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Dwelling in Emptiness

MN 122, the Mahāsuññata Sutta — set 3, Learning to Look at Your Own Mind

Reading time: about 19 min · 3,242 words

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Before you read

The Buddha comes back from his alms round and finds many lodgings set out for bhikkhus in a Sakyan's dwelling. It is the time for making robes, and many bhikkhus have gathered. He uses the moment to talk to Ānanda about company and seclusion.

A bhikkhu who loves company, he says, will not reach the deeper satisfactions of practice at will. Then he describes his own way of dwelling: emptiness, entered by not attending to any signs, and he lays out how a bhikkhu trains toward it.

The training is honest about failure. You steady the heart, turn it toward emptiness, and it may not go. When it does not, you clearly know that it does not, steady the heart again, and turn it again. The same clear knowing then goes with you into walking and sitting, into what you talk about and what you think about, into any pull toward the senses, and into watching the five clung-to heaps rise and pass until the conceit "I am" is gone.

The last part is about teachers and pupils: three ways a person who lives in seclusion can come to ruin, and the Buddha's request to be treated as a friend. He will not handle you gently, he says, like a potter with wet clay. He will keep correcting you. Whatever is sound will stand.

Translation

The Setting

So I heard.

At one time the Buddha was staying among the Sakyans at Kapilavatthu, in the Nigrodha grove.

Then, in the morning, the Buddha robed up and, taking bowl and robe, went into Kapilavatthu for alms. After walking for alms in Kapilavatthu, he returned from his meal and went to the dwelling of Kāḷakhemaka the Sakyan to spend the day. At that time many lodgings had been set out in Kāḷakhemaka's dwelling. The Buddha saw them, and thought: "Many lodgings have been set out in Kāḷakhemaka's dwelling. Are many bhikkhus staying here?"

At that time Venerable Ānanda, together with many bhikkhus, was making robes at the dwelling of Ghaṭāya the Sakyan. In the late afternoon the Buddha came out of retreat and went to Ghaṭāya's dwelling, where he sat on the seat set out for him and said to Venerable Ānanda:

"Ānanda, many lodgings have been set out in Kāḷakhemaka's dwelling. Are many bhikkhus staying there?"

"Yes, Bhante, many lodgings have been set out there, and many bhikkhus are staying there. It is our time for making robes."

Delight in Company

"Ānanda, a bhikkhu does not shine who delights in company, loves company, and is given to delighting in company, who delights in a group, loves a group, and is pleased with a group.

That a bhikkhu who delights in company, loves company, and is given to delighting in company, who delights in a group, loves a group, and is pleased with a group, will gain at will, without trouble or difficulty, the satisfaction of renunciation, the satisfaction of deep seclusion, the satisfaction of calming, the satisfaction of awakening: that is not possible. But a bhikkhu who lives alone, withdrawn from the group, can expect to gain at will, without trouble or difficulty, the satisfaction of renunciation, the satisfaction of deep seclusion, the satisfaction of calming, the satisfaction of awakening: that is possible.

That a bhikkhu who delights in company, loves company, and is given to delighting in company, who delights in a group, loves a group, and is pleased with a group, will enter and remain in a release of mind that is temporary and delightful, or in one that is not temporary and is unshakable: that is not possible. But a bhikkhu who lives alone, withdrawn from the group, can expect to enter and remain in a release of mind that is temporary and delightful, or in one that is not temporary and is unshakable: that is possible.

Ānanda, I do not see even a single form from whose change and alteration sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair would not arise for someone who is passionate about it and delights in it.

The Tathāgata's Way of Dwelling

But, Ānanda, the Tathāgata has fully awakened to this way of dwelling: by not attending to any signs, he enters and remains in emptiness internally.

If, while the Tathāgata is dwelling in this way, bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, male and female lay followers, rulers and royal ministers, and the teachers of other schools and their disciples come to see him, then, with a heart that slants, slopes, and inclines toward seclusion, withdrawn, delighting in renunciation, entirely done with the dhammas that are a basis for the outflows, the Tathāgata always speaks to them in a way that is concerned with sending them on their way.

Steadying the Heart Within

So, Ānanda, if a bhikkhu should wish, 'May I enter and remain in emptiness internally,' they should steady their heart within, settle it, make it single, and unify it.

And how does a bhikkhu steady the heart within, settle it, make it single, and unify it?

Ānanda, quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unwholesome dhammas, a bhikkhu enters and remains in the first mental theme, with thinking and pondering, with rejoicing and satisfaction born of seclusion.

