Skip to content
True DhammaLibrary · Community
SN 22.133PTS SN 3.1751 min read

With Koṭṭhita

Koṭṭhikasutta

Mahākoṭṭhita explains to Sāriputta that ignorance is not understanding the aggregates in terms of gratification, drawback, and escape, while knowledge is understanding the aggregates.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 22.133Linked Discourses 22.133
  • 0.213. Avijjāvagga13. Ignorance

0.3KoṭṭhikasuttaWith Koṭṭhita

1.1PTS 3.175Bārāṇasiyaṁ viharanti isipatane migadāye.At Varanasi.1.2Atha kho āyasmā sāriputto sāyanhasamayaṁ …pe…1.3ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā sāriputto āyasmantaṁ mahākoṭṭhikaṁ etadavoca:Sāriputta said to Mahākoṭṭhita:

1.4“‘avijjā, avijjā’ti, āvuso koṭṭhika, vuccati.“Reverend Koṭṭhita, they speak of this thing called ‘ignorance’.1.5Katamā nu kho, āvuso, avijjā;What is ignorance?1.6kittāvatā ca avijjāgato hotī”ti?And how is an ignoramus defined?”

2.1“Idhāvuso, assutavā puthujjano rūpassa assādañca ādīnavañca nissaraṇañca yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti.“Reverend, an unlearned ordinary person doesn’t truly understand the gratification, the drawback, and the escape when it comes to form,2.2Vedanāya …pe…feeling,2.3saññāya …perception,2.4saṅkhārānaṁ …choices,2.5viññāṇassa assādañca ādīnavañca nissaraṇañca yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti.and consciousness.

2.6Ayaṁ vuccatāvuso, avijjā;This is called ignorance.2.7ettāvatā ca avijjāgato hotī”ti.And this is how an ignoramus is defined.”

3.1Evaṁ vutte, āyasmā sāriputto āyasmantaṁ mahākoṭṭhikaṁ etadavoca:When he said this, Venerable Sāriputta said to him:

3.2“‘vijjā, vijjā’ti, āvuso koṭṭhika, vuccati.“Reverend Koṭṭhita, they speak of this thing called ‘knowledge’.3.3Katamā nu kho, āvuso, vijjā;What is knowledge?3.4kittāvatā ca vijjāgato hotī”ti?And how is a knowing one defined?”

4.1“Idhāvuso, sutavā ariyasāvako rūpassa assādañca ādīnavañca nissaraṇañca yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti.“Reverend, a learned noble disciple truly understands the gratification, the drawback, and the escape when it comes to form,4.2Vedanāya …pe…feeling,4.3saññāya …perception,4.4saṅkhārānaṁ …choices,4.5viññāṇassa assādañca ādīnavañca nissaraṇañca yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti.and consciousness.

4.6Ayaṁ vuccatāvuso, vijjā;This is called knowledge.4.7ettāvatā ca vijjāgato hotī”ti.And this is how a knowing one is defined.”

4.8Aṭṭhamaṁ.