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Sutta NipÄta 4.4 Sutta NipÄta 4.4Anthology of Discourses 4.4
Suddhaį¹į¹hakasutta The Pure OctetEight on the Pure
PassÄmi suddhaį¹ paramaį¹ arogaį¹, āI see the pure, the supreme, free from disease.āI see someone pure, perfectly healthy; The sight of saint or holy person was believed to grant blessings (see AN 6.30, MN 81:6.5, Snp 2.4:10.2, SN 46.3:1.1, DN 14:2.14.1). As Bodhi remarks, aroga (āhealthyā) refers to the āselfā, which is frequently described as the subtle body that survives death (DN 1:2.38.3: rÅ«pÄ« attÄ hoti arogo). Here, however, what is āseenā is the soul as a physical body manifesting purity and wellness, as in the case of MÄgaį¹įøiya (MN 75:19.15).
Diį¹į¹hena saį¹suddhi narassa hoti; Itās in connection with whatās seen that a personās purity is.āAn ancient Indian belief, dating back to the Vedas, was that the sight of certain things or beings was believed to purify. Thus āin connection with whatās seenā here means both that purity is brought about by means of seeing such a sight, and that oneās purity is measured in terms of having such a sight. This belief survives today in the practice of darshan. See DN 16, note 44.it is vision that grants a person purity.ā
EvÄbhijÄnaį¹ paramanti ƱatvÄ, Understanding thus, having known the āsupreme,āRecalling this notion of the ultimate, Here as in Snp 4.3, ƱÄį¹a is used in the sense of ānotionā. Bodhi, Norman, and ĆÄį¹adÄ«pa all follow Niddesa in taking abhijÄna in its usual sense of āunderstanding, direct knowingā. But here the secondary sense of ārecallā fits better. Someone thinking about their vision of a holy man believes that there must be an observer of such purity, i.e. a self.
SuddhÄnupassÄ«ti pacceti ƱÄį¹aį¹. & remaining focused on purity, one falls back on that knowledge.they believe in the notion that there is one who observes purity. Pacceti is a standard verb for someone who ābelievesā in a religious rite or idea.
Diį¹į¹hena ce suddhi narassa hoti, If itās in connection with what is seen that a personās purity is,If a person were granted purity through what is seen,
ĆÄį¹ena vÄ so pajahÄti dukkhaį¹; or if stress is abandoned in connection with knowledge,or if by a notion they could give up suffering,
AƱƱena so sujjhati sopadhÄ«ko, then a person with acquisitions is purified in connection with something else,In other words, if purity were simply a matter of seeing or knowing something, a person could be pure in this sense and yet still have acquisitions (= defilements), which would not be true purity. On the use of the phrase, āin connection with,ā here, see Sn 4:9, note 4.then one with attachments is purified by another:
Diį¹į¹hÄ« hi naį¹ pÄva tathÄ vadÄnaį¹. for his view betrays that in the way he asserts it.their view betrays them as one who asserts thus.
Na brÄhmaį¹o aƱƱato suddhimÄha, No brahman says purity comes in connection with anything elseāāBrahmanā in the Buddhist sense, i.e., a person born in any caste who has become an arahant.The brahmin speaks not of purity from another
Diį¹į¹he sute sÄ«lavate mute vÄ; in whatās seen, heard, sensed, habits or practicesāin terms of what has been seen, heard, or thought; or by precepts or vows.
PuƱƱe ca pÄpe ca anÅ«palitto, unsmeared by merit or evil,They are unsullied in the midst of good and evil,
AttaƱjaho nayidha pakubbamÄno. not creating anything here, heās let go of what heād embraced.Lines such as this may have been the source of the confusion in the different recensions of the Canonāand in Nd Iāas to whether the poems in this vagga are concerned with letting go of views that have been embraced (atta) or of self (attÄ). The compound here, attaƱjaho, read on its own, could be read either as āheās let go of what has been embracedā or āheās let go of self.ā However, the following image of a monkey seizing and releasing branches as it moves from tree to tree reinforces the conclusion that the first interpretation is the correct one.letting go what was picked up, without creating anything new here.
Purimaį¹ pahÄya aparaį¹ sitÄse, Abandoning whatās first, they depend on whatās next.Nd I: Leaving one teacher and going to another; leaving one teaching and going to another. This phrase may also refer to the mindās tendency to leave one craving to go to another.Having let go the last they lay hold of the next;
EjÄnugÄ te na taranti saį¹
gaį¹; Following perturbation, they donāt cross over the bond.For a discussion of unperturbed states of concentration, see MN 106.following impulse, they donāt pass the chain.
