  
                        CONTEMPLATION OF FEELING
                 The Discourse-Grouping on the Feelings
                           (Vedana-Samyutta)


             Translated from the Pali, with an Introduction
                                   by

                           Nyanaponika Thera

                   The Wheel Publication No. 303/304

                           SL ISSN 0049-7541

              Copyright 1983 Buddhist Publication Society

                      BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
                      KANDY              SRI LANKA


                                 * * *


                         DharmaNet Edition 1995

                        Transcription: Joe Crea
                  Proofreading: Joe Crea, John Bullitt
                        Formatting: John Bullitt
  
        This electronic edition is offered for free distribution
            via DharmaNet by arrangement with the publisher.

                        DharmaNet International
                 P.O. Box 4951, Berkeley CA 94704-4951

                            * * * * * * * *



                              INTRODUCTION
  
  
  "To feel is everything!" -- so exclaimed a German poet.  Though these
  are rather exuberant words, they do point to the fact that feeling is
  a key factor in human life.  Whether people are fully aware of it or
  not, their lives are chiefly spent in an unceasing endeavour to
  increase their pleasant feelings and to avoid unpleasant feelings. All
  human ambitions and strivings serve that purpose:  from the simple
  joys of a humdrum existence to the power urge of the mighty and the
  creative joy of the great artist.  All that is wanted is to have more
  and more of pleasant feelings, because they bring with them emotional
  satisfaction, called happiness.  Such happiness may have various
  levels of coarseness or refinement, and may reach great intensity.
  These emotions, on their part, will produce many volitions and their
  actualizations.  For the purpose of satisfying the  "pleasure
  principle," many heroic deeds have been performed, and many more
  unheroic and unscrupulous ones.  For providing the means to
  pleasurable feelings, thousands of industries and services have sprung
  up, with millions of workers. Technology and applied sciences, too,
  serve to a large extent the growing demands for sense-enjoyment and
  comfort.  By providing questionable escape routes, these purveyors of
  emotional and sensual happiness also try to allay painful feelings
  like fear and anxiety.
  
      From this brief purview one may now appreciate the significance of
  the Buddha's terse saying that  "//all things converge on feelings//."
  From such a central position of feeling it can also be understood that
  misconceptions about feelings belong to the twenty Personality Views,
  where the Aggregate of Feeling (//vedana-kkhandha//) is in various
  ways identified with an assumed self.
  
      Yet, //feeling// by itself, in its primary state, is quite neutral
  when it registers the impact of an object as pleasant, unpleasant or
  indifferent.  Only when emotional or volitional additions are
  admitted, will there arise desire and love, aversion and hate,
  anxiety, fear and distorting views.  But that need not be so.  These
  admixtures are not inseparable parts of the respective feelings.  In
  fact, many of the weaker impressions we receive during the day stop at
  the mere registering of a very faint and brief feeling, without any
  further emotional reaction.  This shows that the stopping at the bare
  feeling is psychologically possible, and that it could also be done
  intentionally with the help of mindfulness and self-restraint, even in
  cases when the stimulus to convert feelings into emotions is strong.
  Through actual experience it can thus be confirmed that the
  ever-revolving round of Dependent Origination (//paticca-samuppada//)
  can be stopped at the point of Feeling, and that there is no inherent
  necessity that Feeling is followed by Craving.  Here we encounter
  Feeling as a key factor on the path of liberation, and therefore, the
  //Contemplation of Feeling// has, in Buddhist tradition, always been
  highly regarded as an effective aid on that path.
  
      The Contemplation of Feeling is one of the four Foundations of
  Mindfulness (//satipatthana//) and may be undertaken in the framework
  of that meditative practice aiming at the growth of Insight
  (//vipassana//).  It is, however, essential that this Contemplation
  should also be remembered and applied in daily life whenever feelings
  are prone to turn into unwholesome emotions.  Of course, one should
  not try to //produce// in oneself feelings intentionally, just for the
  sake of practice;  they should rather be taken up for mindful
  observation only when they occur.  There will be many such occasions,
  provided the mind is alert and calm enough to notice the feelings
  clearly at their primary stage.
  
      In the Contemplation of Feelings, there should first be a mindful
  awareness of the feelings when they arise, and one should clearly
  distinguish them as pleasant, unpleasant (painful) or neutral,
  respectively.  There is no such thing as "mixed feelings."
  
      Mindfulness should be maintained throughout the short duration of
  that specific feeling, down to its cessation.  If the vanishing point
  of feelings is repeatedly seen with increasing clarity, it will become
  much easier to trap, and finally to stop, those emotions, thoughts and
  volitions, which normally follow so rapidly, and which are so often
  habitually associated with the feelings.  Pleasant feeling is
  habitually linked with enjoyment and desire;  unpleasant feeling with
  aversion;  neutral feeling with boredom and confusion, but also
  serving as background for wrong views.  But when Bare Attention is
  directed towards the arising and vanishing of feelings, these
  polluting additives will be held a bay;  or when they have arisen they
  will be immediately cognized in their nature, and that cognition may
  often be sufficient to stop them from growing stronger by unopposed
  continuance.
  
      If feelings are seen in their bubble-like blowing up and bursting,
  their linkage with craving or aversion will be weakened more and more,
  until that bondage is finally broken.  By that practice, attachment to
  likes and dislikes will be reduced and thereby an inner space will be
  provided for the growth of the finer emotions and virtues:  for
  loving-kindness and compassion, for contentment, patience and
  forbearance.
  
      In this contemplation it is of particular importance to dissociate
  the feelings from even the faintest thoughts of  "I" or  "mine." There
  should be no ego-reference, as for instance  "//I// feel (and,
  therefore, I am)."  Nor should there be any thought of being the owner
  of the feelings:  "I have pleasant feelings.  How happy I am!"  With
  the thought,  "I want to have more of them" craving arises.  Or,  "I
  have pains.  How unhappy I am!"  and wishing to get rid of the pains,
  aversion arises.
  
      Avoiding these wrong and unrealistic views, one should be aware of
  the feelings as a conditioned and transient process.  Mindfulness
  should be kept alert and it should be focused on the bare fact that
  there is just the mental function of such and such a feeling;  and
  this awareness should serve no other purpose than that of knowledge
  and mindfulness, as stated in the Satipatthana Sutta.  As long as one
  habitually relates the feelings to a person that  "has" them, and does
  so even during meditation, there cannot be any progress in that
  Contemplation.
  
      To be aware of the feelings without any ego-reference will also
  help to distinguish them clearly from the physical stimuli arousing
  them, as well as from the subsequent mental reactions to them. Thereby
  the meditator will be able to keep his attention focused on the
  feelings alone, without straying into other areas.  This is the
  purport of the phrase  "he contemplates feelings in the feelings" as
  stated in the Satipatthana Sutta.  At this stage of the practice, the
  meditator will become more familiar with the Insight Knowledge of
  "Discerning mentality and materiality"  (//nama-rupa-pariccheda//).
  
      Further progress, however, will require persistence in the mindful
  observations of the arising and passing away of every instant of
  feeling whenever it occurs.  This will lead to a deepening experience
  of impermanence (//anicca//), being one of the main gates to final
  liberation.  When, in Insight Meditation (vipassana), the vanishing
  moment of feelings becomes more strongly marked, the impermanent
  nature of the feelings will impress itself very deeply on the
  meditator's mind. This experience, gained also from other mental and
  bodily processes, will gradually mature into the Insight Knowledge of
  Dissolution (//bhanganana//).  On reaching that stage, the meditator
  will find himself well on the road to further progress.
  
