1At Sāvatthī. There the Venerable Ānanda addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Friends, bhikkhus!"

"Friend!" those bhikkhus replied. The Venerable Ānanda said this:

2"Friends, the Venerable Puṇṇa Mantaniputta was very helpful to us when we were newly ordained. [n.145] Puṇṇa Mantaniputta was declared by the Buddha the foremost among the bhikkhus who were speakers on the Dhamma in AN 1.188–197. See SN14.15. He exhorted us with the following exhortation:

"It is by clinging, Ānanda, that the notion ‘I am’ occurs, not without clinging. And by clinging to what does ‘I am’ occur, not without clinging? [n.146] Upādāya has a double meaning that is difficult to capture in translation. As absolutive of upādiyati it means "having clung to," but it also has an idiomatic sense, "derived from, dependent on," as in the expression catunnañ ca mahābhūtānaṁ upādāya rūpaṁ, "the form derived from the four great elements." I have translated it here "by clinging to," on the supposition that the literal meaning is primary, but the gloss of Spk emphasizes the idiomatic sense: Upādāyā ti āgamma ārabbha sandhāya paṭicca; "upādāya: contingent on, referring to, on the basis of, in dependence on." The mirror simile can support either meaning, and both are probably intended: The youth looks at his or her image with concern for his or her personal appearance ("with clinging"), and the image becomes manifest in dependence on the mirror. Similarly, a person conceives "I am" by clinging to the five aggregates, and it is in dependence on the five aggregates, i.e., with the aggregates as objective referents, that the notion "I am" arises. See SN22.151, which again plays upon this dual meaning of upādāya. It is by clinging to form that ‘I am’ occurs, not without clinging. It is by clinging to feeling … to perception … to volitional formations … to consciousness that ‘I am’ occurs, not without clinging.

3"Suppose, friend Ānanda, a young woman—or a man—youthful and fond of ornaments, would examine her own facial image in a mirror or in a bowl filled with pure, clear, clean water: she would look at it with clinging, not without clinging. So too, it is by clinging to form that ‘I am’ occurs, not without clinging. It is by clinging to feeling … to perception … to volitional formations … to consciousness that ‘I am’ occurs, not without clinging.

4"What do you think, friend Ānanda, is form permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, friend."
"Is feeling permanent or impermanent? … Is perception permanent or impermanent? … Are volitional formations permanent or impermanent? … Is consciousness permanent or impermanent?"
"Impermanent, friend."
"Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness?"
"Suffering, friend."
"Is what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change fit to be regarded thus: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self’?"
"No, friend."

"Therefore any kind of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, or consciousness whatsoever, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near – all of these should be seen as they really are with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’

Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed noble disciple experiences revulsion towards form, revulsion towards feeling, revulsion towards perception, revulsion towards volitional formations, revulsion towards consciousness.

Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion his mind is liberated. When it is liberated there comes the knowledge: ‘It's liberated.’ He understands: ‘Destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being.’"

"Friends, the Venerable Puṇṇa Mantaniputta sn.iii.106 was very helpful to us when we were newly ordained. He exhorted us with that exhortation. And when I heard his Dhamma teaching I made the breakthrough to the Dhamma." [n.147] Dhammo me abhisameto. Spk: He penetrated the Four Noble Truths with wisdom and became a stream-enterer..

1Sāvatthinidānaṁ. Tatra kho āyasmā ānando bhikkhū āmantesi:

"āvuso bhikkhave"ti. "Āvuso"ti kho te bhikkhū āyasmato ānandassa paccassosuṁ. Āyasmā ānando etadavoca:

2"Puṇṇo nāma, āvuso, āyasmā mantāṇiputto amhākaṁ navakānaṁ sataṁ bahūpakāro hoti. So amhe iminā ovādena ovadati:

‘upādāya, āvuso Ānanda, asmīti hoti, no anupādāya. Kiñca upādāya asmīti hoti, no anupādāya? Rūpaṁ upādāya asmīti hoti, no anupādāya. vedanāṁ … saññaṁ … saṅkhāre … viññāṇaṁ upādāya asmīti hoti, no anupādāya.

3Seyyathāpi, āvuso Ānanda, itthī vā puriso vā daharo yuvā maṇḍanakajātiko ādāse vā parisuddhe pariyodāte acche vā udakapatte sakaṁ mukhanimittaṁ paccavekkhamāno upādāya passeyya, no anupādāya; evameva kho, āvuso Ānanda, rūpaṁ upādāya asmīti hoti, no anupādāya. vedanāṁ … saññaṁ … saṅkhāre … viññāṇaṁ upādāya asmīti hoti, no anupādāya.

4Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, āvuso Ānanda, rūpaṁ niccaṁ vā aniccaṁ vā’ti?
‘Aniccaṁ, āvuso’.
‘Vedanā … saññā … saṅkhārā … viññāṇaṁ niccaṁ vā aniccaṁ vā’ti?
‘Aniccaṁ, āvuso’ … pe … .

Tasmātiha … pe …

Evaṁ passaṁ … pe

… nāparaṁ itthattāyāti pajānātīti.

Puṇṇo nāma, āvuso, āyasmā mantāṇiputto amhākaṁ navakānaṁ sataṁ bahūpakāro hoti. So amhe iminā ovādena ovadati. Idañca pana me āyasmato puṇṇassa mantāṇiputtassa dhammadesanaṁ sutvā dhammo abhisamito"ti.

Paṭhamaṁ.