Te uggahÄyanti nirassajanti, They embrace & rejectThey grab on and let loose like a monkey
KapÄ«va sÄkhaį¹ pamuƱcaį¹ gahÄyaį¹. ālike a monkey releasing a branch to seize at anotherāāLike a monkey releasing a branch to seize at anotherāāan interesting example of a whole phrase that functions as a lamp, i.e., modifying both the phrase before it and the phrase after it.grabbing and releasing a branch. The monkey grabs the branches, not the trunk, as a metaphor for missing the essence. And to drive home the pun, religious orders are called ābranchesā.
Sayaį¹ samÄdÄya vatÄni jantu, a person undertaking practices on his own,Having undertaken their own vows, a personage
UccÄvacaį¹ gacchati saƱƱasatto; goes high & low, latched onto perception.visits various teachers, being attached to perception. See uccÄvacaį¹ vÄ pana dassanÄya gacchati at AN 6.30:2.2. In the current poem, it refers to someone who visits a variety of teachers or sects, as per Niddesa.
VidvÄ ca vedehi samecca dhammaį¹, But having clearly known through vedas, having encountered the Dhamma,āVedasāāJust as the word ābrahmanā is used in a Buddhist sense above, here the word veda is given a Buddhist sense. According to SnA, in this context it means the knowledge accompanying four transcendent paths: the paths to stream-entry, once-returning, non-returning, and arahantship.One who knows, having comprehended the truth through the knowledges, Here the plural vedehi stands for the tevijjÄ.
Na uccÄvacaį¹ gacchati bhÅ«ripaƱƱo. one deeply discerning doesnāt go high & low.does not visit various teachers, being of vast wisdom.
Sa sabbadhammesu visenibhÅ«to, Heās enemy-free with regard to all thingsNd I: The enemies here are the armies of MÄraāall unskillful mental qualities. For a detailed inventory of MÄraās armies, see Sn 3:2.They are remote from all things
Yaį¹ kiƱci diį¹į¹haį¹ va sutaį¹ mutaį¹ vÄ; seen, heard, or sensed.seen, heard, or thought.
Tameva dassiį¹ vivaį¹aį¹ carantaį¹, āone who has seen in this way, who goes around openāNd I: āOpenā means having a mind not covered or concealed by craving, defilement, or ignorance. This relates to the many references in Sn to the idea of having oneās roof opened up (see Sn 2:13, note 3). This is in contrast to the image discussed Sn 4:2, note 1.Seeing them living openly,
KenÄ«dha lokasmi vikappayeyya. By whom, with what, should he be pigeonholed here in the world?āBy whom, with whatāātwo meanings of the one Pali word, kena.how could anyone in this world judge them?
Na kappayanti na purekkharonti, They donāt theorize, donāt yearn,They donāt make things up or promote them,
AccantasuddhÄ«ti na te vadanti; donāt proclaim āutter purity.āor speak of the uttermost purity.
ÄdÄnaganthaį¹ gathitaį¹ visajja, Untying the tied-up knot of grasping,After untying the tight knot of grasping
Äsaį¹ na kubbanti kuhiƱci loke. they donāt form a desire anywhere in the world.they long for nothing in the world.
SÄ«mÄtigo brÄhmaį¹o tassa natthi, The brahman gone beyond territories, has nothing thatNd I: āTerritoriesā = the ten fetters (saį¹yojana) and seven obsessions (anusaya).The brahmin has stepped over the perimeter;
ĆatvÄ va disvÄ va samuggahÄ«taį¹; āon knowing or seeingāheās grasped.knowing and seeing, they adopt nothing. Note that samuggahÄ«ta is used here in the same sense as Snp 4.3:6.2 or Snp 2.12:11.1, i.e. the āadoptionā of a theory or view.
Na rÄgarÄgÄ« na virÄgaratto, Unimpassionate for passion, not impassioned for dis-,Nd I: āPassionā = sensuality; ādispassionā = the jhÄna states that bring about dispassion for sensuality. However, this may also be a reference to the fact that dispassion is the highest dhamma, whether fabricated or unfabricated (Iti 90), and yet the arahant is described in Sn 5:6 as having transcended all phenomena. See AN 3:137, note 1 and Sn 4:6, note 2.Neither in love with passion nor besotted by dispassion,
TassÄ«dha natthi paramuggahÄ«tanti. he has nothing here that heās grasped as supreme.there is nothing here they adopt as the ultimate.
Suddhaį¹į¹hakasuttaį¹ catutthaį¹. The Pure Octet, the fourth.vv. 788ā795. See also: MN 61; AN 5:170.