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The Four Truths in Detail

MN 141, the Saccavibhaṅga Sutta — set 5, Advanced and Reference Texts

Reading time: about 9 min · 1,494 words

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Before you read

The Buddha names the four noble truths, points to Sāriputta and Moggallāna, and steps back. Sāriputta is like the mother who gives birth, he says, and Moggallāna like the nurse who raises the child.

Sāriputta then gives the truths their full analytical treatment: what dissatisfaction covers, item by item; what its origin is; what its quenching is; and each of the eight path factors defined in turn.

If SN 56.11 was the compressed statement, this is the expanded one. It is where to look when you want to know exactly what a path factor is supposed to mean.

Translation

The Setting

So I heard.

At one time the Buddha was staying near Bārāṇasī, at Isipatana, in the Deer Park.

There the Buddha addressed the bhikkhus: "Bhikkhus."

"Bhante," they replied.

The Buddha said this:

The Buddha Points to Sāriputta and Moggallāna

"Bhikkhus, at Isipatana, in the Deer Park near Bārāṇasī, the Tathāgata, the arahant, the fully awakened Buddha, set rolling the unsurpassed wheel of Dhamma. That wheel cannot be rolled back by any samaṇa or brahmin or deva or Māra or Brahmā or anyone in the world. That is: the explaining, teaching, laying out, establishing, opening up, analyzing, and making clear of the four noble truths.

And which four?

The explaining, teaching, laying out, establishing, opening up, analyzing, and making clear of the noble truth of dissatisfaction, the noble truth of the origin of dissatisfaction, the noble truth of the quenching of dissatisfaction, and the noble truth of how to quench dissatisfaction again.

Bhikkhus, stay close to Sāriputta and Moggallāna. Keep company with them. Those wise bhikkhus support their spiritual companions.

Sāriputta is like someone who brings a child into the world, and Moggallāna is like someone who raises that child.

Sāriputta trains people in the fruit of stream-entry, and Moggallāna in the highest aim.

Bhikkhus, Sāriputta is able to explain, teach, lay out, establish, open up, analyze, and make clear the four noble truths in detail."

That is what the Buddha said. After saying this, the Buddha rose from his seat and entered his dwelling.

Sāriputta Begins the Analysis

Then, not long after the Buddha had gone, Venerable Sāriputta addressed the bhikkhus:

"Friends, bhikkhus."

"Friend," they replied.

Venerable Sāriputta said this:

"Friends, at Isipatana, in the Deer Park near Bārāṇasī, the Tathāgata, the arahant, the fully awakened Buddha, set rolling the unsurpassed wheel of Dhamma. That wheel cannot be rolled back by any samaṇa or brahmin or deva or Māra or Brahmā or anyone in the world. That is: the explaining, teaching, laying out, establishing, opening up, analyzing, and making clear of the four noble truths.

And which four?

The Noble Truth of Dissatisfaction

And what is the noble truth of dissatisfaction, friends?

Birth is dissatisfaction. Ageing is dissatisfaction. Death is dissatisfaction. Sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair are dissatisfaction. Wanting something and not getting it is also dissatisfaction. In brief, the five clung-to heaps are dissatisfaction.

And what is birth, friends?

Whatever birth, being born, descent, appearance, manifestation of the heaps, and obtaining of the fields there is for the various beings in the various classes of beings: this is called birth.

And what is ageing, friends?

Whatever ageing, wearing out, brokenness of teeth, greying of hair, wrinkling of skin, decline of life, and maturing of the faculties there is for the various beings in the various classes of beings: this is called ageing.

And what is death, friends?

Whatever passing away, vanishing, breaking up, disappearance, dying, death, time-ending, breakup of the heaps, laying down of the corpse, and cutting off of the life faculty there is for the various beings in the various classes of beings: this is called death.

And what is sorrow, friends?

When someone is affected by some loss or struck by some dissatisfactory thing, the sorrowing, grieving, inner sorrow, and inner grief that arise: this is called sorrow.

And what is lamentation, friends?

When someone is affected by some loss or struck by some dissatisfactory thing, the crying out, lamenting, and wailing that arise: this is called lamentation.

And what is pain, friends?

Whatever bodily pain, bodily unpleasantness, or painful unpleasant feeling born of body-contact there is: this is called pain.

And what is distress, friends?

Whatever mental pain, mental unpleasantness, or painful unpleasant feeling born of mind-contact there is: this is called distress.

And what is despair, friends?

When someone is affected by some loss or struck by some dissatisfactory thing, the exhaustion, despair, and desperate affliction that arise: this is called despair.

Friends, what is 'wanting something and not getting it is also dissatisfaction'?

For beings subject to birth, this wish arises: 'Oh, if only we were not subject to birth, and birth would not come to us.' But that is not gained by wishing. This too is 'wanting something and not getting it is also dissatisfaction.'

For beings subject to ageing, to illness, to death, and to sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair, the same wish arises: 'Oh, if only this would not come to us.' But that is not gained by wishing. This too is 'wanting something and not getting it is also dissatisfaction.'

