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Ten Recognitions for a Sick Monk

AN 10.60, the Girimānanda Sutta — set 3, Learning to Look at Your Own Mind

Reading time: about 9 min · 1,456 words

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Before you read

Girimānanda is gravely ill. Ānanda asks the Buddha to go and visit him. The Buddha does not go — instead he teaches Ānanda ten things to recognize, and sends him to recite them at the bedside.

They run through impermanence, not-self, the body's unattractiveness, danger, letting go, fading, quenching, disenchantment with the whole world, and the breath.

The text says the illness subsided on the spot. However you take that, this is the most directly consoling piece in the collection, and the only one built entirely around someone too sick to practice as usual.

Translation

The Setting

So I have heard.

At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī, in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's monastery.

At that time Venerable Girimānanda was sick, in pain, gravely ill.

Then Venerable Ānanda went to the Buddha, bowed, and sat to one side. Sitting to one side, Venerable Ānanda said this to the Buddha:

"Bhante, Venerable Girimānanda is sick, in pain, gravely ill. It would be good, Bhante, if the Buddha would go to Venerable Girimānanda out of compassion."

"Ānanda, if you were to recite to the bhikkhu Girimānanda these ten recognitions, it is possible that after hearing the ten recognitions his illness would subside on the spot.

The Ten Recognitions

What ten?

The recognition of impermanence, the recognition of not-self, the recognition of unattractiveness, the recognition of drawbacks, the recognition through abandoning, the recognition of fading, the recognition of quenching, the recognition of no delight in the whole world, the recognition of no desire for all that is put together, and the remembering of in-and-out breathing.

1. Recognition of Impermanence

And what is the recognition of impermanence, Ānanda?

Ānanda, a bhikkhu has gone to a wilderness, to the root of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, and reflects like this:

'Form is impermanent, felt experience is impermanent, recognition is impermanent, what is put together is impermanent, knowing is impermanent.'

They remain observing impermanence in the five clung-to heaps.

Ānanda, this is called the recognition of impermanence.

2. Recognition of Not-Self

And what is the recognition of not-self, Ānanda?

Ānanda, a bhikkhu has gone to a wilderness, to the root of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, and reflects like this:

'The eye is not-self, sights are not-self, the ear is not-self, sounds are not-self, the nose is not-self, smells are not-self, the tongue is not-self, tastes are not-self, the body is not-self, touches are not-self, the thinking mind is not-self, ideas are not-self.'

They remain observing not-self in the six inner and outer sense fields.

Ānanda, this is called the recognition of not-self.

3. Recognizing What Is Unattractive

And what does it mean to recognize what is unattractive, Ānanda?

Ānanda, a bhikkhu examines this very body upward from the soles of the feet and downward from the tips of the hair, enclosed by skin, full of many kinds of impurity:

'In this body there are head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin; flesh, sinews, bones, bone marrow, kidneys; heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs; intestines, mesentery, undigested food, feces; bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat; tears, grease, saliva, snot, fluid of the joints, urine.'

They remain observing unattractiveness in this body.

Ānanda, this is what it means to recognize what is unattractive.

4. Recognition of Drawbacks

And what is the recognition of drawbacks, Ānanda?

Ānanda, a bhikkhu has gone to a wilderness, to the root of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, and reflects like this:

'This body has much hardship and many drawbacks. For from this body many kinds of illness arise, namely: diseases of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, head, outer ear, mouth, teeth, and lips; cough, asthma, catarrh, fever, stomach ache, fainting, dysentery, colic, cholera; leprosy, boils, eczema, tuberculosis, epilepsy, ringworm, itch, scabs, smallpox, scabies; hemorrhage, diabetes, piles, sores, and ulcers; afflictions arising from bile, from phlegm, from wind, and from their combination; afflictions caused by changes in the weather, by self-neglect, by exertion, and by the ripening of past actions; cold, heat, hunger, thirst, defecation, and urination.'

They remain observing drawbacks in this body.

Ānanda, this is called the recognition of drawbacks.

5. Recognition Through Abandoning

And what is the recognition through abandoning, Ānanda?

Ānanda, a bhikkhu does not tolerate a sensual thought that has arisen — they abandon it, expel it, bring it to an end, and bring it to non-existence. They do not tolerate an aversive thought that has arisen — they abandon it, expel it, bring it to an end, and bring it to non-existence. They do not tolerate a cruel thought that has arisen — they abandon it, expel it, bring it to an end, and bring it to non-existence. They do not tolerate any bad, unskillful quality that has arisen — they abandon it, expel it, bring it to an end, and bring it to non-existence.

Ānanda, this is called the recognition through abandoning.

6. Recognition of Fading

And what is the recognition of fading, Ānanda?

Ānanda, a bhikkhu has gone to a wilderness, to the root of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, and reflects like this:

'This is peaceful, this is sublime — namely, the stilling of all that is put together, the relinquishing of all acquisitions, the destruction of ignorant wanting, fading, nibbāna.'

Ānanda, this is called the recognition of fading.

7. Recognition of Quenching

And what is the recognition of quenching, Ānanda?

Ānanda, a bhikkhu has gone to a wilderness, to the root of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, and reflects like this:

'This is peaceful, this is sublime — namely, the stilling of all that is put together, the relinquishing of all acquisitions, the destruction of ignorant wanting, quenching, nibbāna.'