      It is within the practice of Insight meditation that the
  Contemplation of Feelings can unfold its full strength as an efficient
  tool for breaking the chain of suffering at its weakest link.  But
  from this Contemplation, considerable benefits can be derived also by
  those who, in their daily life, devote only some quiet reflection to
  their feelings and emotions, even if done retrospectively.  They will
  soon find that feelings and emotions are  "separable."  Even this
  reflective and retrospective contemplation can help them to a fuller
  awareness of feelings and emotions when they actually occur.  This
  again can save them from being carried away by the emotional
  cross-currents of elation and dejection.  The mind will then gradually
  reach a higher level of firmness and equipoise, just by that simple
  procedure of looking, or looking back at, one's feelings and emotions.
  
      This, however, should not, and need not, be made a constant
  practice, but should be taken up on suitable occasions and for a
  limited period of time until one has become familiar with the
  mechanism of feelings followed by emotions.  Such an understanding of
  the process will result in an increasing control over one's emotional
  reactions, and this will happen in a natural, spontaneous way.  One
  need not have fears that one's focusing the mind on the feelings and
  emotions, in the manner described, will lead to cold aloofness or an
  emotional withdrawal.  On the contrary, mind and heart will become
  more open to all those finer emotions spoken of before.  It will not
  exclude warm human relationships, nor the enjoyment of beauty in art
  and nature.  But it will remove from them the fever of clinging, so
  that these experiences will give a deeper satisfaction, as far as this
  world of Dukkha admits.
  
      A life lived in this way may well mature in the wish to use the
  Contemplation of Feelings for its highest purpose:  mind's final
  liberation from suffering.

                                        Nyanaponika
  
  Kandy, Sri Lanka
  January, 1983

  
                            * * * * * * * *
  


             THE PLACE OF "FEELING" IN BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY
  
  
  It should be first made clear that, in Buddhist psychology, "feeling"
  (Pali: //vedana//) is the bare sensation noted as pleasant, unpleasant
  (painful) and neutral (indifferent).  Hence, it should not be confused
  with //emotion// which, though arising from the basic feeling, adds to
  it likes or dislikes of varying intensity, as well as other thought
  processes.
  
      Feeling, in that sense, is one of the five Aggregates or Groups of
  Existence (//khandha//), constituting what is conventionally called "a
  person."  The specific factors operative in //emotion// belong to the
  Aggregate of Mental Formations (//sankhara-kkhandha//).  Feeling is
  one of the four mental Aggregates which arise, inseparably, in all
  states of consciousness;  the other three are perception, mental
  formations, and consciousness.
  
      Feeling arises whenever there is the meeting of three factors,
  i.e., sense-organ, object and consciousness.  It is called the meeting
  of these three that, in Buddhist psychology, is called
  sense-impression (contact, impact;  //phassa//), which is a mental,
  and not a physical process.  It is sixfold, as being conditioned
  either by of the five physical senses or by mind.  it is this sixfold
  sense-impression by which the corresponding six feelings are
  conditioned.  In the formula of the Dependent Origination
  (//paticca-samuppada//), this is expressed by the link:
  "Sense-impression conditions Feeling" (//phassa-paccaya vedana//).
  When emotions follow, they do so in accordance with the next link of
  Dependent Origination: "Feeling conditions Craving" (//vedana-paccaya
  tanha//).
  
      The feeling that arises from contact with visual forms, sounds,
  odors, and tastes is always a neutral feeling.  Pleasant or
  unpleasant feelings do not always follow in relation to these four
  sense perceptions;  but //when// they follow, they are then an
  additional stage of the perceptual process, subsequent to the neutral
  feeling which is the first response.
  
      But bodily impressions (touch, pressure, etc.) can cause either
  pleasant or unpleasant feelings.
  
      Mental impressions can cause gladness, sadness or neutral
  (indifferent) feeling.
  
      Feeling is one of those mental factors (//cetasika//) which are
  common to all types of consciousness.  In other words, every conscious
  experience has a feeling tone, even if only that of a neutral or
  indifferent feeling, which also has a distinct quality of its own.
  
      Feeling by itself (if one could so separate it) is, as it was
  already said, the bare sensation noted as pleasant, painful or
  neutral. The subsequent emotional, practical, moral or spiritual
  values attached to that basic feeling are determined by other mental
  factors that subsequently arise in relation to that feeling, but, by
  way of classification, belong to the Aggregate of Mental Formations
  (//sankhara-kkhandha//). It is the quality of those other mental
  functions that makes the co-nascent feeling, too, to be either good or
  bad, noble or low, kammic or non-kammic, mundane or supramundane.
  
      Feeling may stop at the stage of bare sensation in all weak states
  of consciousness, but also when there is mindful control of feelings.
  In such cases, there is no evaluation of these feelings, emotionally
  or intellectually.
  
  
                                 * * *



                   THE DISCOURSE-GROUPING ON FEELINGS
                           (Vedana-Samyutta)
  
  
  
  1.  Concentration
  
  "There are, O monks, these three feelings:  pleasant feelings, painful
  feelings, and neither-painful-nor-pleasant feelings.
  
       "A disciple of the Buddha, mindful,
        clearly comprehending, with his mind collected,
        he knows the feelings [1] and their origin, [2]
        knows whereby they cease [3] and knows the path
        that to the ending of feelings lead. [4]
        And when the end of feelings he has reached,
        such a monk, his thirsting quenched, attains Nibbana." [5]
  
  
  
  2.  Happiness
  
  "There are, O monks, these three feelings:  pleasant feelings, painful
  feelings, and neither-painful-nor-pleasant feelings.
  
       "Be it a pleasant feeling, be it a painful feeling, be it neutral,
        one's own or others', feelings of all kinds [6] --
        he knows them all as ill, deceitful, evanescent.
        Seeing how they impinge again, again, and disappear, [7]
        he wins detachment from the feelings, passion-free."
  
  

  3.  Giving up
  
  "In the case of pleasant feelings, O monks, the underlying tendency [8]
  to lust should be given up;  in the case of painful feelings, the
  underlying tendency to resistance (aversion) should be given up;  in
  the case of neither-painful-nor-pleasant feelings, the underlying
  tendency to ignorance should be given up.
  
      "If a monk has given up the tendency to lust in regard to pleasant
  feeling, the tendency to resistance in regard to painful feelings, and
  the tendency to ignorance in regard to neither-painful-nor-pleasant
  feelings, then he is called one who is free of (unwholesome)
  tendencies, one who has the right outlook.  He has cut off craving,
  severed the fetters (to future existence), and through the full
  penetration of conceit, [9] he has made an end of suffering.
  
       "If one feels joy, but knows not feeling's nature,
        bent towards greed, he will not find deliverance.
  
        If one feels pain, but knows not feeling's nature,
        bent toward hate, he will not find deliverance.
  
        And even neutral feeling which as peaceful
        the Lord of Wisdom has proclaimed,
        if, in attachment, he should cling to it,
        he will not be free from the round of ill.
  
        And having done so, in this very life
        will be free from cankers, free from taints.

        Mature in knowledge, firm in Dhamma's ways,
        when once his life-span ends, his body breaks,
        all measure and concept he has transcended."
  


  4.  The Bottomless Pit
  
  "When, O monks, an untaught worldling says that in the great ocean
  there is a (bottomless) pit [10], he speaks about something unreal and
  not factual. [11]  'The (bottomless) pit,' O monks, is rather a name
  for painful bodily feelings.  When an untaught worldling is afflicted
  by painful bodily feelings, he worries and grieves, he laments, beats
  his breast, weeps and is distraught.  He is then said to be an untaught
  worldling who cannot withstand the bottomless pit and cannot gain a
  foothold in it.  But when a well-taught noble disciple [12] is
  afflicted by painful bodily feelings, he will not worry nor grieve and
  lament, he will not beat his breast and weep, nor will he be distraught.
  He is then said to be a noble disciple who can withstand the
  bottomless pit and has gained a foothold in it.
  
