Skip to content
True DhammaLibrary · Community
SN 14.33PTS SN 2.1721 min read

If There Were No

Nocedaṁsutta

Each of the three aspects of the four material elements performs its own function. Gratification stimulates desire; drawbacks lead to disillusionment, while escape opens the possibility of freedom.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 14.33Linked Discourses 14.33
  • 0.24. Catutthavagga4. Chapter Four

0.3NocedaṁsuttaIf There Were No

1.1Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.At Sāvatthī.

1.2“No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, pathavīdhātuyā assādo abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā pathavīdhātuyā sārajjeyyuṁ.“Mendicants, if there were no gratification in the earth element, sentient beings wouldn’t be aroused by it.11.3Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi pathavīdhātuyā assādo, tasmā sattā pathavīdhātuyā sārajjanti.But since there is gratification in the earth element, sentient beings are aroused by it.1.4No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, pathavīdhātuyā ādīnavo abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā pathavīdhātuyā nibbindeyyuṁ.If the earth element had no drawback, sentient beings wouldn’t grow disillusioned with it.1.5Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi pathavīdhātuyā ādīnavo, tasmā sattā pathavīdhātuyā nibbindanti.But since the earth element has a drawback, sentient beings do grow disillusioned with it.1.6No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, pathavīdhātuyā nissaraṇaṁ abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā pathavīdhātuyā nissareyyuṁ.If there were no escape from the earth element, sentient beings wouldn’t escape from it.1.7Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi pathavīdhātuyā nissaraṇaṁ, tasmā sattā pathavīdhātuyā nissaranti.But since there is an escape from the earth element, sentient beings do escape from it.

2.1PTS 2.173No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, āpodhātuyā assādo abhavissa …pe…If there were no gratification in the water element …2.2no cedaṁ, bhikkhave, tejodhātuyā …pe…If there were no gratification in the fire element …2.3no cedaṁ, bhikkhave, vāyodhātuyā assādo abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā vāyodhātuyā sārajjeyyuṁ.If there were no gratification in the air element …2.4Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi vāyodhātuyā assādo, tasmā sattā vāyodhātuyā sārajjanti.2.5No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, vāyodhātuyā ādīnavo abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā vāyodhātuyā nibbindeyyuṁ.2.6Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi vāyodhātuyā ādīnavo, tasmā sattā vāyodhātuyā nibbindanti.2.7No cedaṁ, bhikkhave, vāyodhātuyā nissaraṇaṁ abhavissa, nayidaṁ sattā vāyodhātuyā nissareyyuṁ.2.8Yasmā ca kho, bhikkhave, atthi vāyodhātuyā nissaraṇaṁ, tasmā sattā vāyodhātuyā nissaranti.

3.1Yāvakīvañcime, bhikkhave, sattā imāsaṁ catunnaṁ dhātūnaṁ assādañca assādato ādīnavañca ādīnavato nissaraṇañca nissaraṇato yathābhūtaṁ na abbhaññaṁsu, neva tāvime, bhikkhave, sattā sadevakā lokā samārakā sabrahmakā sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya nissaṭā visaṁyuttā vippamuttā vimariyādikatena cetasā vihariṁsu.As long as sentient beings don’t truly understand these four elements’ gratification, drawback, and escape for what they are, they haven’t escaped from this world—with its gods, Māras, and divinities, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans—and they don’t live detached, liberated, with mind free of boundaries.

4.1Yato ca kho, bhikkhave, sattā imāsaṁ catunnaṁ dhātūnaṁ assādañca assādato ādīnavañca ādīnavato nissaraṇañca nissaraṇato yathābhūtaṁ abbhaññaṁsu, atha, bhikkhave, sattā sadevakā lokā samārakā sabrahmakā sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya nissaṭā visaṁyuttā vippamuttā vimariyādikatena cetasā viharantī”ti.But when sentient beings truly understand these four elements’ gratification, drawback, and escape for what they are, they’ve escaped from this world—with its gods, Māras, and divinities, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans—and they live detached, liberated, with mind free of boundaries.”2

4.2Catutthaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. Said also of the world (AN 3.105), the aggregates (SN 22.28), and the senses (SN 35.17, 18).

    ↩ sn14.33:1.2
  2. For “boundary” (mariyādā) see Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 1.4.1.17, where a river forms the “boundary” between Kosala and Videha.

    ↩ sn14.33:4.1