With the subsiding of thinking and pondering, with inner clarity and singleness of mind, they enter and remain in the second mental theme, without thinking and pondering, with rejoicing and satisfaction born of unification.

With the fading of rejoicing, they remain in dynamic balance, remembering and clearly knowing, and they experience ease in the body. They enter and remain in the third mental theme, of which the noble ones say: 'One of dynamic balance and remembering stays at ease.'

With the abandoning of ease and discomfort, and with the earlier ending of gladness and sadness, they enter and remain in the fourth mental theme, without discomfort and without ease, purified by dynamic balance and remembering.

Ānanda, this is how a bhikkhu steadies the heart within, settles it, makes it single, and unifies it.

Attending to Emptiness

They attend to emptiness internally. As they attend to emptiness internally, their heart does not leap forward into emptiness internally, does not become clear, does not settle, and is not released. Ānanda, when that is so, the bhikkhu discerns: 'As I attend to emptiness internally, my heart does not leap forward into emptiness internally, does not become clear, does not settle, and is not released.' In this way they clearly know it.

They attend to emptiness externally. As they attend to emptiness externally, their heart does not leap forward into emptiness externally, does not become clear, does not settle, and is not released. When that is so, the bhikkhu discerns: 'As I attend to emptiness externally, my heart does not leap forward into emptiness externally, does not become clear, does not settle, and is not released.' In this way they clearly know it.

They attend to emptiness internally and externally. As they attend to emptiness internally and externally, their heart does not leap forward into emptiness internally and externally, does not become clear, does not settle, and is not released. When that is so, the bhikkhu discerns: 'As I attend to emptiness internally and externally, my heart does not leap forward into emptiness internally and externally, does not become clear, does not settle, and is not released.' In this way they clearly know it.

They attend to the imperturbable. As they attend to the imperturbable, their heart does not leap forward into the imperturbable, does not become clear, does not settle, and is not released. Ānanda, when that is so, the bhikkhu discerns: 'As I attend to the imperturbable, my heart does not leap forward into the imperturbable, does not become clear, does not settle, and is not released.' In this way they clearly know it.

Then, Ānanda, that bhikkhu should steady their heart within, settle it, make it single, and unify it in that same earlier sign of unification.

They attend to emptiness internally. As they attend to emptiness internally, their heart leaps forward into emptiness internally, becomes clear, settles, and is released. Ānanda, when that is so, the bhikkhu discerns: 'As I attend to emptiness internally, my heart leaps forward into emptiness internally, becomes clear, settles, and is released.' In this way they clearly know it.

They attend to emptiness externally. As they attend to emptiness externally, their heart leaps forward into emptiness externally, becomes clear, settles, and is released. When that is so, the bhikkhu discerns: 'As I attend to emptiness externally, my heart leaps forward into emptiness externally, becomes clear, settles, and is released.' In this way they clearly know it.

They attend to emptiness internally and externally. As they attend to emptiness internally and externally, their heart leaps forward into emptiness internally and externally, becomes clear, settles, and is released. When that is so, the bhikkhu discerns: 'As I attend to emptiness internally and externally, my heart leaps forward into emptiness internally and externally, becomes clear, settles, and is released.' In this way they clearly know it.

They attend to the imperturbable. As they attend to the imperturbable, their heart leaps forward into the imperturbable, becomes clear, settles, and is released. Ānanda, when that is so, the bhikkhu discerns: 'As I attend to the imperturbable, my heart leaps forward into the imperturbable, becomes clear, settles, and is released.' In this way they clearly know it.

Walking, Standing, Sitting, and Lying Down

Ānanda, if while a bhikkhu is dwelling in this way, their heart inclines to walking, they walk, knowing: 'While I walk like this, bad, unwholesome dhammas of coveting and distress will not flood in on me.' In this way they clearly know it.

If, while they are dwelling in this way, their heart inclines to standing, they stand, knowing: 'While I stand like this, bad, unwholesome dhammas of coveting and distress will not flood in on me.' In this way they clearly know it.

If, while they are dwelling in this way, their heart inclines to sitting, they sit, knowing: 'While I sit like this, bad, unwholesome dhammas of coveting and distress will not flood in on me.' In this way they clearly know it.

If, while they are dwelling in this way, their heart inclines to lying down, they lie down, knowing: 'While I lie down like this, bad, unwholesome dhammas of coveting and distress will not flood in on me.' In this way they clearly know it.

