1Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Bārāṇasī in the deer park at Isipatana. Now on that occasion, after their meal, on returning from their alms round, a number of elder bhikkhus assembled and were sitting together in the pavilion hall when this conversation arose: "It was said, friends, by the Blessed One in the Pārāyana, in ‘The Questions of Metteyya’: [n.1394] Sn 1042. The brahmin student's name is Tissa Metteyya. On the Pārāyana, see AN3.32, n. 367.

2"‘Having understood both ends,
the wise one does not stick in the middle. [n.1395] Majjhe mantā na lippati. Mp glosses mantā with paññā, taking it to be a feminine noun. In this it follows Nidd II 10,12, which glosses mantā as if it were a truncated feminine instrumental: majjhe mantāya na lippati. I think it more likely, however, that mantā is the nominative of the agent noun mantar, "a thinker, a wise man." On this form, see Norman 2006b: 190–91.
I call him a great man:
he has here transcended the seamstress.’

3"What, friends, is the first end? What is the second end? What is in the middle? And what is the seamstress?"

(1) When this was said, a certain bhikkhu said to the elder bhikkhus: "Contact, friends, is one end; the arising of contact is the second end; the cessation of contact is in the middle; and craving is the seamstress. For craving sews one to the production of this or that state of existence. [n.1396] Mp explains: "The contact (phassa) at the first end is one individual existence (attabhāva), which is produced by way of contact. The origin of contact (phassasamudaya), the second end, is the future existence, produced with the contact of the kamma done in this existence as its condition. The cessation of contact (phassanirodha) is nibbāna. Nibbāna is said to be in the middle because it cuts in half craving, the seamstress." In my opinion, it would make better sense to see phassanirodha here, not as nibbāna, but as the ceasing of contact at the end of the first existence. Craving is then the seamstress because it ties the contact of the previous existence to the initial arising of contact at the start of the new existence. It is in this way that a bhikkhu directly knows what should be directly known; fully understands what should be fully understood; and by doing so, in this very life he makes an end of suffering." [n.1397] Mp: "What should be directly known (abhiññeyyaṁ) is the four noble truths; what should be fully understood (pariññeyyaṁ) is the pair of mundane truths (suffering and its origin). In this very life, he makes an end of the suffering of the round; he terminates it and eradicates it."

4(2) When this was said, another bhikkhu said to the elder bhikkhus: "The past, friends, is one end; the future is the second end; the present is in the middle; and craving is the seamstress. For craving sews one to the production of this or that state of existence. It is in this way that a bhikkhu directly knows what should be directly known … in this very life he makes an end of suffering."

5(3) When this was said, another bhikkhu said to the elder bhikkhus: "Pleasant feeling, friends, is one end; painful feeling is the second end; neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling is in the middle; and craving is the seamstress. For craving sews one to the production of this or that state of existence. It is in this way that a bhikkhu directly knows what should be directly known … in this very life he makes an end of suffering."

6(4) When this was said, another bhikkhu said to the elder bhikkhus: "Name, friends, is one end; form is the second end; consciousness is in the middle; and craving is the seamstress. [n.1398] Mp: "Consciousness—both rebirth-consciousness and the other kinds—is said to be in the middle because it occurs as the condition for name and form." For craving sews one to the production of this or that state of existence. It is in this way that a bhikkhu directly knows what should be directly known … in this very life he makes an end of suffering."

7(5) When this was said, another bhikkhu said to the elder bhikkhus: "The six internal bases, friends, are one end; the six external bases are the second end; consciousness is in the middle; and craving is the seamstress. [n.1399] Mp: "Kammic consciousness is in the middle; or here, because kamma is included by the mind-base among the internal bases, any kind of consciousness is in the middle; or else the javana consciousness is dependent on an internal base—for (it depends on) adverting in the mind-door—and so it is said to be in the middle." For craving sews one to the production of this or that state of existence. It is in this way that a bhikkhu directly knows what should be directly known … in this very life he makes an end of suffering."

