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Mil 3.6.71 min read

The Question on Passion and Dispassion

Sarāgavītarāganānākaraṇapañha

Translated by John Kelly · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1MilindapañhaMilinda’s Questions
  • 0.2SativaggaMindfulness Chapter

0.37. Sarāgavītarāganānākaraṇapañha7. Question on the Difference Between Being With Attachment and Without Attachment

1.1Rājā āha—The king asked:1.2“bhante nāgasena, kiṁ nānākaraṇaṁ sarāgassa ca vītarāgassa cā”ti?“Venerable Nāgasena, what is the difference between being with attachment and being without attachment?”1.3“Eko kho, mahārāja, ajjhosito, eko anajjhosito”ti.“One is sticky, your majesty, and the other is not sticky.”1.4“Kiṁ etaṁ, bhante, ajjhosito anajjhosito nāmā”ti?“What is the meaning, venerable sir, of ‘sticky’ and ‘not sticky’?”1.5“Eko kho, mahārāja, atthiko, eko anatthiko”ti.“One is desirable, your majesty, and the other is not desirable.”1.6“Passāmahaṁ, bhante, evarūpaṁ yo ca sarāgo, yo ca vītarāgo, sabbopeso sobhanaṁyeva icchati khādanīyaṁ vā bhojanīyaṁ vā, na koci pāpakaṁ icchatī”ti.“As I see it, venerable sir, both the one with attachment and the one without attachment wish for beautiful hard and soft food, and neither wishes for something bad.”1.7“Avītarāgo kho, mahārāja, rasapaṭisaṁvedī ca rasarāgapaṭisaṁvedī ca bhojanaṁ bhuñjati, vītarāgo pana rasapaṭisaṁvedī bhojanaṁ bhuñjati, no ca kho rasarāgapaṭisaṁvedī”ti.“One who is not without attachment, your majesty, eats their food and experiences both the taste and the attachment to the taste. But the one who is without attachment eats their food and experiences just the taste and not the attachment to the taste.”

2.1“Kallosi, bhante nāgasenā”ti.“You are clever, Venerable Nāgasena!”

3.1Sarāgavītarāganānākaraṇapañho sattamo.Question on the Difference Between Being With Attachment and Without Attachment seventh