Talk

Ānanda, if while a bhikkhu is dwelling in this way, their heart inclines to talking, they resolve: 'I will not engage in talk that is low, vulgar, ordinary, ignoble, and unbeneficial, that does not lead to disenchantment, fading, cessation, calming, higher knowing, awakening, or nibbāna: talk about kings, robbers, and ministers; armies, dangers, and battles; food, drink, clothes, and beds; garlands and scents; relatives, vehicles, villages, towns, cities, and countries; women and heroes; the street and the well; the dead; trivia; tales of the world and of the sea; and about being this way or that.' In this way they clearly know it.

'But there is talk, Ānanda, that is wholly self-effacing, that helps the heart come free of hindrances, and that leads only to disenchantment, fading, cessation, calming, higher knowing, awakening, and nibbāna: talk on fewness of wishes, on contentment, on deep seclusion, on non-entanglement, on arousing energy, on conduct, on unification, on discernment, on release, and on the knowing and seeing of release. I will engage in talk like that.' In this way they clearly know it.

Thinking

Ānanda, if while a bhikkhu is dwelling in this way, their heart inclines to thinking, they resolve: 'I will not think the kinds of thinking that are low, vulgar, ordinary, ignoble, and unbeneficial, that do not lead to disenchantment, fading, cessation, calming, higher knowing, awakening, or nibbāna: thinking of sensuality, thinking of ill will, and thinking of harming.' In this way they clearly know it.

'But there are kinds of thinking, Ānanda, that are noble and lead out, and that lead whoever acts on them to the complete ending of dissatisfaction: thinking of renunciation, thinking of non-ill-will, and thinking of non-harming. I will think thinking like that.' In this way they clearly know it.

The Five Kinds of Sensual Stimulation

Ānanda, there are these five kinds of sensual stimulation. What five? Visible forms knowable by the eye, sounds knowable by the ear, smells knowable by the nose, tastes knowable by the tongue, and tangibles knowable by the body that are likable, attractive, agreeable, pleasing, tied to sensuality, and passion stirring. These are the five kinds of sensual stimulation.

A bhikkhu should keep checking their own heart: 'Does my mind become involved with one or another field among these five kinds of sensual stimulation?'

If, on checking, the bhikkhu discerns, 'My mind does become involved with one or another field among these five kinds of sensual stimulation,' then, when that is so, Ānanda, the bhikkhu discerns: 'Desire and passion for these five kinds of sensual stimulation have not been abandoned in me.' In this way they clearly know it.

But if, on checking, the bhikkhu discerns, 'My mind does not become involved with any field among these five kinds of sensual stimulation,' then, when that is so, Ānanda, the bhikkhu discerns: 'Desire and passion for these five kinds of sensual stimulation have been abandoned in me.' In this way they clearly know it.

The Five Clung-to Heaps

Ānanda, there are these five clung-to heaps, in which a bhikkhu should remain observing arising and passing away:

'Such is form. Such is the arising of form. Such is the vanishing of form.

Such is felt experience. Such is the arising of felt experience. Such is the vanishing of felt experience.

Such is recognition. Such is the arising of recognition. Such is the vanishing of recognition.

Such are putting-together activities. Such is the arising of putting-together activities. Such is the vanishing of putting-together activities.

Such is knowing. Such is the arising of knowing. Such is the vanishing of knowing.'

As they remain observing arising and passing away in these five clung-to heaps, the conceit 'I am' in the five clung-to heaps is abandoned. Ānanda, when that is so, the bhikkhu discerns: 'The conceit "I am" in these five clung-to heaps has been abandoned in me.' In this way they clearly know it.

Ānanda, these dhammas are entirely wholesome, with wholesome outcomes, noble, beyond the world, and out of the Wicked One's reach.

Why a Disciple Follows the Teacher

What do you think, Ānanda? For what reason is a disciple worthy to follow the teacher, even when told to go away?"

"Bhante, our teachings are rooted in the Buddha, guided by him, and have him as their refuge. It would be good if the Buddha himself would explain the meaning of what he has said. The bhikkhus will remember it after hearing it from him."

"Ānanda, it is not for the sake of discourses, songs, and explanations that a disciple is worthy to follow the teacher. Why is that? Ānanda, for a long time, you have heard those teachings, remembered them, recited them, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view.

But there is talk, Ānanda, that is wholly self-effacing, that helps the heart come free of hindrances, and that leads only to disenchantment, fading, cessation, calming, higher knowing, awakening, and nibbāna: talk on fewness of wishes, on contentment, on deep seclusion, on non-entanglement, on arousing energy, on conduct, on unification, on discernment, on release, and on the knowing and seeing of release. It is for the sake of talk like that, Ānanda, that a disciple is worthy to follow the teacher, even when told to go away.