8(6) When this was said, another bhikkhu said to the elder bhikkhus: "Personal existence, friends, is one end; the origin of personal existence is the second end; the cessation of personal existence is in the middle; and craving is the seamstress. [n.1400] Mp: "Personal existence (sakkāya) is the round of existence with its three planes. The origin of personal existence is the truth of the origin; the cessation of personal existence is the truth of cessation." Again, I would interpret this as I did the first presentation: personal existence is the present existence; the origin of personal existence is the arising of the next existence; the cessation of personal existence is the ceasing of the present existence. And craving, by generating rebirth, sews the future existence to this present one. For craving sews one to the production of this or that state of existence. It is in this way that a bhikkhu directly knows what should be directly known; fully understands what should be fully understood; and by doing so, in this very life he makes an end of suffering."

9When this was said, a certain bhikkhu said to the elder bhikkhus: "Friends, we have each explained according to our own inspiration. Come, let's go to the Blessed One and report this matter to him. As the Blessed One explains it to us, so should we retain it in mind."

10"Yes, friend," those elder bhikkhus replied. Then the elder bhikkhus went to the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and reported to him the entire conversation that had taken place, asking: "Bhante, which of us has spoken well?"
The Blessed One said: "In a way, bhikkhus, you have all spoken well, but listen and attend closely as I tell you what I intended when I said in the Pārāyana, in ‘The Questions of Metteyya’:

11"‘Having understood both ends,
the wise one does not stick in the middle.
I call him a great man:
he has here transcended the seamstress.’"

12

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"Yes, Bhante," those bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:

"Contact, bhikkhus, is one end; the arising of contact is the second end; the cessation of contact is in the middle; and craving is the seamstress. For craving sews one to the production of this or that state of existence. It is in this way that a bhikkhu directly knows what should be directly known; fully understands what should be fully understood; and by doing so, in this very life he makes an end of suffering." [n.1401] In a Chinese parallel to this sutta, SĀ 1164 (T II 310b20 –311a2), the bhikkhus propose only five interpretations of the verse: (1) six internal bases, six external bases, and feeling; (2) the past, the future, and the present; (3) pleasure, pain, and neither pain nor pleasure; (4) existence, its origin, and feeling; (5) identity and its origin (the middle term is missing). When they inquire from the Buddha, he explains the verse in terms of contact, its origin, and feeling. The verse in the Chinese does not have a word corresponding to Pāli mantā.

1Evaṁ me sutaṁ—​ ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā bārāṇasiyaṁ viharati isipatane migadāye. Tena kho pana samayena sambahulānaṁ therānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ pacchābhattaṁ piṇḍapātapaṭikkantānaṁ maṇḍalamāḷe sannisinnānaṁ sannipatitānaṁ ayamantarākathā udapādi: "vuttamidaṁ, āvuso, bhagavatā pārāyane metteyyapañhe:

2‘Yo ubhonte viditvāna,
majjhe mantā na lippati;
Taṁ brūmi mahāpurisoti,
sodha sibbini maccagā’"ti.

3"Katamo nu kho, āvuso, eko anto, katamo dutiyo anto, kiṁ majjhe, kā sibbinī"ti?

Evaṁ vutte, aññataro bhikkhu there bhikkhū etadavoca: "phasso kho, āvuso, eko anto, phassasamudayo dutiyo anto, phassanirodho majjhe, taṇhā sibbinī; taṇhā hi naṁ sibbati tassa tasseva bhavassa abhinibbattiyā. Ettāvatā kho, āvuso, bhikkhu abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānāti, pariññeyyaṁ parijānāti, abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānanto pariññeyyaṁ parijānanto diṭṭheva dhamme dukkhassantakaro hotī"ti. (1)

4Evaṁ vutte, aññataro bhikkhu there bhikkhū etadavoca: "atītaṁ kho, āvuso, eko anto, anāgataṁ dutiyo anto, paccuppannaṁ majjhe, taṇhā sibbinī; taṇhā hi naṁ sibbati tassa tasseva bhavassa abhinibbattiyā. Ettāvatā kho, āvuso, bhikkhu abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānāti, pariññeyyaṁ parijānāti, abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānanto, pariññeyyaṁ parijānanto diṭṭheva dhamme dukkhassantakaro hotī"ti. (2)

