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Taken Over by Views

Iti 49, the Diṭṭhigata Sutta — set 4, Not-Self and Dependent Arising

Reading time: about 2 min · 309 words

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Before you read

This short text names two ways a view can take over. One side clings to continued becoming. The other is so disgusted by becoming that it treats the destruction of a self after death as peace.

The Buddha does not ask you to pick one of those positions. The practical alternative is to notice what has come to be, see it without turning it into something permanent, and let fascination with it fade. The closing verse is compact, but its point is direct: freedom is not wanting either to keep becoming or to be wiped out.

Translation

Two Ways Views Take Over

This was said by the Buddha, said by the arahant—so I heard:

"Bhikkhus, gods and humans are taken over by two views. Some hold back, while others go too far. Those who see clearly recognize what is happening.

Holding Back

"How do some hold back?

"Gods and humans delight in becoming. They enjoy it and celebrate it. So when the Dhamma for the quenching of becoming is taught, their hearts do not take to it, grow confident in it, settle on it, or commit to it.

"This is how some hold back.

Going Too Far

"And how do some go too far?

"Some are distressed, ashamed, and disgusted by becoming itself. They welcome non-becoming, thinking:

"'When the body breaks up after death, this self is cut off, destroyed, and no longer exists. This is peaceful. This is excellent. This is how things really are.'

"This is how some go too far.

Seeing Clearly

"And how do those who see clearly recognize what is happening?

"A bhikkhu sees what has come to be simply as what has come to be. Seeing it this way, they practice for disenchantment with it, for its fading, and for its quenching.

"This is how those who see clearly recognize what is happening."

This is what the Buddha said. And in reference to this, it was said:

Verses

"Those who see what has come to be simply as what has come to be, and see the way beyond it, are released in line with reality when ignorant wanting for becoming is completely worn away.

"Fully understanding what has come to be, free of wanting for becoming or non-becoming, a bhikkhu does not come to further becoming when what has come to be is gone."

This too was said by the Buddha—so I heard.

The twelfth discourse is finished.

Words used in this translation (10)
arahant
Someone who has completed the path and has nothing further to do. Left untranslated; "saint" and "perfected one" both mislead.
becoming
This project's rendering of "bhava" -- the settling of experience into a way of being that feels like somebody being something. Often translated "existence."
bhikkhu
A Buddhist monk -- someone who has left household life to practise full time. Left untranslated because "monk" carries centuries of unrelated European associations.
bhikkhus
Buddhist monks -- those who have left household life to practise full time. The Buddha's usual way of addressing the assembly, roughly "friends" in force.
body
The physical body, as distinct from speech and the mental side of experience.
Dhamma
The Buddha's teaching taken as a whole -- both what he taught and the way things actually are, which the teaching describes.
disenchantment
A cooling of fascination with ordinary experience -- not depression, but the natural next step once you see clearly how things actually work.
fading
The fading away of attraction and investment in experience, as passion cools.
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.
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.
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