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SN 47.46PTS SN 5.1871 min read

Restraint in the Monastic Code

Pātimokkhasaṁvarasutta

When a mendicant asks for a teaching to take on retreat, the Buddha teaches the four kinds of mindfulness meditation, well grounded on restraint in the code of monastic rules.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 47.46Linked Discourses 47.46
  • 0.25. Amatavagga5. Freedom From Death

0.3PātimokkhasaṁvarasuttaRestraint in the Monastic Code

1.1Atha kho aññataro bhikkhu yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinno kho so bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:

2.1“Sādhu me, bhante, bhagavā saṅkhittena dhammaṁ desetu, yamahaṁ bhagavato dhammaṁ sutvā eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto 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 When I’ve heard it, I’ll live alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute.”

2.2“Tasmātiha tvaṁ, bhikkhu, ādimeva visodhehi kusalesu dhammesu.“Well then, mendicant, you should purify the starting point of skillful qualities.2.3Ko cādi kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ?What is the starting point of skillful qualities?2.4Idha tvaṁ, bhikkhu, pātimokkhasaṁvarasaṁvuto viharāhi ācāragocarasampanno aṇumattesu vajjesu bhayadassāvī, samādāya sikkhassu sikkhāpadesu.Live restrained in the monastic code, conducting yourself well and resorting for alms in suitable places. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, keep the rules you’ve undertaken.2.5Yato kho tvaṁ, bhikkhu, pātimokkhasaṁvarasaṁvuto viharissasi ācāragocarasampanno aṇumattesu vajjesu bhayadassāvī samādāya sikkhassu sikkhāpadesu; tato tvaṁ, bhikkhu, sīlaṁ nissāya sīle patiṭṭhāya cattāro satipaṭṭhāne bhāveyyāsi.When you’ve done this, you should develop the four kinds of mindfulness meditation, depending on and grounded on ethics.

3.1Katame cattāro?What four?3.2Idha tvaṁ, bhikkhu, kāye kāyānupassī viharāhi ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ;Meditate observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world.3.3vedanāsu …pe…Meditate observing an aspect of feelings …3.4citte …pe…mind …3.5dhammesu dhammānupassī viharāhi ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ.principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world.

3.6Yato kho tvaṁ, bhikkhu, sīlaṁ nissāya sīle patiṭṭhāya ime cattāro satipaṭṭhāne evaṁ bhāvessasi, tato tuyhaṁ, bhikkhu, yā ratti vā divaso vā āgamissati vuddhiyeva pāṭikaṅkhā kusalesu dhammesu, no parihānī”ti.When you develop the four kinds of mindfulness meditation in this way, depending on and grounded on ethics, you can expect growth, not decline, in skillful qualities, whether by day or by night.”

3.7Atha kho so bhikkhu bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinanditvā anumoditvā uṭṭhāyāsanā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā pakkāmi.And then that mendicant approved and agreed with what the Buddha said. He got up from his seat, bowed and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before leaving.

4.1PTS 5.188Atha kho so bhikkhu eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto ātāpī pahitatto viharanto nacirasseva—yassatthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajanti, tadanuttaraṁ—brahmacariyapariyosānaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharati.Then that mendicant, living alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute, soon realized the supreme culmination of the spiritual path in this very life. He lived having achieved with his own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.

4.2“Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ, nāparaṁ itthattāyā”ti abbhaññāsi.He understood: “Rebirth is ended; the spiritual journey has been completed; what had to be done has been done; there is nothing further for this place.”4.3Aññataro ca pana so bhikkhu arahataṁ ahosīti.And that mendicant became one of the perfected.

4.4Chaṭṭhaṁ.