5Evaṁ vutte, aññataro bhikkhu there bhikkhū etadavoca: "sukhā, āvuso, vedanā eko anto, dukkhā vedanā dutiyo anto, adukkhamasukhā vedanā majjhe, taṇhā sibbinī; taṇhā hi naṁ sibbati tassa tasseva bhavassa abhinibbattiyā. Ettāvatā kho, āvuso, bhikkhu abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānāti, pariññeyyaṁ parijānāti, abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānanto, pariññeyyaṁ parijānanto diṭṭheva dhamme dukkhassantakaro hotī"ti. (3)

6Evaṁ vutte, aññataro bhikkhu there bhikkhū etadavoca: "nāmaṁ kho, āvuso, eko anto, rūpaṁ dutiyo anto, viññāṇaṁ majjhe, taṇhā sibbinī; taṇhā hi naṁ sibbati tassa tasseva bhavassa abhinibbattiyā. Ettāvatā kho, āvuso, bhikkhu abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānāti, pariññeyyaṁ parijānāti, abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānanto pariññeyyaṁ parijānanto diṭṭheva dhamme dukkhassantakaro hotī"ti. (4)

7Evaṁ vutte aññataro bhikkhu there bhikkhū etadavoca: "cha kho, āvuso, ajjhattikāni āyatanāni eko anto, cha bāhirāni āyatanāni dutiyo anto, viññāṇaṁ majjhe, taṇhā sibbinī; taṇhā hi naṁ sibbati tassa tasseva bhavassa abhinibbattiyā. Ettāvatā kho, āvuso, bhikkhu abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānāti, pariññeyyaṁ parijānāti, abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānanto pariññeyyaṁ parijānanto diṭṭheva dhamme dukkhassantakaro hotī"ti. (5)

8Evaṁ vutte aññataro bhikkhu there bhikkhū etadavoca: "sakkāyo kho, āvuso, eko anto, sakkāyasamudayo dutiyo anto, sakkāyanirodho majjhe, taṇhā sibbinī; taṇhā hi naṁ sibbati tassa tasseva bhavassa abhinibbattiyā. Ettāvatā kho, āvuso, bhikkhu abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānāti, pariññeyyaṁ parijānāti, abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānanto pariññeyyaṁ parijānanto diṭṭheva dhamme dukkhassantakaro hotī"ti. (6)

9Evaṁ vutte, aññataro bhikkhu there bhikkhū etadavoca: "byākataṁ kho, āvuso, amhehi sabbeheva yathāsakaṁ paṭibhānaṁ. Āyāmāvuso, yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkamissāma; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavato etamatthaṁ ārocessāma. Yathā no bhagavā byākarissati tathā naṁ dhāressāmā"ti. (7)

10"Evamāvuso"ti kho therā bhikkhū tassa bhikkhuno paccassosuṁ. Atha kho therā bhikkhū yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu. Ekamantaṁ nisinnā kho therā bhikkhū yāvatako ahosi sabbeheva saddhiṁ kathāsallāpo, taṁ sabbaṁ bhagavato ārocesuṁ. "Kassa nu kho, bhante, subhāsitan"ti?

"Sabbesaṁ vo, bhikkhave, subhāsitaṁ pariyāyena, api ca yaṁ mayā sandhāya bhāsitaṁ pārāyane metteyyapañhe:

11‘Yo ubhonte viditvāna,
majjhe mantā na lippati;
Taṁ brūmi mahāpurisoti,
sodha sibbinimaccagā’ti.

12Taṁ suṇātha, sādhukaṁ manasi karotha, bhāsissāmī"ti.

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"Evaṁ, bhante"ti kho therā bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. Bhagavā etadavoca:

"phasso kho, bhikkhave, eko anto, phassasamudayo dutiyo anto, phassanirodho majjhe, taṇhā sibbinī; taṇhā hi naṁ sibbati tassa tasseva bhavassa abhinibbattiyā. Ettāvatā kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānāti, pariññeyyaṁ parijānāti, abhiññeyyaṁ abhijānanto pariññeyyaṁ parijānanto diṭṭheva dhamme dukkhassantakaro hotī"ti.

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Sattamaṁ.