          Who cannot bear the painful body-feelings that arise
          endangering his life, he trembles when afflicted.
          He wails and cries aloud, a weak and feeble man.
          He cannot stand against the pit,
          nor can a foothold he secure.
  
          But one who bears the painful body-feelings that arise,
          not trembling when his very life is threatened,
          he truly can withstand that pit
          and gain a foothold in its depth."
  
  
  
  5.  To Be Known

  "There are, O monks, these three feelings:  pleasant, painful and
  neither-painful-nor-pleasant.  Pleasant feelings should be known as
  painful, painful feelings should be known as a thorn, and
  neither-painful-nor-pleasant feelings should be known as impermanent.
  If a monk has known the feelings in such a way, it is said of him that
  he has the right outlook.  He has cut off craving, severed the fetters
  (to existence) and, through the full penetration of conceit, he has
  made an end of suffering.
  
         "Who sees the pain in happiness and views the painful feeling
              as a thorn,
          perceives the transience in neutral feeling which is peaceful --
          right outlook, truly, has such a monk who fully understands
              these feelings;
          And having penetrated them, he will be taint-free in this very
              life.
          Mature in knowledge, firm in Dhamma's ways,
          when once his life-span ends, his body breaks,
          all measure and concept he has transcended."
  
  
  
  6.  The Dart
  
  "An untaught worldling, O monks, experiences pleasant feelings, he
  experiences painful feelings and he experiences neutral feelings.  A
  well-taught noble disciple likewise experiences pleasant, painful and
  neutral feelings.  Now what is the distinction, the diversity, the
  difference that exists herein between a well-taught noble disciple and
  an untaught worldling?
  
      "When an untaught worldling is touched by a painful (bodily)
  feeling, he worries and grieves, he laments, beats his breast, weeps
  and is distraught.  He thus experiences two kinds of feelings, a
  bodily and a mental feeling.  It is as if a man were pierced by a dart
  and, following the first piercing, he is hit by a second dart.  So
  that person will experience feelings caused by two darts.  It is
  similar with an untaught worldling:  when touched by a painful
  (bodily) feeling, he worries and grieves, he laments, beats his
  breast, weeps and is distraught.  So he experiences two kinds of
  feeling:  a bodily and a mental feeling.
  
      "Having been touched by that painful feeling, he resists (and
  resents) it.  Then in him who so resists (and resents) that painful
  feeling, an underlying tendency of resistance against that painful
  feeling comes to underlie (his mind).  Under the impact of that
  painful feeling he then proceeds to enjoy sensual happiness.  And why
  does he do so?  An untaught worldling, O monks, does not know of any
  other escape from painful feelings except the enjoyment of sensual
  happiness.  Then in him who enjoys sensual happiness, an underlying
  tendency to lust for pleasant feelings comes to underlie (his mind).
  He does not know, according to facts, the arising and ending of these
  feelings, nor the gratification, the danger and the escape, connected
  with these feelings. In him who lacks that knowledge, an underlying
  tendency to ignorance as to neutral feelings comes to underlie (his
  mind).  When he experiences a pleasant feeling, a painful feeling or a
  neutral feeling, he feels it as one fettered by it.  Such a one, O
  monks, is called an untaught worldling who is fettered by birth, by
  old age, by death, by sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair. He
  is fettered by suffering, this I declare.
  
      "But in the case of a well-taught noble disciple, O monks, when he
  is touched by a painful feeling, he will not worry nor grieve and
  lament, he will not beat his breast and weep, nor will he be
  distraught. It is //one// kind of feeling he experiences, a bodily
  one, but not a mental feeling.  It is as if a man were pierced by a
  dart, but was not hit by a second dart following the first one.  So
  this person experiences feelings caused by a single dart only.  It is
  similar with a well-taught noble disciple:  when touched by a painful
  feeling, he will no worry nor grieve and lament, he will not beat his
  breast and weep, nor will he be distraught.  He experiences one single
  feeling, a bodily one.
  
      "Having been touched by that painful feeling, he does not resist
  (and resent) it.  Hence, in him no underlying tendency of resistance
  against that painful feeling comes to underlie (his mind).  Under the
  impact of that painful feeling he does not proceed to enjoy sensual
  happiness.  And why not?  As a well-taught noble disciple he knows of
  an escape from painful feelings other than by enjoying sensual
  happiness.  Then in him who does not proceed to enjoy sensual
  happiness, no underlying tendency to lust for pleasant feelings comes
  to underlie (his mind).  He knows, according to facts, the arising and
  ending of those feelings, and the gratification, the danger and the
  escape connected with these feelings.  In him who knows thus, no
  underlying tendency to ignorance as to neutral feelings comes to
  underlie (his mind). When he experiences a pleasant feeling, a painful
  feeling or a neutral feeling, he feels it as one who is not fettered
  by it.  Such a one, O monks, is called a well-taught noble disciple
  who is not fettered by birth, by old age, by death, by sorrow,
  lamentation, pain, grief and despair.  He is not fettered to
  suffering, this I declare.
  
      "This, O monks, is the distinction, the diversity, the difference
  that exists between a well-taught noble disciple and an untaught
  worldling."
  
  
  
  7.  At the Sick Room -- I

  Once the Blessed One dwelt at Vesali, in the Great Forest, at the
  Gabled House.  In the evening, after the Blessed One had risen from
  his seclusion, he went to the sick room and sat down on a prepared
  seat.  Being seated he addressed the monks as follows:
  
      "O monks, mindfully and clearly comprehending should a monk spend
  his time!  This is my injunction to you!
  
      "And how, O monks, is a monk mindful?  He dwells practicing
  body-contemplation on the body, ardent, clearly comprehending and
  mindful, having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the world.
  He dwells practicing feeling-contemplation on feelings, ardent,
  clearly comprehending and mindful, having overcome covetousness and
  grief concerning the world.  He dwells practicing mind-contemplation
  on the mind, having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the
  world.  He dwells practicing mind-object-contemplation on
  mind-objects, having overcome covetousness and grief concerning the
  world.  So, monks, is a monk mindful.
  
      "And how, O monks, is a monk clearly comprehending?  He applies
  clear comprehension in going forward and going back;  in looking
  straight on and in looking elsewhere;  in bending and in stretching
  (his limbs);  in wearing the robes and carrying the almsbowl;  in
  eating, drinking, chewing and savoring;  in obeying the calls of
  nature;  in walking, standing sitting, falling asleep waking, speaking
  and being silent -- in all that he applies clear comprehension.  So,
  monks, is a monk clearly comprehending.
  
      "If a monk is thus mindful and clearly comprehending, ardent,
  earnest and resolute, and a pleasant feeling arises in him, he knows:
  'Now a pleasant feeling has arisen in me.  It is conditioned, not
  unconditioned.  Conditioned by what?  Even by this body it is
  conditioned. [13]  And this body, indeed, is impermanent, compounded,
  dependently arisen.  But if this pleasant feeling that has arisen, is
  conditioned by the body which is impermanent, compounded and
  dependently arisen;  how could such a pleasant feeling be permanent?'
  
      "In regard to both body and the pleasant feeling he dwells
  contemplating impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwell
  contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells
  contemplating relinquishment.  And in him who thus dwells, the
  underlying tendency to lust in regard to body and pleasant feeling
  vanishes.
  
      "If a painful feeling arises in him, he knows:  'Now a painful
  feeling has arisen in me.  It is conditioned, not unconditioned.
  Conditioned by what?  Even by this body it is conditioned.  And this
  body, indeed, is impermanent, compounded, dependently arisen.  But if
  this painful feeling that has arisen is conditioned by the body which
  is impermanent, compounded and dependently arisen, how could such a
  painful feeling be permanent?'
  
      "In regard to both the body and the painful feeling he dwells
  contemplating impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells
  contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells
  contemplating relinquishment.  And in him who thus dwells, the
  underlying tendency to resistance in regard to the body and painful
  feeling vanishes.
  