Three Kinds of Ruin

That being so, Ānanda, there can be the ruin of a teacher, the ruin of a pupil, and the ruin of someone who lives the spiritual life.

And how does a teacher come to ruin, Ānanda? Ānanda, some teacher resorts to a secluded lodging: a forest, the root of a tree, a mountain, a ravine, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a jungle thicket, the open air, a heap of straw. While he lives withdrawn like this, brahmins and householders from town and country come flocking to him. When they come flocking to him, he becomes infatuated, falls into greed, and turns back to luxury. This is called a teacher ruined by the teacher's ruin. Bad, unwholesome dhammas strike him down: defiling, leading to renewed becoming, troubling, ripening in dissatisfaction, and leading to future birth, ageing, and death. This is how a teacher comes to ruin.

And how does a pupil come to ruin, Ānanda? A disciple of that same teacher, following the teacher's example of seclusion, resorts to a secluded lodging: a forest, the root of a tree, a mountain, a ravine, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a jungle thicket, the open air, a heap of straw. While he lives withdrawn like this, brahmins and householders from town and country come flocking to him. When they come flocking to him, he becomes infatuated, falls into greed, and turns back to luxury. This is called a pupil ruined by the pupil's ruin. Bad, unwholesome dhammas strike him down: defiling, leading to renewed becoming, troubling, ripening in dissatisfaction, and leading to future birth, ageing, and death. This is how a pupil comes to ruin.

And how does someone who lives the spiritual life come to ruin, Ānanda? Ānanda, a Tathāgata arises in the world, the arahant, the fully awakened Buddha, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, holy, knower of the world, unsurpassed guide for those fit for training, teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed. He resorts to a secluded lodging: a forest, the root of a tree, a mountain, a ravine, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a jungle thicket, the open air, a heap of straw. While he lives withdrawn like this, brahmins and householders from town and country come flocking to him. When they come flocking to him, he does not become infatuated, does not fall into greed, and does not turn back to luxury.

But a disciple of that same teacher, following the teacher's example of seclusion, resorts to a secluded lodging: a forest, the root of a tree, a mountain, a ravine, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a jungle thicket, the open air, a heap of straw. While he lives withdrawn like this, brahmins and householders from town and country come flocking to him. When they come flocking to him, he becomes infatuated, falls into greed, and turns back to luxury. This is called someone who lives the spiritual life ruined by the ruin of the spiritual life. Bad, unwholesome dhammas strike him down: defiling, leading to renewed becoming, troubling, ripening in dissatisfaction, and leading to future birth, ageing, and death. This is how someone who lives the spiritual life comes to ruin.

And here, Ānanda, the ruin of someone who lives the spiritual life has a more painful and more bitter result than the ruin of a teacher or the ruin of a pupil. It even leads to a downfall state.

As a Friend, Not an Enemy

So, Ānanda, treat me as a friend, not as an enemy. That will be for your welfare and satisfaction for a long time.

Ānanda, how do disciples treat the teacher as an enemy and not as a friend? Ānanda, out of sympathy, the teacher teaches the disciples the Dhamma, seeking their welfare, moved by sympathy: 'This is for your welfare. This is for your satisfaction.' His disciples do not want to listen. They do not lend an ear, they do not apply their hearts to understanding, and they turn away from the teacher's instruction. This is how disciples treat the teacher as an enemy and not as a friend.

Ānanda, how do disciples treat the teacher as a friend and not as an enemy? Ānanda, out of sympathy, the teacher teaches the disciples the Dhamma, seeking their welfare, moved by sympathy: 'This is for your welfare. This is for your satisfaction.' His disciples want to listen. They lend an ear, they apply their hearts to understanding, and they do not turn away from the teacher's instruction. This is how disciples treat the teacher as a friend and not as an enemy.

So, Ānanda, treat me as a friend, not as an enemy. That will be for your welfare and satisfaction for a long time.

I will not deal with you, Ānanda, the way a potter deals with clay that is raw and still damp. I will speak to you, Ānanda, correcting you again and again. I will speak to you, pressing you again and again. Whatever is sound will stand."

That is what the Buddha said. Venerable Ānanda was glad and welcomed what the Buddha had said.

The second discourse is finished.

