sn.36.12 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)
The Sky (1)
“Bhikkhus, just as various winds blow in the sky: winds from the east, winds from the west, winds from the north, winds from the south, dusty winds and dustless winds, cold winds and hot winds, mild winds and strong winds; so too, various feelings arise in this body: pleasant feeling arises, painful feeling arises, neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling arises.”
Just as many diverse winds
Blow back and forth across the sky,
Easterly winds and westerly winds,
Northerly winds and southerly winds,
Dusty winds and dustless winds,
Sometimes cold, sometimes hot,
Those that are strong and others mild—
Winds of many kinds that blow;
So in this very body here
Various kinds of feelings arise,
Pleasant ones and painful ones,
And those neither painful nor pleasant.
Does not neglect clear comprehension,
Then that wise man fully understands
Feelings in their entirety.
Having fully understood feelings,
He is taintless in this very life.
Standing in Dhamma, with the body’s breakup,
The knowledge-master cannot be reckoned.
- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi
- Editor: Blake Walsh
In the Sky (1st)
“Mendicants, various winds blow in the sky.
Winds blow from the east, the west, the north, and the south. There are winds that are dusty and dustless, cool and warm, weak and strong.
In the same way, various feelings arise in this body: pleasant, painful, and neutral feelings.
There are many and various
winds that blow in the sky.
From the east they come, also the west,
the north, and then the south.
They are dusty and dustless,
cool and sometimes warm,
strong and weak;
these are the different breezes that blow.
So too, in this body
feelings arise,
pleasant and painful,
and those that are neutral.
But when a mendicant is keen,
not neglecting situational awareness,
that astute person
understands all feelings.
Completely understanding feelings,
they’re without defilements in this very life.
That knowledge master is firm in principle;
when their body breaks up, they can’t be reckoned.”
