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sn.12.13 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

Ascetics and Brahmins (1)

At Savatthī. “Bhikkhus, those ascetics or brahmins who do not understand aging-and-death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation; who do not understand birth … existence … clinging … craving … feeling … contact … the six sense bases … name-and-form …consciousness … volitional formations, their origin, their cessation, and the way leading to their cessation: these I do not consider to be ascetics among ascetics or brahmins among brahmins, and these venerable ones do not, by realizing it for themselves with direct knowledge, in this very life enter and dwell in the goal of asceticism or the goal of brahminhood.

“But, bhikkhus, those ascetics and brahmins who understand aging-and-death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation; who understand birth … volitional formations, their origin, their cessation, and the way leading to their cessation: these I consider to be ascetics among ascetics and brahmins among brahmins, and these venerable ones, by realizing it for themselves with direct knowledge, in this very life enter and dwell in the goal of asceticism and the goal of brahminhood.”

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh


Ascetics and Brahmins

At Sāvatthī.
“Mendicants, there are ascetics and brahmins who don’t understand old age and death, their origin, their cessation, and the practice that leads to their cessation.
They don’t understand rebirth …
continued existence …
grasping …
craving …
feeling …
contact …
the six sense fields …
name and form …
consciousness …
They don’t understand choices, their origin, their cessation, and the practice that leads to their cessation.
I don’t regard them as true ascetics and brahmins. Those venerables don’t realize the goal of life as an ascetic or brahmin, and don’t live having realized it with their own insight.
There are ascetics and brahmins who do understand old age and death, their origin, their cessation, and the practice that leads to their cessation.
They understand rebirth …
continued existence …
grasping …
craving …
feeling …
contact …
the six sense fields …
name and form …
consciousness …
They understand choices, their origin, their cessation, and the practice that leads to their cessation.
I regard them as true ascetics and brahmins. Those venerables realize the goal of life as an ascetic or brahmin, and live having realized it with their own insight.”