      "If a neutral feeling arises in him, he knows:  'Now a neutral
  feeling has arisen in me.  It is conditioned, not unconditioned.
  Conditioned by what?  Even by this body it is conditioned.  And this
  body, indeed, is impermanent, compounded, dependently arisen.  But if
  this neutral feeling that has arisen is conditioned by the body which
  is impermanent, compounded and dependently arisen, how could such a
  neutral feeling be permanent?'
  
      "In regard to both the body and the neutral feeling he dwells
  contemplating impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells
  contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells
  contemplating relinquishment.  And in him who thus dwells, the
  underlying tendency to ignorance in regard to body and neutral feeling
  vanishes.
  
      "If he experiences a pleasant feeling, he knows it as impermanent;
  he knows, it is not clung to;  he knows, it is not relished.  If he
  experiences a painful feeling ... a neutral feeling, he knows it as
  impermanent;  he knows, it is not clung to;  he knows, it is not
  relished.
  
      "If he experiences a pleasant feeling, he feels it as one
  unfettered by it.  If he experiences a painful feeling, he feels it as
  one unfettered by it.  If he experiences a neutral feeling, he feels
  it as one unfettered by it.
  
      "When having painful feelings endangering the body, he knows:  'I
  have a painful feeling endangering the body.'  When having painful
  feelings endangering life he knows:  'I have a painful feeling
  endangering life.'  And he knows:  'After the dissolution of the body,
  when life ends, all these feelings which are unrelished, will come to
  final rest, even here.'
  
      "It is like a lamp that burns by strength of oil and wick, and if
  oil and wick come to an end, the flame is extinguished through lack of
  nourishment.  Similarly this monk knows:  'After the dissolution of
  the body, when life ends, all these feelings which are unrelished will
  come to (final) rest, even here.'"
  
  
  
  8.  At the Sick Room -- II
  
  Once the Blessed One dwelt at Vesali, in the Great Forest, at the
  Gabled House.  In the evening, after had arisen from his seclusion, he
  went to the sick room and sat down on a prepared seat.  Being seated,
  he addressed the monks as follows:
  
      "O monks, mindfully and clearly comprehending should a monk spend
  his time!  This is my injunction to you!
  
      "If a monk is thus mindful and clearly comprehending, ardent,
  earnest and resolute, and a pleasant feeling arises in him, he knows:
  'Now a pleasant feeling has arisen in me.  It is conditioned, not
  unconditioned.  Conditioned by what?  Even by this sense-impression
  [14] it is conditioned.  And this sense-impression, indeed, is
  impermanent, compounded, dependently arisen.  But if this pleasant
  feeling that has arisen is conditioned by a sense-impression which is
  impermanent, compounded, and dependently arisen, how could such a
  pleasant feeling be permanent?'
  
      "In regard to both sense-impression and the pleasant feeling, he
  dwells contemplating impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence,
  dwells contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation,
  dwells contemplating relinquishment.  And in him who thus dwells, the
  underlying tendency to lust in regard to sense-impressions and
  pleasant feeling vanishes.
  
      "If a painful feeling arises in him, he knows:  'Now a painful
  feeling has arisen in me.  It is conditioned, not unconditioned.
  Conditioned by what?  Even by this sense-impression it is conditioned.
  And this sense-impression, indeed, is impermanent, compounded,
  dependently arisen.  But if this painful feeling that has arisen is
  conditioned by a sense-impression which is impermanent, compounded and
  dependently arisen, how could such a painful feeling be permanent?'
  
      "In regard to both sense-impression and painful feeling, he dwells
  contemplating impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells
  contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells
  contemplating relinquishment.  And in him who thus dwells, the
  underlying tendency to resistance in regard to sense-impression and
  painful feeling vanishes.
  
      "If a neutral feeling arises in him, he knows:  'Now a neutral
  feeling has arisen in me.  It is conditioned, not unconditioned.
  Conditioned by what?  Even by this sense-impression it is conditioned.
  And this sense-impression, indeed, is impermanent, compounded,
  dependently arisen.  But if this neutral feeling that has arisen is
  conditioned by a sense-impression, which is impermanent, compounded
  and dependently arisen, how could such a neutral feeling be
  permanent?'
  
      "In regard to both sense-impression and neutral feeling, he dwells
  contemplating impermanence, dwells contemplating evanescence, dwells
  contemplating detachment, dwells contemplating cessation, dwells
  contemplating relinquishment.  And in him who thus dwells, the
  underlying tendency to ignorance in regard to sense-impression and
  neutral feeling vanishes."
  
      (The concluding sections are identical with those in Text 7, from
  if he experiences ... up to the end.)
  
  
  
  9.  Impermanent
  
  "The three kinds of feelings, O monks, are impermanent, compounded,
  dependently arisen, liable to destruction, to evanescence, to fading
  away, to cessation -- namely, pleasant feeling, painful feeling and
  neutral feeling."
  
  
  10.  Rooted in Sense-Impression
  
  "There are, O monks, these three feelings, rooted in sense-impression,
  caused by sense-impression, conditioned by sense-impression: pleasant,
  painful and neutral feelings.
  
      "Dependent on a sense-impression that is liable to be felt as
  pleasurable, there arises a pleasant feeling.  When that very
  sense-impression liable to be felt as pleasurable has ceased, then the
  sensation born from it [15] -- namely the pleasant feeling that arose
  dependent on that sense-impression -- also ceases and is stilled.
  
      "Dependent on a sense-impression that is liable to be felt as
  painful (neutral), there arises a painful (neutral) feeling.  When
  that very sense-impression liable to be felt as painful (neutral) has
  ceased, then the sensation born from it -- namely the painful
  (neutral) feeling that arose dependent on that sense-impression --
  also ceases and is stilled.
  
      "Just as from the coming together and rubbing of two sticks of
  wood heat results and fire is produced, and by the separation and
  disconnection of the sticks, the heat produced by them ceases and
  disappears, so it is also with these three feelings which are born of
  sense-impression, rooted in sense-impression, caused by
  sense-impression, dependent on sense-impression:  dependent on a
  sense-impression of a certain kind there arises a corresponding
  feeling;  by the cessation of that sense-impression the corresponding
  feeling ceases."
  
  
  
  11.  Seclusion

  Once a certain monk came to see the Blessed One and, after saluting
  him respectfully, sat down at one side.  Seated thus, he spoke to the
  Blessed One as follows:
  
      "When I went into seclusion, while I was in solitude, this thought
  occurred to me:  'Three feelings have been taught by the Blessed One:
  pleasant, painful and neutral feelings.  But the Blessed One has also
  said that whatever is felt is within suffering.'  Now, with reference
  to what was it stated by the Blessed One that whatever is felt is
  within suffering?"
  
      "Well spoken, monk, well spoken!  While three feelings have been
  taught by me, the pleasant, the painful and the neutral, yet I have
  also said that whatever is felt is within suffering.  This, however,
  was stated by me with reference to the impermanence of (all)
  conditioned phenomena (sankhara).  I have said it because conditioned
  phenomena are liable to destruction, to evanescence, to fading away,
  to cessation and to change.  It is with reference to this that I have
  stated:  'Whatever is felt is within suffering.'
  
      "I have further taught, monk, the gradual cessation of conditioned
  phenomena.  In him who has attained the first meditative absorption
  (jhana), speech has ceased.  Having attained the second absorption,
  thought-conception and discursive thinking has ceased.  Having
  attained the third absorption, joy has ceased.  Having attained the
  fourth absorption, inhalation and exhalation have ceased.  Having
  attained the sphere of the infinity of space, perception of form
  (matter) has ceased.  Having attained the sphere of the infinity of
  consciousness, the perception of the sphere of the infinity of space
  has ceased.  Having attained the sphere of no-thingness, the
  perception of the sphere of infinity of consciousness has ceased.
  Having attained the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception,
  the perception of the sphere of no-thingness has ceased.  Having
  attained the cessation of perception and feeling, perception and
  feeling have ceased.  In a taint-free monk greed has ceased, hatred
  has ceased, delusion has ceased.
  
