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SN 36.21PTS SN 4.2301 min read

With Sīvaka

Sīvakasutta

When the wanderer Moḷiyasīvaka asks if all feelings are caused by karma in past lives. The Buddha denies this, asserting that feelings have many different causes.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 36.21Linked Discourses 36.21
  • 0.23. Aṭṭhasatapariyāyavagga3. The Explanation of the Hundred and Eight

0.3SīvakasuttaWith Sīvaka

1.1PTS 4.230Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati veḷuvane kalandakanivāpe.At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground.

1.2Atha kho moḷiyasīvako paribbājako yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṁ sammodi.Then the wanderer Moḷiyasīvaka went up to the Buddha and exchanged greetings with him.11.3Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho moḷiyasīvako paribbājako bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to the Buddha:

1.4“santi, bho gotama, eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā evaṁvādino evaṁdiṭṭhino:“Worthy Gotama, there are some ascetics and brahmins who have this doctrine and view:21.5‘yaṁ kiñcāyaṁ purisapuggalo paṭisaṁvedeti sukhaṁ vā dukkhaṁ vā adukkhamasukhaṁ vā sabbaṁ taṁ pubbekatahetū’ti.‘Everything this individual person experiences—pleasurable, painful, or neutral—is because of past deeds.’31.6Idha bhavaṁ gotamo kimāhā”ti?What does the worthy Gotama say about this?”

2.1“Pittasamuṭṭhānānipi kho, sīvaka, idhekaccāni vedayitāni uppajjanti.“Sīvaka, some feelings stem from bile disorders.42.2Sāmampi kho etaṁ, sīvaka, veditabbaṁ yathā pittasamuṭṭhānānipi idhekaccāni vedayitāni uppajjanti.You can know this from your own personal experience,2.3Lokassapi kho etaṁ, sīvaka, saccasammataṁ yathā pittasamuṭṭhānānipi idhekaccāni vedayitāni uppajjanti.and it is generally deemed to be true.2.4Tatra, sīvaka, ye te samaṇabrāhmaṇā evaṁvādino evaṁdiṭṭhino:Since this is so, the ascetics and brahmins whose view is that2.5‘yaṁ kiñcāyaṁ purisapuggalo paṭisaṁvedeti sukhaṁ vā dukkhaṁ vā adukkhamasukhaṁ vā sabbaṁ taṁ pubbekatahetū’ti.everything an individual person experiences is because of past deeds2.6Yañca sāmaṁ ñātaṁ tañca atidhāvanti, yañca loke saccasammataṁ tañca atidhāvanti.go beyond personal experience and beyond what is generally deemed to be true.2.7Tasmā tesaṁ samaṇabrāhmaṇānaṁ micchāti vadāmi.So those ascetics and brahmins are wrong, I say.

3.1PTS 4.231Semhasamuṭṭhānānipi kho, sīvaka …pe…Some feelings stem from phlegm disorders …3.2vātasamuṭṭhānānipi kho, sīvaka …pe…wind disorders …3.3sannipātikānipi kho, sīvaka …pe…their conjunction …3.4utupariṇāmajānipi kho, sīvaka …pe…change in weather …53.5visamaparihārajānipi kho, sīvaka …pe…not taking care of yourself …63.6opakkamikānipi kho, sīvaka …pe…exertion …73.7kammavipākajānipi kho, sīvaka, idhekaccāni vedayitāni uppajjanti.Some feelings are the result of past deeds.83.8Sāmampi kho etaṁ, sīvaka, veditabbaṁ.You can know this from your own personal experience,3.9Yathā kammavipākajānipi idhekaccāni vedayitāni uppajjanti;3.10lokassapi kho etaṁ, sīvaka, saccasammataṁ.and it is generally deemed to be true.93.11Yathā kammavipākajānipi idhekaccāni vedayitāni uppajjanti;3.12tatra, sīvaka, ye te samaṇabrāhmaṇā evaṁvādino evaṁdiṭṭhino:Since this is so, the ascetics and brahmins whose view is that3.13‘yaṁ kiñcāyaṁ purisapuggalo paṭisaṁvedeti sukhaṁ vā dukkhaṁ vā adukkhamasukhaṁ vā sabbaṁ taṁ pubbekatahetū’ti.everything an individual person experiences is because of past deeds3.14Yañca sāmaṁ ñātaṁ tañca atidhāvanti yañca loke saccasammataṁ tañca atidhāvanti.go beyond personal experience and beyond what is generally deemed to be true.3.15Tasmā ‘tesaṁ samaṇabrāhmaṇānaṁ micchā’ti vadāmī”ti.So those ascetics and brahmins are wrong, I say.”

