage to you, O thoroughbred man.
Homage to you, O superlative man—
you of whom we don’t know even what it is
dependent on which
you’re absorbed.’"

When this was said, Ven. Sandha said to the Blessed One, “But in what way, lord, is the excellent thoroughbred of a man absorbed when he is absorbed dependent neither on earth, liquid, heat, wind, the sphere of the infinitude of space, the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness, the sphere of nothingness, the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, this world, the next world, nor on whatever is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, or pondered by the intellect—and yet he is absorbed, so that to this excellent thoroughbred of a man, absorbed in this way, the gods, together with Indra, the Brahmas, & Pajapati, pay homage even from afar:

‘Homage to you, O thoroughbred man.
Homage to you, O superlative man—
you of whom we don’t know even what it is
dependent on which
you’re absorbed.’"

“There is the case, Sandha, where for an excellent thoroughbred of a man the perception of earth with regard to earth has ceased to exist; the perception of liquid with regard to liquid… the perception of fire with regard to fire… the perception of wind with regard to wind… the perception of the sphere of the infinitude of space with regard to the sphere of the infinitude of space… the perception of the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness with regard to the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness… the perception of the sphere of nothingness with regard to the sphere of nothingness… the perception of the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception with regard to the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception… the perception of this world with regard to this world… the next world with regard to the next world… and whatever is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, or pondered by the intellect: the perception of that has ceased to exist.

“Absorbed in this way, the excellent thoroughbred of a man is absorbed dependent neither on earth, liquid, fire, wind, the sphere of the infinitude of space, the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness, the sphere of nothingness, the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, this world, the next world, nor on whatever is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, or pondered by the intellect—and yet he is absorbed. And to this excellent thoroughbred of a man, absorbed in this way, the gods, together with Indra, the Brahmas, & Pajapati, pay homage even from afar:

‘Homage to you, O thoroughbred man.
Homage to you, O superlative man—
you of whom we don’t know even what it is
dependent on which
you’re absorbed.’"

- Translator: Thanissaro Bhikkhu

- Editor: Gabriel Laera


With Sandha

At one time the Buddha was staying at Nādika in the brick house.
Then Venerable Sandha went up to the Buddha, bowed, and sat down to one side. The Buddha said to him:
“Sandha, meditate like a thoroughbred,
not like a wild colt.
And how does a wild colt meditate?
A wild colt, tied up by the feeding trough, meditates: ‘Fodder, fodder!’
Why is that?
Because it doesn’t occur to the wild colt tied up by the feeding trough:
‘What task will the horse trainer have me do today? How should I respond?’
Tied up by the feeding trough they just meditate: ‘Fodder, fodder!’
In the same way, take a certain wild person who has gone to the forest, the root of a tree, or an empty hut. Their heart is overcome and mired in sensual desire, and they don’t truly understand the escape from sensual desire that has arisen.
Harboring sensual desire within they meditate and concentrate and contemplate and ruminate.
Their heart is overcome by ill will …
dullness and drowsiness …
restlessness and remorse …
doubt …
Harboring doubt within they meditate and concentrate and contemplate and ruminate.
They meditate dependent on earth, water, fire, and air. They meditate dependent on the dimension of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, or neither perception nor non-perception. They meditate dependent on this world or the other world. They meditate dependent on what is seen, heard, thought, known, attained, sought, or explored by the mind.
That’s how a wild colt meditates.
And how does a thoroughbred meditate?
A fine thoroughbred, tied up by the feeding trough, doesn’t meditate: ‘Fodder, fodder!’
Why is that?
Because it occurs to the fine thoroughbred tied up by the feeding trough:
‘What task will the horse trainer have me do today? How should I respond?’
Tied up by the feeding trough they don’t meditate: ‘Fodder, fodder!’
For that fine thoroughbred regards the use of the goad as a debt, a bond, a loss, a misfortune.
In the same way, take a certain fine thoroughbred person who has gone to the forest, the root of a tree, or an empty hut. Their heart is not overcome and mired in sensual desire, and they truly understand the escape from sensual desire that has arisen.
Their heart is not overcome by ill will …
dullness and drowsiness …
restlessness and remorse …
doubt …
They don’t meditate dependent on earth, water, fire, and air. They don’t meditate dependent on the dimension of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, or neither perception nor non-perception. They don’t meditate dependent on this world or the other world. They don’t meditate dependent on what is seen, heard, thought, known, attained, sought, or explored by the mind.
Yet they do meditate.
When a fine thoroughbred meditates like this, the gods together with Indra, Brahmā, and Pajāpati worship them from afar:
‘Homage to you, O thoroughbred!
Homage to you, supreme among men!
We don’t understand
the basis of your absorption.’”
When he said this, Venerable Sandha asked the Buddha,
“But sir, how does that fine thoroughbred meditate?”






“Sandha, for a fine thoroughbred person, the perception of earth has vanished in relation to earth. The perception of water … fire … air has vanished in relation to air. The perception of the dimension of infinite space has vanished in relation to the dimension of infinite space. The perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness … nothingness … neither perception nor non-perception has vanished in relation to the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. The perception of this world has vanished in relation to this world. The perception of the other world has vanished in relation to the other world. And the perception of what is seen, heard, thought, known, attained, sought, or explored by the mind has vanished.
That’s how that fine thoroughbred person doesn’t meditate dependent on earth, water, fire, and air. They don’t meditate dependent on the dimension of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, or neither perception nor non-perception. They don’t meditate dependent on this world or the other world.
They don’t meditate dependent on what is seen, heard, thought, known, attained, sought, or explored by the mind.
Yet they do meditate.
When a fine thoroughbred person meditates like this, the gods together with Indra, Brahmā, and Pajāpati worship them from afar:
‘Homage to you, O thoroughbred!
Homage to you, supreme among men!
We don’t understand
the basis of your absorption.’”