To Tapussa (On Renunciation) Tapussa Sutta (AN 9:41)
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('â', Venerable ṅnanda, sir, we are householders who indulge in sensuality, delight in sensuality, enjoy sensuality, rejoice in sensuality. For us—indulging in sensuality, delighting in sensuality, enjoying sensuality, rejoicing in sensuality—renunciation seems like a sheer drop-off. Yet Iâve heard that in this Dhamma & Vinaya the hearts of the very young monks leap up at renunciation, grow confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace. So right here is where this Dhamma & Vinaya is contrary to the great mass of people: i.e., (this issue of) renunciation.â" "So it is, ṅnanda. So it is. Even I myself, before my self-awakening, when I was still an unawakened bodhisatta, thought: ),
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('â', Renunciation is good. Seclusion is good.â But my heart didnât leap up at renunciation, didnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace. The thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', What is the cause, what is the reason, why my heart doesnât leap up at renunciation, doesnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace?â Then the thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', I havenât seen the drawback of sensuality; I havenât pursued (that theme). I havenât understood the reward of renunciation; I havenât familiarized myself with it. Thatâs why my heart doesnât leap up at renunciation, doesnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace.â [1] "Then the thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', If, having seen the drawback of sensuality, I were to pursue that theme; and if, having understood the reward of renunciation, I were to familiarize myself with it, thereâs the possibility that my heart would leap up at renunciation, grow confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace.â "So at a later time, having seen the drawback of sensuality, I pursued that theme; having understood the reward of renunciation, I familiarized myself with it. My heart leaped up at renunciation, grew confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace. Then, quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful qualities, I entered & remained in the first jhṅna: rapture & pleasure born of seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. "As I remained there, I was beset with attention to perceptions dealing with sensuality. That was an affliction for me. Just as pain arises as an affliction for a healthy person, even so the attention to perceptions dealing with sensuality that beset me was an affliction for me. [2] "The thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', What if, with the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, I were to enter & remain in the second jhṅna: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation—internal assurance.â But my heart didnât leap up at being without directed thought, didnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace. The thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', What is the cause, what is the reason, why my heart doesnât leap up at being without directed thought, doesnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace?â Then the thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', I havenât seen the drawback of directed thought; I havenât pursued that theme. I havenât understood the reward of being without directed thought; I havenât familiarized myself with it. Thatâs why my heart doesnât leap up at being without directed thought, doesnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace.â "Then the thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', If, having seen the drawback of directed thought, I were to pursue that theme; and if, having understood the reward of being without directed thought, I were to familiarize myself with it, thereâs the possibility that my heart would leap up at being without directed thought, grow confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace.â "So at a later time, having seen the drawback of directed thought, I pursued that theme; having understood the reward of being without directed thought, I familiarized myself with it. My heart leaped up at being without directed thought, grew confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace. With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, I entered & remained in the second jhṅna: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation—internal assurance. "As I remained there, I was beset with attention to perceptions dealing with directed thought. That was an affliction for me. Just as pain arises as an affliction for a healthy person, even so the attention to perceptions dealing with directed thought that beset me was an affliction for me. [3] "The thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', What if, with the fading of rapture, I were to remain equanimous, mindful, & alert, to sense pleasure with the body, and to enter & remain in the third jhṅna, of which the noble ones declare, "Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding"?â But my heart didnât leap up at being without rapture, didnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace.⦠So at a later time, having seen the drawback of rapture, I pursued that theme; having understood the reward of being without rapture, I familiarized myself with it. My heart leaped up at being without rapture, grew confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace. With the fading of rapture, I remained equanimous, mindful, & alert, sensed pleasure with the body, and entered & remained in the third jhṅna, of which the noble ones declare, ),
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('â', Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.â "As I remained there, I was beset with attention to perceptions dealing with rapture. That was an affliction for me. Just as pain arises as an affliction for a healthy person, even so the attention to perceptions dealing with rapture that beset me was an affliction for me. [4] "The thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', What if, with the abandoning of pleasure & pain—as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress—I were to enter & remain in the fourth jhṅna: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain?â But my heart didnât leap up at being without the pleasure of equanimity, didnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace.⦠So at a later time, having seen the drawback of the pleasure of equanimity, I pursued that theme; having understood the reward of neither-pleasure-nor-pain, I familiarized myself with it. My heart leaped up at neither-pleasure-nor-pain, grew confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace. With the abandoning of pleasure & pain—as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress—I entered & remained in the fourth jhṅna: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain. "As I remained there, I was beset with attention to perceptions dealing with equanimity.1 That was an affliction for me. Just as pain arises as an affliction for a healthy person, even so the attention to perceptions dealing with equanimity that beset me was an affliction for me. [5] "The thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', What if, with the complete transcending of perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, and not attending to perceptions of multiplicity, (perceiving,) "Infinite space," I were to enter & remain in the dimension of the infinitude of space?â But my heart didnât leap up at the dimension of the infinitude of space, didnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace.⦠So at a later time, having seen the drawback of forms, I pursued that theme; having understood the reward of the dimension of the infinitude of space, I familiarized myself with it. My heart leaped up at the dimension of the infinitude of space, grew confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace. With the complete transcending of perceptions of (physical) form, with the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, and not attending to perceptions of multiplicity, (perceiving,) ),