Ānanda, this is called the recognition of quenching.

8. Recognition of No Delight in the Whole World

And what is the recognition of no delight in the whole world, Ānanda?

Ānanda, a bhikkhu lives giving up and not grasping whatever clinging, mental fixation, insistence, and underlying tendencies there are in the world.

Ānanda, this is called the recognition of no delight in the whole world.

9. Recognition of No Desire for All That Is Put Together

And what is the recognition of no desire for all that is put together, Ānanda?

Ānanda, a bhikkhu is horrified, repelled, and disgusted by all that is put together.

Ānanda, this is called the recognition of no desire for all that is put together.

10. Remembering of In-and-Out Breathing

And what is the remembering of in-and-out breathing, Ānanda?

Ānanda, a bhikkhu has gone to a wilderness, to the root of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, sits down cross-legged, sets their body upright, and establishes remembering before them.

With remembering alone they breathe in; with remembering alone they breathe out.

Breathing in long, they know: 'I am breathing in long.' Breathing out long, they know: 'I am breathing out long.'

Breathing in short, they know: 'I am breathing in short.' Breathing out short, they know: 'I am breathing out short.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in experiencing the whole body.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out experiencing the whole body.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in stilling the bodily putting-together.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out stilling the bodily putting-together.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in experiencing rejoicing.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out experiencing rejoicing.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in experiencing happiness.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out experiencing happiness.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in experiencing the mental putting-together.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out experiencing the mental putting-together.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in stilling the mental putting-together.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out stilling the mental putting-together.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in experiencing the heart.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out experiencing the heart.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in gladdening the heart.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out gladdening the heart.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in unifying the heart.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out unifying the heart.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in releasing the heart.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out releasing the heart.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in observing impermanence.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out observing impermanence.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in observing fading.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out observing fading.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in observing quenching.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out observing quenching.'

They train like this: 'I will breathe in observing letting go.' They train like this: 'I will breathe out observing letting go.'

Ānanda, this is called the remembering of in-and-out breathing.

The Outcome

If you were to recite to the bhikkhu Girimānanda these ten recognitions, it is possible that after hearing the ten recognitions his illness would subside on the spot."

Then Venerable Ānanda learned these ten recognitions from the Buddha, went to Venerable Girimānanda, and recited them.

After Venerable Girimānanda heard the ten recognitions, his illness subsided on the spot. Venerable Girimānanda rose from that illness, and that illness was abandoned just so.

The tenth discourse is finished.

Words used in this translation (19)
Bhante
A respectful way of addressing a senior monastic, roughly "venerable sir." Left untranslated because English has no natural equivalent.
bhikkhu
A Buddhist monk -- someone who has left household life to practise full time. Left untranslated because "monk" carries centuries of unrelated European associations.
body
The physical body, as distinct from speech and the mental side of experience.
clung-to heaps
The five categories experience gets sorted into and then grasped as "me" or "mine" -- body, feeling, recognition, mental activity, and awareness. Not clinging to the categories themselves, but to the sense of ownership placed on top of them.
fading
The fading away of attraction and investment in experience, as passion cools.
felt experience
This project's rendering of "vedanā", often translated "feeling". It is the immediate pleasant, painful, or mixed tone of an experience, before any story we build on top of it.
form
This project's rendering of "rūpa" -- the physical, material aspect of experience, one of the five heaps.
heart
This project's rendering of "citta": the feeling side of mind. It takes on moods, wants, leans, and reacts. Practice can gladden, steady, train, and release it. Some call it the "heart-mind" or "feeling mind". Here "heart" does not mean only emotion, or the physical organ.
ignorant wanting
Wanting something you can't have right now. This project's rendering of "taṇhā", often translated "craving". We call it ignorant because it comes from not seeing clearly; ordinary, sensible wanting is something else.
knowing
This project's rendering of "viññāṇa" (often translated "consciousness") -- bare awareness of an object through one of the senses or the mind.
nibbāna
The end of greed, hatred, and confusion -- the traditional goal of Buddhist practice. Left untranslated because no single English word covers it; "quenching" is the closest one-word gloss.
not-self
This project's rendering of "anattā". It does not claim that you don't exist. It says that, when you actually look, nothing in experience holds up as a fixed self you could own.
put together
In "all that has been put together", this project's rendering of "saṅkhārā" on its result side: anything assembled from conditions, as opposed to the activity of assembling.
quenching
An extinguishing image for dissatisfaction and its causes going out. Different Pali words use this image on different pages, so the exact scope comes from the sentence.
recognition
This project's rendering of "saññā" (often translated "perception") -- the mind's act of identifying and labeling what it encounters.
rejoicing
This project's rendering of "pīti" (often translated "rapture") -- the bright, uplifted gladness that shows up when practice is going well.
remembering
This project's rendering of "sati". It means actively keeping what matters in mind and coming back to it when you lose it. It is not bare attention to whatever happens to be present.
thinking mind
This project's rendering of "mano": the part of mind that thinks and registers ideas. These texts count it as a sixth sense, alongside the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body.
world
A word whose scope shifts with the teaching. It can mean the lived world we build through the senses and the mind, or the wider physical cosmos. The surrounding passage shows which sense it has.
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