      "I have further taught, monk the gradual stilling of conditioned
  phenomena (//sankhara//).  In him who has attained the first
  meditative absorption, speech has been stilled.  Having attained the
  second absorption, thought-conception and discursive thinking have
  been stilled ... (//To be continued as above, up to//:) Having attained
  the cessation of perception and feeling, perception and feeling have
  been stilled.  In a taint-free monk greed has been stilled, hatred has
  been stilled, delusion has been stilled.
  
      "There are, monk, these six quietenings.  In him who has attained
  the first absorption, speech is quietened.  Having attained the second
  absorption, thought-conception and discursive thinking are quietened.
  Having attained the third absorption, rapture is quietened.  Having
  attained the fourth absorption, inhalation and exhalation is
  quietened. [16] Having attain the cessation of perception and feeling,
  perception and feeling are quietened.  In a taint-free monk greed is
  quietened, hatred is quietened, delusion is quietened."
  
  
  
  12.  In the Sky -- I

  "In the sky, O monks, various kinds of winds are blowing:  winds from
  the east, west, north and south, winds carrying dust and winds without
  dust, winds hot and cold, gentle and fierce.  Similarly, monks, there
  arise in this body various kinds of feelings:  pleasant feelings
  arise, painful feelings arise and neutral feelings arise.
  
       "Just as in the sky above winds of various kinds are blowing:
        Coming from the east or west, blowing from the north or south,
        Some carry dust and others not, cold are some and others hot,
        Some are fierce and others mild -- their blowing is so
            different.
  
        So also in this body here, feelings of different kind arise:
        The pleasant feelings and the painful and the neutral ones.
  
        But if a monk is ardent and does not neglect
        To practice mindfulness and comprehension clear,
        The nature of all feelings will he understand,
        And having penetrated them, he will be taint-free in this
            very life.
        Mature in knowledge, firm in Dhamma's ways,
        When once his life-span ends, his body breaks,
        All measure and concept he has transcended."
  
  
  
  13.  In the Sky -- II
  
  (This text repeats the prose section of No. 12, without the verses)
  
  
  
  14.  The Guest House
  
  "In a guest house, O monks, people from the east may take lodgings, or
  people from the west, north or south.  People from the warrior caste
  may come and take lodgings there, and also Brahmins, middle class
  people and menials.
  
      "Similarly, O monks, there arise in this body various kinds of
  feelings;  there arise pleasant feelings, painful feelings and neutral
  feelings;  worldly feelings that are pleasant, painful or neutral, and
  unworldly (spiritual) feelings that are pleasant, painful and
  neutral."
  


  15.  Ananda -- I
  
  Once the Venerable Ananda went to see the Blessed One.  Having saluted
  him respectfully, he sat down at one side.  Thus seated, he said:
  
      "What are the feelings, O Lord?  What is the origin of feelings,
  what is their cessation and the way leading to their cessation?  What
  is the gratification in feelings?  What is the danger in feelings? And
  what is the escape from them?"
  
      "There are, Ananda, three kinds of feelings:  pleasant, painful
  and neutral.  Through the origin of sense-impression there is origin
  of feelings;  through the cessation of sense-impression there is
  cessation of feelings.  It is the noble eightfold path that is the way
  leading to the cessation of feelings, namely:  right understanding,
  right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right
  effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
  
      "It is the happiness and gladness arising dependent on feelings
  that is the gratification in feelings.  Feelings are impermanent,
  (liable to bring) pain, and are subject to change;  this is the danger
  in feelings.  The removal and the giving up of the desire and lust for
  feelings is the escape from feelings.
  
      "I have further taught, Ananda, the gradual cessation of
  conditioned phenomena (sankhara) ... (//to be continued as in Text 11,
  para 4, up to//:)  In a taint-free monk, greed, hatred and delusion
  are quietened."
  

  
  16.  Ananda -- II
  
  (In this discourse, the Buddha himself puts to Ananda the same
  questions as in Text 15, and being requested by Ananda to give the
  explanation himself, the Buddha answers in the same way as in Text
  15.)
  
  
  
  17-18.  Many Monks
  
  (Here, again, the same questions and answers are repeated, in the case
  of "many monks."  The introductory parts correspond to those in Texts
  15 and 16.)
  
  
  
  19.  Carpenter Fivetools (Pancakanga) [17]
  
  Once Carpenter Fivetools went to see the Venerable Udayi.  Having
  saluted him respectfully, he sat down at one side.  Thus seated, he
  asked the Venerable Udayi:
  
      "How many kinds of feelings, reverend Udayi, were taught by the
  Blessed One?"
  
      "Three kinds of feelings, Carpenter, were taught by the Blessed
  One:  pleasant, painful and neutral feelings.  These are the three
  feelings taught by the Blessed One."
  
      After these words, Carpenter Fivetools said:  "Not three kinds of
  feelings, reverend Udayi, were taught by the Blessed One.  It is two
  kinds of feelings that were stated by the Blessed One:  pleasant and
  painful feelings.  The neutral feeling was said by the Blessed One to
  belong to peaceful and sublime happiness."
  
      But the Venerable Udayi replied:  "It is not two feelings that
  were taught by the Blessed One, but three:  pleasant, painful and
  neutral feelings."
  
      (This exchange of views was repeated for a second and a third
  time,) but neither was Carpenter Fivetools able to convince the
  Venerable Udayi, nor could the Venerable Udayi convince Carpenter
  Fivetools. It so happened that [the] Venerable Ananda had listened to
  that conversation and went to see the Blessed One about it.  Having
  saluted the Blessed One respectfully, he sat down at one side.  Thus
  seated, he repeated the entire conversation that had taken place
  between the Venerable Udayi and Carpenter Fivetools.
  
      The Blessed One said:  "Ananda, Udayi's way of presentation, with
  which Carpenter Fivetools disagreed, was correct, indeed.  But also
  Carpenter Fivetool's way of presentation, with which Udayi disagreed,
  was correct.  In one way of presentation I have spoken of two kinds of
  feelings, and in other ways of presentation I have spoken of three, of
  six, of eighteen, of thirty-six, and of one hundred and eight kinds of
  feelings. [18]  So the Dhamma has been shown by me in different ways
  of presentation.
  
      "Regarding the Dhamma thus shown by me in different ways, if there
  are those who do not agree with, do not consent to, and do not accept
  what is rightly said and rightly spoken, it may be expected of them
  that they will quarrel, and get into arguments and disputes, hurting
  each other with sharp words.
  
      "Regarding the Dhamma thus shown by me in different ways, if there
  are those who agree with, consent to, and accept what is rightly said
  and rightly spoken, it may be expected of them that they will live in
  concord and amity, without dispute, like milk (that easily mixes) with
  water, looking at each other with friendly eyes.
  
      "There are five strands of sense desire.  What are these five?
  Forms cognizable by the eye that are wished for, desirable, agreeable
  and endearing, bound up with sensual desire and tempting to lust.
  Sounds cognizable by the ear ... odors cognizable by the nose ...
  flavors cognizable by the tongue ... tangibles cognizable by the
  body, that are wished for, desirable, agreeable and endearing, bound
  up with sense desire, and tempting to lust.  These are the five
  strands of sense desire.  The pleasure and joy arising dependent on
  these five strands of sense desire, that is called sensual pleasure.
  
