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SN 46.1PTS SN 5.631 min read

The Himalaya

Himavantasutta

Dragons nurture their strength in the Himalayas, then enter the rivers and reach the ocean. So too, a mendicant nurtures ethics and then develops the seven awakening factors.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 46.1Linked Discourses 46.1
  • 0.21. Pabbatavagga1. Mountains

0.3HimavantasuttaThe Himalaya

1.1PTS 5.63Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, himavantaṁ pabbatarājānaṁ nissāya nāgā kāyaṁ vaḍḍhenti, balaṁ gāhenti;“Mendicants, dragons grow and wax strong supported by the Himalayas, the king of mountains.11.3te tattha kāyaṁ vaḍḍhetvā balaṁ gāhetvā kusobbhe otaranti, kusobbhe otaritvā mahāsobbhe otaranti, mahāsobbhe otaritvā kunnadiyo otaranti, kunnadiyo otaritvā mahānadiyo otaranti, mahānadiyo otaritvā mahāsamuddasāgaraṁ otaranti; te tattha mahantattaṁ vepullattaṁ āpajjanti kāyena;When they’re strong they dive into the pools. Then they dive into the lakes, the streams, the rivers, and finally the ocean. There they acquire a great and abundant body.

1.4evameva kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sīlaṁ nissāya sīle patiṭṭhāya satta bojjhaṅge bhāvento satta bojjhaṅge bahulīkaronto mahantattaṁ vepullattaṁ pāpuṇāti dhammesu.In the same way, a mendicant develops and cultivates the seven awakening factors depending on and grounded on ethics, acquiring great and abundant good qualities.21.5Kathañca, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sīlaṁ nissāya sīle patiṭṭhāya satta bojjhaṅge bhāvento satta bojjhaṅge bahulīkaronto mahantattaṁ vepullattaṁ pāpuṇāti dhammesūti?And how does a mendicant develop the seven awakening factors depending on and grounded on ethics, acquiring great and abundant good qualities?

1.6Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu satisambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti vivekanissitaṁ virāganissitaṁ nirodhanissitaṁ vossaggapariṇāmiṁ;It’s when a mendicant develops the awakening factor of mindfulness, which relies on seclusion, fading away, and cessation, and ripens as letting go.3

1.7dhammavicayasambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti …pe…They develop the awakening factor of investigation of principles …4

1.8vīriyasambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti …pe…They develop the awakening factor of energy …

1.9pītisambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti …pe…They develop the awakening factor of rapture …5

1.10passaddhisambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti …pe…They develop the awakening factor of tranquility …6

1.11samādhisambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti …pe…They develop the awakening factor of immersion …

1.12upekkhāsambojjhaṅgaṁ bhāveti vivekanissitaṁ virāganissitaṁ nirodhanissitaṁ vossaggapariṇāmiṁ.They develop the awakening factor of equanimity, which relies on seclusion, fading away, and cessation, and ripens as letting go.7

1.13Evaṁ kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sīlaṁ nissāya sīle patiṭṭhāya satta bojjhaṅge bhāvento satta bojjhaṅge bahulīkaronto mahantattaṁ vepullattaṁ pāpuṇāti dhammesū”ti.That’s how a mendicant develops and cultivates the seven awakening factors depending on and grounded on ethics, acquiring great and abundant good qualities.”

1.14Paṭhamaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. For the “dragon” (nāga) see SN 29.1:1.1 and notes.

    The etymological root of nāga seems to be “naked” (Pali nagga), from where it was applied to hairless animals such as the “snake”, especially the cobra, and the elephant. It is also connected with that naked feature of the earth, the mountain (naga). That which belongs to the mountain is the nāga, the “dragon”; the primordial serpent Vṛtra coiled around the mountain (SN 2.3:3.4). Nāga is also a term for hill tribes. The snake, elephant, and mountain are all powerful, and their nakedness emphasizes their independence. This, it seems, informed the cluster of meanings behind applying nāga to the shaven-headed and spiritually mighty “giants”, the arahants.

    ↩ sn46.1:1.2

  2. The seven awakening factors especially emphasize the emotional and holistic dimension of meditative growth. Unlike the eightfold path, they do not explicitly include the factor of ethics, but this passage shows that ethics is their foundation. See also, eg. SN 46.6.

    ↩ sn46.1:1.4

  3. The factors of mindfulness and investigation of principles both have a dual meaning in this context. They can refer to “bringing to mind” and “investigating” the principles or phenomena experienced in meditation. But they can also refer to recalling the “teaching” and reflecting on it (SN 46.3).

    ↩ sn46.1:1.6

  4. Dhamma means the “principle” of cause and effect, as in “observation of principles” (dhammānupassanā), “investigation of principles” (dhammavicaya), or “discernment of principles” (dhammavipassanā).

    ↩ sn46.1:1.7

  5. “Rapture” (pīti) is a joyous emotional response to pleasure, usually a spiritual sense of elevation or uplift in meditation.

    ↩ sn46.1:1.9

  6. “Tranquility” (passaddhi) is a settled and serene body and mind, as activities or energies become stilled through the process of meditation.

    ↩ sn46.1:1.10

  7. “Equanimity” (upekkhā) of the fourth absorption and above, or else the equanimity of insight (MN 152).

    ↩ sn46.1:1.12