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SN 22.64PTS SN 3.741 min read

Conceiving

Maññamānasutta

In conceiving regarding the aggregates one is bound by Māra.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 22.64Linked Discourses 22.64
  • 0.27. Arahantavagga7. The Perfected Ones

0.3MaññamānasuttaConceiving

1.1PTS 3.75Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2Atha kho aññataro bhikkhu …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinno kho so bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha … and asked him,1.3“sādhu me, bhante, bhagavā saṅkhittena dhammaṁ desetu …pe… ātāpī pahitatto vihareyyan”ti.“Sir, may the Buddha please teach me Dhamma in brief. When I’ve heard it, I’ll live alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute.”

1.4“Maññamāno kho, bhikkhu, baddho mārassa;“When you conceive, mendicant, you’re bound by Māra.11.5amaññamāno mutto pāpimato”ti.Not conceiving, you’re free from the Wicked One.”

1.6“Aññātaṁ, bhagavā, aññātaṁ, sugatā”ti.“Understood, Blessed One! Understood, Holy One!”

2.1“Yathā kathaṁ pana tvaṁ, bhikkhu, mayā saṅkhittena bhāsitassa vitthārena atthaṁ ājānāsī”ti?“But how do you see the detailed meaning of my brief statement?”

2.2“Rūpaṁ kho, bhante, maññamāno baddho mārassa;“Sir, when you conceive form you’re bound by Māra.2.3amaññamāno mutto pāpimato.Not conceiving, you’re free from the Wicked One.2.4Vedanaṁ …When you conceive feeling …2.5saññaṁ …perception …2.6saṅkhāre …choices …2.7viññāṇaṁ maññamāno baddho mārassa;consciousness, you’re bound by Māra.2.8amaññamāno mutto pāpimato.Not conceiving, you’re free from the Wicked One.

2.9Imassa khvāhaṁ, bhante, bhagavatā saṅkhittena bhāsitassa evaṁ vitthārena atthaṁ ājānāmī”ti.That’s how I understand the detailed meaning of the Buddha’s brief statement.”

3.1“Sādhu sādhu, bhikkhu.“Good, good, mendicant!3.2Sādhu kho tvaṁ, bhikkhu, mayā saṅkhittena bhāsitassa vitthārena atthaṁ ājānāsi.It’s good that you understand the detailed meaning of what I’ve said in brief like this.

3.3Rūpaṁ kho, bhikkhu, maññamāno baddho mārassa;When you conceive form you’re bound by Māra.3.4amaññamāno mutto pāpimato.Not conceiving, you’re free from the Wicked One.3.5Vedanaṁ …When you conceive feeling …3.6saññaṁ …perception …3.7saṅkhāre …choices …3.8viññāṇaṁ maññamāno baddho mārassa;consciousness, you’re bound by Māra.3.9amaññamāno mutto pāpimato.Not conceiving, you’re free from the Wicked One.

3.10Imassa kho, bhikkhu, mayā saṅkhittena bhāsitassa evaṁ vitthārena attho daṭṭhabbo”ti …pe…This is how to see the detailed meaning of what I said in brief.” …

3.11aññataro ca pana so bhikkhu arahataṁ ahosīti.And that mendicant became one of the perfected.

3.12Dutiyaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. To “conceive” or “imagine” (maññati) is, according to the commentary, to think in terms of a “self”, proliferating experience through craving, conceit, or views until it is constructed for me. This usage draws upon such passages as Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.20, where due to ignorance, a person “imagines” in a dream the fearful things they saw when awake, or at the highest level, “imagines I am this all” (ahamevedaṁ sarvo’smīti manyate). See MN 1:3.3.

    ↩ sn22.64:1.4