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AN 9.46PTS AN 4.453Sandiṭṭhika 11 min read

In the Present Life

Sandiṭṭhikadhammasutta

The teaching apparent in the present life is experienced provisionally in deep meditation, and completely when the defilements end.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Aṅguttara Nikāya 9.46Numbered Discourses 9.46
  • 0.25. Sāmaññavagga5. Similarity

0.3SandiṭṭhikadhammasuttaIn the Present Life

1.1“‘Sandiṭṭhiko dhammo, sandiṭṭhiko dhammo’ti, āvuso, vuccati.“Reverend, they speak of ‘a teaching apparent in the present life’.1.2Kittāvatā nu kho, āvuso, sandiṭṭhiko dhammo vutto bhagavatā”ti?In what way did the Buddha speak of a teaching apparent in the present life?”

2.1“Idhāvuso, bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi …pe… paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati.“First, take a mendicant who, quite secluded from sensual pleasures … enters and remains in the first absorption.2.2Ettāvatāpi kho, āvuso, sandiṭṭhiko dhammo vutto bhagavatā pariyāyena …pe….To this extent the Buddha spoke of the teaching apparent in the present life in a qualified sense. …

3.1Puna caparaṁ, āvuso, bhikkhu sabbaso nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṁ samatikkamma saññāvedayitanirodhaṁ upasampajja viharati, paññāya cassa disvā āsavā parikkhīṇā honti.Furthermore, take a mendicant who, going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And, having seen with wisdom, their defilements come to an end.3.2Ettāvatāpi kho, āvuso, sandiṭṭhiko dhammo vutto bhagavatā nippariyāyenā”ti.To this extent the Buddha spoke of the teaching apparent in the present life in a definitive sense.”

3.3Pañcamaṁ.