      "Now, if someone were to say:  'This is the highest pleasure and
  joy that can be experienced,' I would not concede that.  And why not?
  Because there is another kind of pleasure which surpasses that
  pleasure and is more sublime.  And what is this pleasure?  Here, quite
  secluded from sensual desires, secluded from unwholesome states of
  mind, a monk enters upon and abides in the first meditative absorption
  (jhana), which is accompanied by thought conception and discursive
  thinking and has in it joy and pleasure born of seclusion.  This is
  the other kind of pleasure which surpasses that (sense) pleasure and
  is more sublime.
  
      "If someone were to say:  'This is the highest pleasure that can
  be experienced,' I would not concede that.  And why not?  Because
  there is another kind of pleasure which surpasses that pleasure and is
  more sublime.  And what is that pleasure?  Here, with the stilling of
  thought conception and discursive thinking ... a monk enters upon and
  abides in the second meditative absorption ... in the sphere of the
  infinity of space ... of the infinity of consciousness ... of
  no-thingness ... of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
  
      "If someone were to say:  'This is the highest pleasure that can
  be experienced,' I would not concede that.  And why not?  Because
  there is another kind of pleasure which surpasses that pleasure and is
  more sublime.  And what is this pleasure?  Here, by completely
  surmounting the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, a
  monk enters upon and abides in the cessation of perception and
  feeling.  This is the other kind of pleasure which surpasses that
  pleasure and is more sublime. [19]
  
      "It may happen, Ananda, that Wanderers of other sects will be
  saying this:  'The recluse Gotama speaks of the Cessation of
  Perception and Feeling and describes it as pleasure.  What is this
  (pleasure) and how is this (a pleasure)?'
  
      "Those who say so, should be told:  'The Blessed One describes as
  pleasure not only the feeling of pleasure.  But a Tathagata describes
  as pleasure whenever and whereinsoever it is obtained.'"
  
  

  20.  Bhikkhus
  
  (This Discourse, addressed to Bhikkhus, repeats the main part of Text
  19, without its introductory section.)
  
  
  
  21.  Sivaka

  Once the Blessed One dwelled at Rajagaha in the Bamboo-Grove
  Monastery, at the Squirrel's Feeding Place.  There a wandering
  ascetic, Moliya Sivaka by name, called on the Blessed One, and after
  an exchange of courteous and friendly words, sat down at one side.
  Thus seated, he said:
  
      "There are, revered Gotama, some ascetics and brahmins who have
  this doctrine and view:  'Whatever a person experiences, be it
  pleasure, pain or neither-pain-nor-pleasure, all that is caused by
  previous action.'  Now, what does the revered Gotama say about this?"
  
      "Produced by (disorders of the) bile, there arise, Sivaka, certain
  kinds of feelings.  That this happens, can be known by oneself;  also
  in the world it is accepted as true.  Produced by (disorders of the)
  phlegm ... of wind ... of (the three) combined ... by change of
  climate ... by adverse behavior ... by injuries ... by the results of
  Kamma -- (through all that), Sivaka, there arise certain kinds of
  feelings.  That this happens can be known by oneself;  also in the
  world it is accepted as true.
  
      "Now when these ascetics and brahmins have such a doctrine and
  view that 'whatever a person experiences, be it pleasure, pain or
  neither-pain-nor-pleasure, all that is caused by previous action,'
  then they go beyond what they know by themselves and what is accepted
  as true by the world.  Therefore, I say that this is wrong on the part
  of these ascetics and brahmins."
  
      When this was spoken, Moliya Sivaka, the wandering ascetic, said:
  "It is excellent, revered Gotama, it is excellent indeed! ... May the
  revered Gotama regard me as a lay follower who, from today, has taken
  refuge in him as long as life lasts."
  
  

  22.  Hundred and Eight Feelings
  
  "I shall show you, O monks, a way of Dhamma presentation by which
  there are one hundred and eight (feelings).  Hence listen to me.
  
      "In one way, O monks, I have spoken of two kinds of feelings, and
  in other ways of three, five, six, eighteen, thirty six and one
  hundred and eight feelings.
  
       "What are the two feelings?  Bodily and mental feelings.
        What are the three feelings?  Pleasant, painful and
            neither-painful-nor-pleasant feelings.
        What are the five feelings?  The faculties of pleasure, pain,
            gladness, sadness and equanimity.
        What are the six feelings?  The feelings born of
            sense-impression through eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and
            mind.
        What are the eighteen feelings?  There are the (above) six
            feelings by which there is an approach (to the objects) in
            gladness; and there are six approaches in sadness and there
            are six approaches in equanimity.
        What are the thirty six feelings?  There are six feelings of
            gladness based on the household life and six based on
            renunciation;  six feelings of sadness based on the
            household life and six based on renunciation;  six feelings
            of equanimity based on the household life and six based on
            renunciation.
        What are the hundred and eight feelings?  There are the (above)
            thirty six feelings of the past;  there are thirty six of
            the future and there are thirty six of the present.
  
      "These, O monks, are called the hundred and eight feelings;  and
  this is the way of the Dhamma presentation by which there are one
  hundred and eight feelings."
  
  
  
  Texts 23-29
  (Repeat the paras 3 and 4 of Text 15;  only the interlocutions
  differ.)

  
  Text 30
  (Contains only an enumeration of the three kinds of feeling.)

  
  31.  Cessation
  
  "There is, O monks, worldly joy (piti), there is unworldly joy, and
  there is a still greater unworldly joy.  There is worldly happiness
  (sukha), there is unworldly happiness, and there is a still greater
  unworldly happiness.  There is worldly equanimity, there is unworldly
  equanimity, and there a still greater unworldly equanimity.  There is
  worldly freedom, there is unworldly freedom, and there is a still
  greater unworldly freedom.
  
      "Now, O monks, what is worldly joy?  There are these five cords of
  sense desire:  forms cognizable by the eye that are wished for and
  desired, agreeable and endearing, associated with sense-desire and
  tempting to lust.  Sounds cognizable by the ear ... odors cognizable
  by the nose ... flavors cognizable by the tongue ... tangibles
  cognizable by the body, wished for and desired, agreeable and
  endearing, associated with sense-desire and tempting to lust.  It is
  the joy that arises dependent on these five cords of sense desire
  which is called 'worldly joy.'
  
      "Now what is unworldly joy?  Quite secluded from sense desires,
  secluded from unwholesome states of mind, a monk enters upon and
  abides in the //first meditative absorption (jhana)//, which is
  accompanied by thought-conception and discursive thinking, and has joy
  and happiness born of seclusion.  With the stilling of
  thought-conception and discursive thinking, he enters upon and abides
  in the //second meditative absorption// which has internal confidence
  and singleness of mind without thought conception and discursive
  thinking, and has joy and happiness born of concentration.  This is
  called 'unworldly joy.'
  
      "And what is the still greater unworldly joy?  When a taint-free
  monk looks upon his mind that is freed of greed, freed of hatred,
  freed of delusion, then there arises joy.  This called a 'still
  greater unworldly joy.'
  
      "Now, O monks, what is worldly happiness?  There are these five
  cords of sense desire:  forms cognizable by the eye ... sounds
  cognizable by the ear ... odors cognizable by the nose ... flavors
  cognizable by the tongue ...tangibles cognizable by the body that are
  wished for and desired, agreeable and endearing, associated with sense
  desire and alluring.  It is the happiness and gladness that arises
  dependent on these five cords of sense desire which are called 'worldly
  happiness.'
  
      "Now what is unworldly happiness?  Quite secluded from sense
  desires, secluded from unwholesome states of mind, a monk enters upon
  and abides in the //first meditative absorption// ... With the
  stilling of thought-conception and discursive thinking, he enters upon
  and abides in the //second meditative absorption// ... With the fading
  away of joy as well, he dwells in equanimity, mindfully and fully
  aware he feels happiness within, and enters upon and abides in the
  //third meditative absorption// of which the Noble Ones announce:  'He
  dwells in happiness who has equanimity and is mindful.'  This is
  called 'unworldly happiness.'
  
