SN35:23 The All
- fdg sc © Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Bodhi. (More copyright information)
1At Sāvatthī. "Bhikkhus, I will teach you the all.[n.6] Spk: The all (sabba) is fourfold: (i) the all-inclusive all (sabbasabba), i.e., everything knowable, all of which comes into range of the Buddha’s knowledge of omniscience; (ii) the all of the sense bases (āyatanasabba), i.e., the phenomena of the four planes; (iii) the all of personal identity (sakk̄āyasabba), i.e., the phenomena of the three planes; and (iv) the partial all (padesasabba), i.e., the five physical sense objects. Each of these, from (i) to (iv), has a successively narrower range than its predecessor. In this sutta the all of the sense bases is intended.
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"And what, bhikkhus, is the all? The eye and forms, the ear and sounds, the nose and odours, the tongue and tastes, the body and tactile objects, the mind and mental phenomena. This is called the all. |
"If anyone, bhikkhus, should speak thus: ‘Having rejected this all, I shall make known another all’—that would be a mere empty boast on his part.[n.7] Tassa vācāvatthur ev’ assa. Spk: It would be just a mere utterance. But if one passes over the twelve sense bases, one cannot point out any real phenomenon. If he were questioned he would not be able to reply and, further, he would meet with vexation. For what reason? Because, bhikkhus, that would not be within his domain."[n.8] Yathā taṁ bhikkhave avisayasmiṁ. Spk: People become vexed when they go outside their domain. Just as it is outside one's domain to cross a deep body of water while carrying a stone palace on one's head, or to drag the sun and moon off their course, and one would only meet with vexation if one makes the attempt, so too in this case. |