Words used in this translation (51)
arahant
Someone who has completed the path and has nothing further to do. Left untranslated; "saint" and "perfected one" both mislead.
awakening
Coming fully awake to how things are. Sometimes translated "enlightenment," a word this project avoids as needlessly mystical.
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."
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.
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.
birth
This project's rendering of "jāti": birth, coming into being. In the dependent-arising sequence, ageing and dying depend on it. In MN 141 the word appears once in its everyday sense instead, in a simile about a mother.
body
The physical body, as distinct from speech and the mental side of experience.
born of seclusion
Coming from having stepped away from busyness and distraction, rather than from anything acquired.
calming
A settling and quieting of the mind on the way toward full release.
cessation
The ending of dissatisfaction and its causes: what practice is finally for. Elsewhere on this site the same idea appears as "quenching". Both render the same Pali word, "nirodha", in different sentences.
clarity
This project's rendering of "amoha," literally "non-delusion" -- seeing without the confusion and distortion that drive harmful action.
clearly knowing
Acting while plainly aware of what you are doing.
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.
conduct
This project's rendering of "sīla", often translated "morality" or "virtue". It means how a person actually behaves. The rest of the practice grows from it; it is not a set of rules to obey.
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.
dissatisfaction
This translation's rendering of "dukkha," the Buddhist term for the unsatisfying, unstable quality of ordinary experience. Often translated "suffering," but that can sound more dramatic than the everyday sense of things not quite being right.
dynamic balance
This project's rendering of "upekkhā" (often translated "equanimity") -- a steadiness that stays engaged rather than checking out, distinct from indifference.
emptiness
This project's rendering of "suññatā". In MN 122 it is a way of dwelling, entered by not attending to any signs.
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.
fewness of wishes
This project's rendering of "appicchatā" -- wanting little for oneself.
flood
A force that overwhelms a person and carries them along unless they cross it. SN 1.1 leaves the image open; it does not define it as one specific mental state.
form
This project's rendering of "rūpa" -- the physical, material aspect of experience, one of the five heaps.
gladness
This project's rendering of "muditā", often translated "sympathetic joy". It means being truly glad at someone else's good fortune. You cultivate it as a practice; you do not assume it comes naturally.
greed
One of the three "roots" behind unwholesome action, alongside aversion and delusion -- the acquisitive pull toward what looks satisfying.
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.
higher knowing
Direct, personally realized understanding -- knowing something for yourself rather than taking it on faith. In some texts it also names the extraordinary knowings that arise from deep concentration.
ill will
Hostility toward others or situations: pushing things away and wishing them harm. As one of the five hindrances, it pulls the mind off track.
knowing
This project's rendering of "viññāṇa" (often translated "consciousness") -- bare awareness of an object through one of the senses or the mind.
knowing and seeing
Knowing something and seeing it for yourself. Kept as two words because these texts treat them as two related things rather than one.
mental theme
This project's rendering of "jhāna" -- a single theme the mind rests on and holds steadily. Described in a sequence of four, each calmer than the last. Most translations leave the word in Pāli.
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.
non-entanglement
This project's rendering of "asaṁsagga" -- not getting mixed up with people and their affairs.
outflows
This project's rendering of "āsavā" -- deep-running habits that keep seeping out and driving behaviour, classically sensuality, becoming, and ignorance. Often translated "taints" or "defilements."
putting-together activities
This project's rendering of "saṅkhārā" (often translated "mental formations") -- the mind's constructing and assembling activity, one of the five heaps.
recognition
This project's rendering of "saññā" (often translated "perception") -- the mind's act of identifying and labeling what it encounters.
refuge
Where someone turns for safety and direction. Going for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha is how a person shows they take this path seriously. It is not a conversion ritual.
rejoicing
This project's rendering of "pīti" (often translated "rapture") -- the bright, uplifted gladness that shows up when practice is going well.
release of mind
Release described from the mind or heart side of experience, often paired with release through discernment.
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.
seclusion
This project's rendering of "viveka" -- being apart from the usual pull of the senses and from unwholesome states. Physical solitude is one form of it, not the whole of it.
singleness of mind
The mind become single and undivided as thinking and pondering settle in the second mental theme. Kept distinct from unification of mind (samādhi).
spiritual life
The Buddhist path of practice as a whole -- not just a set of beliefs, but a whole way of living.
Tathāgata
A title for the Buddha, traditionally left untranslated. It means roughly "the one who has arrived at things as they truly are."
the imperturbable
This project's rendering of "āneñja" -- a state of mind that does not waver. MN 122 names it as something a bhikkhu attends to, without saying which attainment it means.
unification
Short for unification of mind (samādhi) inside a longer phrase, such as "born of unification" or "the faculty of unification."
unwholesome
This project's rendering of "akusala". Roughly: mentally and ethically harmful. It is blameworthy, leads to harm, and people with good judgment criticize it.
wholesome
This project's rendering of "kusala". Roughly: mentally and ethically healthy. It is blameless, leads to well-being, and people with good judgment praise it.
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.
Source and corrections