      "And what is the still greater unworldly happiness?  When a
  taint-free monk looks upon his mind that is freed of greed, freed of
  hatred, freed of delusion, then there arises happiness.  This is
  called a 'still greater unworldly happiness.'
  
      "Now, O monks, what is worldly equanimity?  There are these five
  cords of sensual desire:  forms cognizable by the eye ... tangibles
  cognizable by the body that are wished for and desired, agreeable and
  endearing, associated with sense desire and alluring.  It is the
  equanimity that arises with regard to these five cords of sense desire
  which is called 'worldly equanimity.'
  
      "Now, what is unworldy equanimity?  With the abandoning of
  pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of gladness and
  sadness, a monk enters upon and abides in the //fourth meditative
  absorption//, which has neither pain-nor-pleasure and has purity of
  mindfulness due to equanimity.  This is called 'unworldly equanimity.'
  
      "And what is the still greater unworldly equanimity?  When a
  taint-free monk looks upon his mind that is freed of greed, freed of
  hatred and freed of delusion, then there arises equanimity.  This is
  called a 'still greater unworldly equanimity.'
  
      "Now, O monks, what is worldly freedom?  The freedom connected
  with the material.  What is unworldly freedom?  The freedom connected
  with the immaterial.  And what is the still greater unworldly freedom?
  When a taint-free monk looks upon his mind that is freed of greed,
  freed of hatred, and freed of delusion, then there arises freedom."
  

                                 * * *

  

                                 NOTES
  
  
  [1]  Comy.:  He knows the feelings by way of the Truth of Suffering.
  
  [2]  Comy.:  He knows them by way of the Truth of the Origin of
       Suffering.
  
  [3]  Comy.:  He knows, by way of the Truth of Cessation, that
       feelings cease in Nibbana.
  
  [4]  Comy.:  He knows the feelings by way of the Truth of the Path
       leading to the Cessation of Suffering.
  
  [5]  //Parinibbuto//, "fully extinguished";  Comy.:  through the full
      extinction of the defilements (//kilesa-parinibbanaya//).
  
  [6]  On "feelings of all kinds", see Text 22.
  
  [7]  //Phussa phussa vayam disva//, The Comy. explains differently,
      paraphrasing these words by //nanena phusitva phusitva//, "
      repeatedly experiencing (them) by way of the knowledge (of rise
      and fall)." These verses occur also in Sutta Nipata, v. 739, with
      one additional line.
  
  [8]  //anusaya//.
  
  [9]  "Conceit" refers in particular to self-conceit (//asmi-mano//),
       i.e., personality belief, on both the intellectual and the
       emotional levels.
  
  [10]  //patala//.
  
  [11]  Comy. (paraphrased):  According to popular belief, there is in
        the ocean a very deep abyss hollowed out by the force of the
        water, which is the abode of aquatic animals as well as dragon
        deities (naga), etc.  Hence, for these beings, this abyss
        provides a basis for their existence, a comfortable abode.
        Therefore, to call it a //bottomless// pit is unrealistic and
        not factual, because it gives an inadequate and non-evident
        meaning to the word.  It is rather bodily pain, inseparable from
        bodily existence, which deserves to be called a "bottomless pit"
        of suffering, being a part of unfathomable Samsara.
  
  [12]  Comy.:  In this Discourse, by the words "noble disciple," it is,
        in the first place, a Stream-winner (sotapanna) that is meant.
        But also a meditator with strong insight and keen intellect is
        capable of withstanding feelings that arise without being
        carried away by them.  He, too, ought to be included here
        (because he penetrates the feelings to some extent;  Sub-comy.).
  
  [13]  The term //body// may be taken here as referring to the first
        five of the six bases of sense-impression (//phassayatana//).
  
  [14]  Sense-impression, or contact (//phassa//), is a mental factor
        and does not imply physical impingement.
  
  [15]  //tajjam vedayitam//.
  
  [16]  In the section on "being quietened" (//patipassaddha//), the
        four immaterial absorptions (//arupajjhana//) are not mentioned.
        According to Comy. they are implied in the  "cessation of
        perception and feelings" (for the attainment of which they are a
        condition).
  
  [17]  This text is identical with Majjhima Nikaya No. 59,
        //Bahuvedaniya Sutta// ("Many Kinds of Feelings").
  
  [18]  See Text 22.
  
  [19]  Comy.:  "From the fourth Jhana onwards, it is the
        neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling (that is present in these
        meditative states).  But this neutral feeling, too, is called
        'pleasure' (sukha), on account of its being peaceful and
        sublime.  What arises by way of the five cords of sensual desire
        and by way of the eight meditative attainments is called
        'pleasure as being felt' (//vedayita-sukha//).  The state of
        Cessation of Perception and Feeling is a 'pleasure, not being
        felt' (//avedayita-sukha//).  Hence, whether it be pleasure felt
        or not felt, both are assuredly 'pleasure,' in the sense of
        their being painfree states (//niddukkhabhava-sankhatena
        sukhena//)."
  
          In Anguttara Nikaya, Nines, No. 34, the venerable Sariputta
        exclaims: "Nibbana is happiness, friend;  Nibbana is happiness,
        indeed!"  The monk Udayi then asked:  "How can there be
        happiness when there is no feeling?"  The venerable Sariputta
        replied:  "Just this is happiness, friend, that therein there is
        no feeling."  The continuation of that Sutta may also be
        compared with our text.  On Nibbana as happiness, see also
        Anguttara Nikaya, Sixes, No. 100.
  
  

                                 * * *


                          MISCELLANEOUS TEXTS

                for use in the Contemplation of Feelings
  
  

   Feelings are like bubbles.
                                Khandha Samyutta No. 95
  
  
  
   All things converge on feelings.
                                Anguttara Nikaya, Nines, No. 14
  
  
  
  "All feeling -- whether it is of the past, the future or the present,
  whether in oneself or in others, whether coarse or sublime, inferior
  or superior, far or near -- should be seen with right understanding as
  it actually is:  'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not a self
  of mine.'"
                                Anatta-lakkhana Sutta, Samyutta Nikaya,
                                XXII, 59.
  
  
  
  Pleasant feeling is pleasant when present; it is painful when
  changing.
  
  Painful feeling is painful when present; it is pleasant when
  changing.
  
  Neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling is pleasant if one understands
  it;  it is painful if there is no understanding.

                                Majjhima Nikaya No. 44;  Cula Vedalla
                                Sutta
  
  
  A well-taught noble disciple ... does not consider feeling as the self
  nor the self as the owner of the feeling, nor feeling as included
  within the self, nor the self as included within the feeling.
  
      Of such a well-taught noble disciple it can be said that he is
  unfettered by the bondage of feeling, unfettered by bondage inner or
  outer.  He has seen the coast, he has seen the Other Shore, and he is
  fully freed from suffering -- this I say.

                                Khandha Samyutta No. 117
  
  

  It was said that one should know the feelings, their conditioned
  origin, their diversity, their outcome, their cessation, and the way
  to their cessation.  Why was this said?
  
      What are the feelings?  These three:  pleasant, painful, and
  neither-painful-nor-pleasant.
  
      What is the conditioned origin of these feelings? Sense-impression
  is the conditioned origin of the feelings.
  
      What is the diversity in feelings?  There are pleasant feelings,
  worldly and unworldly;  there are painful feelings, worldly and
  unworldly;  and there are neutral feelings, worldly and unworldly.
  
      What is the outcome of feelings?  It is the personalized existence
  (//attabhava//) born of this or that (feeling), be it of a meritorious
  or demeritorious character, which one who feels causes to arise.
  
      What is the cessation of feelings?  It is the cessation of sense
  impression that is the cessation of feelings.
  