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('â', Infinite space,â I entered & remained in the dimension of the infinitude of space. "As I remained there, I was beset with attention to perceptions dealing with forms. That was an affliction for me. Just as pain arises as an affliction for a healthy person, even so the attention to perceptions dealing with forms that beset me was an affliction for me. [6] "The thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', What if, with the complete transcending of the dimension of the infinitude of space, (perceiving,) "Infinite consciousness," I were to enter & remain in the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness?â But my heart didnât leap up at the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, didnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace.⦠So at a later time, having seen the drawback of the dimension of the infinitude of space, I pursued that theme; having understood the reward of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, I familiarized myself with it. My heart leaped up at the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, grew confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace. With the complete transcending of the dimension of the infinitude of space, (perceiving,) ),
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('â', Infinite consciousness,â I entered & remained in the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness. "As I remained there, I was beset with attention to perceptions dealing with the dimension of the infinitude of space. That was an affliction for me. Just as pain arises as an affliction for a healthy person, even so the attention to perceptions dealing with the dimension of the infinitude of space that beset me was an affliction for me. [7] "The thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', What if, with the complete transcending of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, (perceiving,) "There is nothing," I were to enter & remain in the dimension of nothingness?â But my heart didnât leap up at the dimension of nothingness, didnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace.⦠So at a later time, having seen the drawback of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, I pursued that theme; having understood the reward of the dimension of nothingness, I familiarized myself with it. My heart leaped up at the dimension of nothingness, grew confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace. With the complete transcending of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, (perceiving,) ),
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('â', There is nothing,â I entered & remained in the dimension of nothingness. "As I remained there, I was beset with attention to perceptions dealing with the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness. That was an affliction for me. Just as pain arises as an affliction for a healthy person, even so the attention to perceptions dealing with the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness that beset me was an affliction for me. [8] "The thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', What if I, with the complete transcending of the dimension of nothingness, were to enter & remain in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception?â But my heart didnât leap up at the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, didnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace.⦠So at a later time, having seen the drawback of the dimension of nothingness, I pursued that theme; having understood the reward of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, I familiarized myself with it. My heart leaped up at the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, grew confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace. With the complete transcending of the dimension of nothingness, I entered & remained in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. "As I remained there, I was beset with attention to perceptions dealing with the dimension of nothingness. That was an affliction for me. Just as pain arises as an affliction for a healthy person, even so the attention to perceptions dealing with the dimension of nothingness that beset me was an affliction for me. [9] "The thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', What if I, with the complete transcending of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, were to enter & remain in the cessation of perception & feeling?â But my heart didnât leap up at the cessation of perception & feeling, didnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace. The thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', What is the cause, what is the reason, why my heart doesnât leap up at the cessation of perception & feeling, doesnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace?â Then the thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', I havenât seen the drawback of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception; I havenât pursued that theme. I havenât understood the reward of the cessation of perception & feeling; I havenât familiarized myself with it. Thatâs why my heart doesnât leap up at the cessation of perception & feeling, doesnât grow confident, steadfast, or released, (though) seeing it as peace.â "Then the thought occurred to me: ),
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('â', If, having seen the drawback of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, I were to pursue that theme; and if, having understood the reward of the cessation of perception & feeling, I were to familiarize myself with it, thereâs the possibility that my heart would leap up at the cessation of perception & feeling, grow confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace.â "So at a later time, having seen the drawback of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, I pursued that theme; having understood the reward of the cessation of perception & feeling, I familiarized myself with it. My heart leaped up at the cessation of perception & feeling, grew confident, steadfast, & released, seeing it as peace. With the complete transcending of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, I entered & remained in the cessation of perception & feeling. And as I saw (that) with discernment, effluents were completely ended. "ṅnanda, as long as I had not attained & emerged from these nine step-by-step dwelling-attainments in forward & backward order in this way, I did not claim to have directly awakened to the right self-awakening unexcelled in the cosmos with its devas, Mṅras, & Brahmṅs, in this generation with its contemplatives & brahmans, its royalty & commonfolk. But as soon as I had attained & emerged from these nine step-by-step dwelling-attainments in forward & backward order in this way, then I did claim to have directly awakened to the right self-awakening unexcelled in the cosmos with its devas, Mṅras, & Brahmṅs, in this generation with its contemplatives & brahmans, its royalty & commonfolk. Knowledge & vision arose in me: ),
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('â', Unprovoked is my release. This is the last birth. There is now no further becoming.â" Note 1. In other words, even though the fourth jhṅna is characterized by equanimity, the act of taking mental note of that fact would disturb the stillness of the jhṅna. See also: MNÂ 19; MNÂ 29–30; SNÂ 27:1–10; SNÂ 35:127; SNÂ 36:11 - --> - - - -