4.1Evaṁ vutte, moḷiyasīvako paribbājako bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:When he said this, the wanderer Moḷiyasīvaka said to the Buddha,4.2“abhikkantaṁ, bho gotama, abhikkantaṁ, bho gotama …pe…“Excellent, worthy Gotama! Excellent! …4.3upāsakaṁ maṁ bhavaṁ gotamo dhāretu ajjatagge pāṇupetaṁ saraṇaṁ gatan”ti.From this day forth, may the worthy Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”

5.1“Pittaṁ semhañca vāto ca,“Bile, phlegm, and wind,5.2Sannipātā utūni ca;their conjunction, and the weather,5.3Visamaṁ opakkamikaṁ,not taking care of yourself, exertion,5.4Kammavipākena aṭṭhamī”ti.and the result of deeds is the eighth.”

5.5Paṭhamaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. Moḷiyasīvaka also appears in AN 6.47, where he also goes for refuge. His name means, “Tailor With a Topknot”.

    ↩ sn36.21:1.2

  2. Sīvaka is referring to the Jains.

    ↩ sn36.21:1.4

  3. The view that all experiences are caused by past kamma is consistently rejected in the Suttas (eg. AN 3.61:2.1, MN 101:2.5. This is reflected in the later Theravada commentaries, which describe five interacting niyāmas, or systems of natural law: seasons (utu), genetics (bīja), moral or immoral deeds (kamma), mind (citta), and principles of the teaching (dhamma). Nonetheless, the view that all experiences are caused by kamma is extremely common among modern Buddhists, and is often heard even from learned scholars. This is a harmful misunderstanding, as it has led to discrimination against the poor and disabled in Buddhist countries. One point of confusion is that rebirth into a particular life is caused by kamma, so in that general sense, kamma is a necessary condition for having a life in which one can experience anything. But the feelings experienced in that life are caused by a variety of things, not necessarily by kamma.

    Note the use of purisapuggala (“individual person”) as a Jain idiom. See MN 35:10.7 and note, and SN 22.22 and notes.

    ↩ sn36.21:1.5

  4. “Bile” (pitta), “phlegm” (semha), and “wind” (vāta) are the three doṣa (“impairments”) of āyurveda (Suśruta Saṁhitā 1.15; Caraka Saṁhitā 1.12). When unbalanced they impair the proper homeostasis of bodily functioning. They are comparable to the four “humors” (fluids) of old European medicine.

    ↩ sn36.21:2.1

  5. As I write, global atmospheric CO2 is 428.29 ppm, and it has been 1.5℃ above average for three years. The grave health impacts of this “change in the weather” are attested in the CoP 30 Special Report by the World Health Organization: “climate change presents the most significant threat to human health of this century.”

    ↩ sn36.21:3.4

  6. Parihāra is looking after or taking care, so visamaparihāra is “imbalanced self-care”.

    ↩ sn36.21:3.5

  7. Such as ascetics who torment their bodies (MN 36:18.11).

    ↩ sn36.21:3.6

  8. In all cases, past deeds are a necessary condition for the mere fact of having a body in which one can experience these feelings. Only in this final case, however, is a specific deed or deeds the cause of this specific feeling. Even then, the past deed is not a sufficient condition, as it can only be effective when other conditions are conducive. The technical term for this kind of condition is upanissaya (or its contraction upanisā; see SN 12.23:2.1): it is both necessary and closely supportive.

    ↩ sn36.21:3.7

  9. “Generally deemed to be true” (lokassa saccasammataṁ), i.e. “common sense”.

    ↩ sn36.21:3.10