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SN 35.119PTS SN 4.1031 min read

The Question of Pañcasikha

Pañcasikhasutta

The fairy Pañcasikha asks the Buddha why some become awakened in this very life, while others do not.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 35.119Linked Discourses 35.119
  • 0.212. Lokakāmaguṇavagga12. The World and the Kinds of Sensual Stimulation

0.3PañcasikhasuttaThe Question of Pañcasikha

1.1PTS 4.103Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati gijjhakūṭe pabbate.At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, on the Vulture’s Peak Mountain.11.2Atha kho pañcasikho gandhabbadevaputto yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho pañcasikho gandhabbadevaputto bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:And then the centaur Pañcasikha went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and said to him:

1.3“ko nu kho, bhante, hetu, ko paccayo yena m’idhekacce sattā diṭṭheva dhamme no parinibbāyanti?“What is the cause, sir, what is the reason why some sentient beings are not fully extinguished in this very life?1.4Ko pana, bhante, hetu, ko paccayo yena m’idhekacce sattā diṭṭheva dhamme parinibbāyantī”ti?What is the cause, sir, what is the reason why some sentient beings are fully extinguished in this very life?”

1.5“Santi kho, pañcasikha, cakkhuviññeyyā rūpā …pe…“Pañcasikha, there are sights known by the eye …

1.6santi kho, pañcasikha, manoviññeyyā dhammā, iṭṭhā kantā manāpā piyarūpā kāmūpasaṁhitā rajanīyā.ideas known by the mind, which are likable, desirable, agreeable, pleasant, sensual, and arousing.1.7Tañce bhikkhu abhinandati abhivadati ajjhosāya tiṭṭhati.If a mendicant approves, welcomes, and keeps clinging to them,1.8Tassa taṁ abhinandato abhivadato ajjhosāya tiṭṭhato tannissitaṁ viññāṇaṁ hoti tadupādānaṁ.their consciousness has that as support and fuel for grasping.1.9Saupādāno, pañcasikha, bhikkhu no parinibbāyati.A mendicant with fuel for grasping does not become extinguished.1.10Ayaṁ kho, pañcasikha, hetu, ayaṁ paccayo yena m’idhekacce sattā diṭṭheva dhamme no parinibbāyanti.That’s the cause, that’s the reason why some sentient beings are not fully extinguished in this very life.

2.1Santi ca kho, pañcasikha, cakkhuviññeyyā rūpā iṭṭhā kantā manāpā …pe…There are sights known by the eye …

2.2santi kho, pañcasikha, manoviññeyyā dhammā iṭṭhā kantā manāpā piyarūpā kāmūpasaṁhitā rajanīyā.ideas known by the mind, which are likable, desirable, agreeable, pleasant, sensual, and arousing.2.3Tañce bhikkhu nābhinandati nābhivadati nājjhosāya tiṭṭhati, tassa taṁ anabhinandato anabhivadato anajjhosāya tiṭṭhato na tannissitaṁ viññāṇaṁ hoti, na tadupādānaṁ.If a mendicant doesn’t approve, welcome, and keep clinging to them, their consciousness doesn’t have that as support and fuel for grasping.2.4Anupādāno, pañcasikha, bhikkhu parinibbāyati.A mendicant free of grasping becomes extinguished.2.5Ayaṁ kho, pañcasikha, hetu, ayaṁ paccayo yena m’idhekacce sattā diṭṭheva dhamme parinibbāyantī”ti.That’s the cause, that’s the reason why some sentient beings are fully extinguished in this very life.”

2.6Chaṭṭhaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. For Pañcasikha, see DN 21 and notes there. This question is uncharacteristic of the sensualist Pañcasikha, and it’s likely this discourse is an artificial construct, suggested by the fact that the previous discourse is “The Question of Sakka”.

    ↩ sn35.119:1.1