      And it is the noble eightfold path that is the way leading to the
  cessation of feelings, namely:  right understanding, right thought,
  right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right
  mindfulness and right concentration.
  
      If a noble disciple knows in such way the feelings, their
  conditioned origin, their diversity, their outcome, their cessation,
  and the way to their cessation, he will be one who knows this
  penetrative Holy Life, namely the cessation of feelings.
  
                                //From// Anguttara Nikaya, Sixes, No. 63
  
  

  On account of what has it been said that the four Noble Truths are the
  Dhamma taught by me, which is unrefuted, untarnished, irreproachable
  and uncensored by intelligent ascetics and brahmins?
  
      Based on the six elements [1]  there is descent into the womb.
  When such descent into the womb takes place, there will be
  mind-and-body (nama-rupa).  Mind-and-body conditions the sixfold
  sense-base.  The sixfold sense-base conditions sense-impression.
  Sense-impression conditions feeling.  Now it is for one who feels [2]
  that I make known, 'This is suffering,' 'This is the origin of
  suffering,'  'This is the cessation of suffering,'  'This is the way
  leading to the cessation of suffering.'

                                //From// Anguttara Nikaya, Threes, No.61

        [1]  These are the elements of earth, water, fire, wind, space
             and consciousness.  See Majjh. 140.
  
        [2]  The commentary applies this to one who //understands//
             feeling and quotes the beginning of the Contemplation of
             Feeling from the Satipatthana Sutta. -- Alternatively, "One
             who feels" may also refer to all beings who feel suffering
             and seek a release from it.
  
  

  "Sisters, suppose there is a lamp burning:  its oil, its wick, its
  flame, its radiance, all are impermanent and liable to change.  Now,
  would anyone speak correctly when saying:  'When this lamp is burning,
  its oil, wick and flame are impermanent and liable to change, but its
  radiance is permanent, everlasting, eternal, and not liable to
  change?'" -- "Certainly not, venerable sir."  "Why not?" -- "Because,
  venerable sir, when that lamp burns, its oil is impermanent and liable
  to change, and so are the wick, the flame and the radiance."
  
      "In the same way, sisters, would anyone speak correctly when
  saying:  "These six (organ) bases in oneself are impermanent, but what,
  dependent on them, I feel as pleasant or painful or
  neither-painful-nor-pleasant, that is permanent, ever-lasting,
  eternal, and not liable to change'?" -- "Certainly not, venerable
  sir."   "Why not?" -- "Because, venerable sir, each kind of feeling
  arises dependent on its appropriate condition, and with the cessation
  of the appropriate condition the corresponding feeling ceases."
  
      "Well said, sisters, well said!  When a noble disciple perceives
  this, he sees it with right understanding, as it actually is."
  
                                //From// Majjhima Nikaya No. 146;
                                Nandaka's Exhortation
  
  
  
  Pleasant feeling is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen,
  having the nature of wasting, vanishing, fading and ceasing.  The
  painful feeling and the neutral feeling, too, are impermanent,
  conditioned, dependently arisen, having the nature of wasting,
  vanishing, fading and ceasing.
  
      When a well-taught disciple perceives this, he becomes
  dispassionate towards pleasant feelings, dispassionate toward painful
  feelings and dispassionate toward neutral feelings.  Being
  dispassionate, his lust fades away, and with the fading away of lust,
  he is liberated. When liberated, there comes to him the knowledge that
  he is liberated.  He now knows:  'Birth is exhausted, the holy life
  has been lived, done is what was to be done, there is no more of this
  to come.'
  
      A monk whose mind is thus liberated, concurs with none and
  disputes with none;  he employs the speech commonly used in the world,
  but without misapprehending it.
  
                                //From// Majjhima Nikaya No. 74;
                                Dighanakha



                                 * * *


               Aphorisms from the Exegetical Literature
  
  
  To know, as it actually is, the origin, (cessation, and the way to
  cessation) of feeling, etc., leads to liberation without clinging,
  because it partakes of the path.
  
      The lack of full penetration of the origin, etc., of feeling leads
  to imprisonment in the jail house of Samsara, because (such ignorance)
  is a condition for the Kamma-formations (sankhara).
  
      Delusion which hides the true nature of feelings, leads to
  enjoyment of feelings.
  
      But an understanding of feelings as it actually is, leads to the
  penetration of feeling and to dispassion regarding it.
  
      By not understanding the danger and misery (//adinava//) in
  feelings, the craving for feelings will grow;  and this happens
  because one only considers what is enjoyable in feelings (//assada//).
  
      When there is lust for what is felt, one will be wriggling in the
  grip of the notions of self and self's property, and in the grip of
  the notions of eternalism, and so on.  This is due to the proximity of
  the cause for it, since clinging (to ego-belief and views) is
  conditioned by craving.
  
      For those who proclaim doctrines of eternalism etc., or feel
  emotions corresponding (to them), sense-impression is the cause
  (//hetu//). This applies because (having such ideas or emotions)
  cannot occur without the meeting of sense-organ, object, and
  consciousness (which constitute sense-impression).
  
                                //From//  Sub-Commentary to Brahmajala
                                 Sutta (//pakarana-naya//)
  
  
                            * * * * * * * *


                    THE BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
  
  The BPS is an approved charity dedicated to making known the Teaching
  of the Buddha, which has a vital message for people of all creeds.
  Founded in 1958, the BPS has published a wide variety of books and
  booklets covering a great range of topics. Its publications include
  accurate annotated translations of the Buddha's discourses, standard
  reference works, as well as original contemporary expositions of
  Buddhist thought and practice. These works present Buddhism as it
  truly is -- a dynamic force which has influenced receptive minds for
  the past 2500 years and is still as relevant today as it was when it
  first arose. A full list of our publications will be sent upon request
  with an enclosure of U.S. $1.00 or its equivalent to cover air mail
  postage.

  Write to:
  
       The Hony. Secretary
       BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
       P.O. Box 61
       54, Sangharaja Mawatha
       Kandy           Sri Lanka
       
  or
       
       The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
       Lockwood Road
       Barre, MA 01005 USA
       Tel: (508) 355-2347


                            * * * * * * * *
                            

                         DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 TITLE OF WORK: Contemplation of Feeling: The Discourse-Grouping on the
                Feelings (Vedana-Samyutta). (Wheel Publication No.
                303/304)
 FILENAME: WHEEL303.ZIP
 AUTHOR: Nyanaponika Thera
 AUTHOR'S ADDRESS:  N/A (d. 1994)
 PUBLISHER'S ADDRESS: Buddhist Publication Society
                    P.O. Box 61
                    54, Sangharaja Mawatha
                    Kandy, Sri Lanka
 COPYRIGHT HOLDER: Buddhist Publication Society
 DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1983
 RIGHTS AND RESTRICTIONS: See paragraph below.
 DATE OF DHARMANET DISTRIBUTION: October 1995
 ORIGIN SITE: Access to Insight BBS, Pepperell MA * (508) 433-5847 (96:903/1)


 The copyright holder retains all rights to this work and hereby grants
 electronic distribution rights to DharmaNet International. This work may
 be freely copied and redistributed electronically, provided that the file
 contents (including this Agreement) are not altered in any way and that it
 is distributed at no cost to the recipient. You may make printed copies of
 this work for your personal use; further distribution of printed copies
 requires permission from the copyright holder. If this work is used by a
 teacher in a class, or is quoted in a review, the publisher shall be
 notified of such use. See the title page of this work for any additional
 rights and restrictions that may apply.
                                            
 It is the spirit of dana, freely offered generosity, which has kept the
 entire Buddhist tradition alive for more than 2,500 years. If you find
 this work of value, please consider sending a donation to the author or
 publisher, so that these works may continue to be made available. May your
 generosity contribute to the happiness of all beings everywhere.
 
       DharmaNet International, P.O. Box 4951, Berkeley, CA 94704-4951

[end]
