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an.4.10 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

Bonds

“Bhikkhus, there are these four bonds. What four? The bond of sensuality, the bond of existence, the bond of views, and the bond of ignorance.

(1) “And what, bhikkhus, is the bond of sensuality? Here, someone does not understand as they really are the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in regard to sensual pleasures. When one does not understand these things as they really are, then sensual lust, sensual delight, sensual affection, sensual infatuation, sensual thirst, sensual passion, sensual attachment, and sensual craving lie deep within one in regard to sensual pleasures. This is called the bond of sensuality.

(2) “Such is the bond of sensuality. And how is there the bond of existence? Here, someone does not understand as they really are the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in regard to states of existence. When one does not understand these things as they really are, then lust for existence, delight in existence, affection for existence, infatuation with existence, thirst for existence, passion for existence, attachment to existence, and craving for existence lie deep within one in regard to states of existence. This is called the bond of existence.

(3)“Such are the bond of sensuality and the bond of existence. And how is there the bond of views? Here, someone does not understand as they really are the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in regard to views. When one does not understand these things as they really are, then lust for views, delight in views, affection for views, infatuation with views, thirst for views, passion for views, attachment to views, and craving for views lie deep within one in regard to views. This is called the bond of views.

(4) “Such are the bond of sensuality, the bond of existence, and the bond of views. And how is there the bond of ignorance? Here, someone does not understand as they really are the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in regard to the six bases for contact. When one does not understand these things as they really are, then, ignorance and unknowing lie deep within one in regard to the six bases for contact. This is called the bond of ignorance. Such are the bond of sensuality, the bond of existence, the bond of views, and the bond of ignorance.

“One is fettered by bad unwholesome states that are defiling, conducive to renewed existence, troublesome, ripening in suffering, leading to future birth, old age, and death; therefore one is said to be ‘not secure from bondage.’ These are the four bonds.

“There are, bhikkhus, these four severances of bonds. What four? The severance of the bond of sensuality, the severance of the bond of existence, the severance of the bond of views, and the severance of the bond of ignorance.

(1) “And what, bhikkhus, is the severance of the bond of sensuality? Here, someone understands as they really are the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in regard to sensual pleasures. When one understands these things as they really are, then sensual lust, sensual delight, sensual affection, sensual infatuation, sensual thirst, sensual passion, sensual attachment, and sensual craving do not lie within one in regard to sensual pleasures. This is called the severance of the bond of sensuality.

(2) “Such is the severance of the bond of sensuality. And how is there the severance of the bond of existence? Here, someone understands as they really are the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in regard to states of existence. When one understands these things as they really are, then lust for existence, delight in existence, affection for existence, infatuation with existence, thirst for existence, passion for existence, attachment to existence, and craving for existence do not lie within one in regard to states of existence. This is called the severance of the bond of existence.

(3) “Such are the severance of the bond of sensuality and the severance of the bond of existence. And how is there the severance of the bond of views? Here, someone understands as they really are the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in regard to views. When one understands these things as they really are, then lust for views, delight in views, affection for views, infatuation with views, thirst for views, passion for views, attachment to views, and craving for views do not lie within one in regard to views. This is called the severance of the bond of views.

(4) “Such are the severance of the bond of sensuality, the severance of the bond of existence, and the severance of the bond of views. And how is there the severance of the bond of ignorance? Here, someone understands as they really are the origin and the passing away, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in regard to the six bases for contact. When one understands these things as they really are, then ignorance and unknowing do not lie within one in regard to the six bases for contact. This is called the severance of the bond of ignorance. Such are the severance of the bond of sensuality, the severance of the bond of existence, the severance of the bond of views, and the severance of the bond of ignorance.

“One is detached from bad unwholesome states that are defiling, conducive to renewed existence, troublesome, ripening in suffering, leading to future birth, old age, and death; therefore one is said to be ‘secure from bondage.’ These are the four severances of bonds.”

Fettered by the bond of sensuality
and the bond of existence,
fettered by the bond of views,
preceded by ignorance,
beings go on in saṁsāra,
led on in birth and death.

But having entirely understood
sense pleasures and the bond of existence,
having uprooted the bond of views
and dissolved ignorance,
the sages have severed all bonds;
they have gone beyond bondage.

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh

Attachments

“Mendicants, there are these four attachments.
What four?
The attachment to sensual pleasures, future lives, views, and ignorance.
And what is the attachment to sensual pleasures?
It’s when you don’t truly understand sensual pleasures’ origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape.
So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for sensual pleasures linger on inside.
This is called the attachment to sensual pleasures.
Such is the attachment to sensual pleasures.
And what is the attachment to future lives?
It’s when you don’t truly understand future lives’ origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape.
So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for continued existence linger on inside.
This is called the attachment to future lives.
Such are the attachments to sensual pleasures and future lives.
And what is the attachment to views?
It’s when you don’t truly understand views’ origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape.
So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for views linger on inside.
This is called the attachment to views.
Such are the attachments to sensual pleasures, future lives, and views.
And what is the attachment to ignorance?
It’s when you don’t truly understand the six fields of contact’s origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape,
so ignorance and unknowing of the six fields of contact linger on inside.
This is called the attachment to ignorance.
Such are the attachments to sensual pleasures, future lives, views, and ignorance.
These are bad, unskillful qualities that are corrupting, leading to future lives, hurtful, resulting in suffering and future rebirth, old age, and death. That’s why someone attached to them is called: ‘one who has not found sanctuary from attachments’.
These are the four attachments.
There are these four kinds of detachment.
What four?
Detachment from sensual pleasures, future lives, views, and ignorance.
And what is detachment from sensual pleasures?
It’s when you truly understand sensual pleasures’ origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape.
So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for sensual pleasures don’t linger on inside.
This is called detachment from sensual pleasures.
Such is detachment from sensual pleasures.
And what is detachment from future lives?
It’s when you truly understand future lives’ origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape.
So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for continued existence don’t linger on inside.
This is called detachment from future lives.
Such is detachment from sensual pleasures and future lives.
And what is detachment from views?
It’s when you truly understand views’ origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape.
So greed, relishing, affection, infatuation, thirst, passion, attachment, and craving for views don’t linger on inside.
This is called detachment from views.
Such is detachment from sensual pleasures, future lives, and views.
And what is detachment from ignorance?
It’s when you truly understand the six fields of contact’s origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape,
so ignorance and unknowing of the six fields of contact don’t linger on inside.
This is called detachment from ignorance.
Such is detachment from sensual pleasures, future lives, views, and ignorance.
These are bad, unskillful qualities that are corrupting, leading to future lives, hurtful, resulting in suffering and future rebirth, old age, and death. That’s why someone detached from them is called: ‘one who has found sanctuary from attachments’.
These are the four kinds of detachment.
Attached to both sensual pleasures
and the desire to be reborn in a future life;
attached also to views,
and governed by ignorance,
sentient beings continue to transmigrate,
with ongoing birth and death.
But those who completely understand sensual pleasures,
and the attachment to all future lives;
with the attachment to views eradicated,
and ignorance dispelled,
detached from all attachments,
truly those sages have escaped their bonds.”