And what are the five clung-to heaps that in brief are dissatisfaction, friends?

They are:

  • the clung-to heap of form
  • the clung-to heap of felt experience
  • the clung-to heap of recognition
  • the clung-to heap of putting-together activities
  • the clung-to heap of knowing

These are called the five clung-to heaps that in brief are dissatisfaction.

This is called the noble truth of dissatisfaction.

The Noble Truth of the Origin of Dissatisfaction

And what is the noble truth of the origin of dissatisfaction, friends?

It is that ignorant wanting that leads to renewed becoming, accompanied by relishing and passion, delighting here and there. That is:

  • wanting for sensuality
  • wanting for becoming
  • wanting for unbecoming

This is called the noble truth of the origin of dissatisfaction.

The Noble Truth of the Quenching of Dissatisfaction

And what is the noble truth of the quenching of dissatisfaction, friends?

It is the complete fading and quenching of that very ignorant wanting: giving it up, relinquishing it, freedom, non-attachment.

This is called the noble truth of the quenching of dissatisfaction.

The Noble Truth of How to Quench It Again

Friends, what is the noble truth of how to quench dissatisfaction again?

It is just this noble eightfold path:

  • right view
  • right attitude
  • right speech
  • right action
  • right livelihood
  • right effort
  • right remembering
  • right unification of mind

Right View

And what is right view, friends?

Knowledge of dissatisfaction, knowledge of the origin of dissatisfaction, knowledge of the quenching of dissatisfaction, and knowledge of how to quench dissatisfaction again. This is called right view.

Right Attitude

And what is right attitude, friends?

An attitude of renunciation, an attitude of non-ill-will, and an attitude of non-harming. This is called right attitude.

Right Speech

And what is right speech, friends?

Abstaining from false speech, abstaining from divisive speech, abstaining from harsh speech, and abstaining from idle chatter. This is called right speech.

Right Action

And what is right action, friends?

Abstaining from killing living beings, abstaining from taking what is not given, and abstaining from sexual misconduct. This is called right action.

Right Livelihood

And what is right livelihood, friends?

A noble disciple gives up wrong livelihood and earns a living by right livelihood. This is called right livelihood.

Right Effort

And what is right effort, friends?

A bhikkhu arouses desire, makes effort, stirs up energy, steadies the heart, and strives:

  • so that unarisen harmful, unwholesome qualities do not arise
  • so that arisen harmful, unwholesome qualities are abandoned
  • so that unarisen wholesome qualities arise
  • so that arisen wholesome qualities remain, do not fade, grow, expand, develop, and come to fulfillment

This is called right effort.

Right Remembering

And what is right remembering, friends?

A bhikkhu remains observing the body in relation to the body, ardent, with clear knowing, with remembering, and with coveting and distress about the world put aside.

They remain observing felt experience in relation to felt experience, ardent, with clear knowing, with remembering, and with coveting and distress about the world put aside.

They remain observing the heart in relation to the heart, ardent, with clear knowing, with remembering, and with coveting and distress about the world put aside.

They remain observing dhammas among dhammas, ardent, with clear knowing, with remembering, and with coveting and distress about the world put aside.

This is called right remembering.

Right Unification of Mind

And what is right unification of mind, friends?

A bhikkhu, quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unwholesome dhammas, 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 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.

This is called right unification of mind.

This is called the noble truth of how to quench dissatisfaction again."

That is what Venerable Sāriputta said. The bhikkhus were glad and welcomed what Venerable Sāriputta had said.

Words used in this translation (49)
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."
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.
brahmin
Originally a member of ancient India's hereditary priestly class. These texts sometimes reuse the title for an ideal practitioner who has completed the path. Context shows whether caste or conduct is the point.
clarity
This project's rendering of "amoha," literally "non-delusion" -- seeing without the confusion and distortion that drive harmful action.
clear knowing
Knowing plainly what you are doing while you are doing it.
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.
contact
This project's rendering of "phassa" -- the meeting of a sense, its object, and the knowing of it. A technical link in the dependent-arising sequence, not physical touch specifically.
Dhamma
The Buddha's teaching taken as a whole -- both what he taught and the way things actually are, which the teaching describes.
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.
faculties
The capacities used in practice, especially confidence, energy, remembering, unification of mind, and discernment. You can train them and bring them into balance.
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.
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.
heaps
This project's rendering of "khandhā" (usually translated "aggregates") -- the five piles experience gets sorted into: form, felt experience, recognition, putting-together activities, and knowing.
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.
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.
noble disciple
Someone who has had the breakthrough into the path and so is no longer merely an ordinary person. It does not mean noble by birth, and does not require being a monastic.
noble eightfold path
The eight-part practice these texts teach: right view, right attitude, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right remembering, and right unification of mind.
noble truth
One of four core observations this teaching rests on. It is true not because you must take it on faith, but because you can check it against direct experience.
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.
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.
right action
Acting without harming -- a factor of the eightfold path.
right attitude
This project's rendering of the path factor usually translated "right intention" -- the underlying motivation a person brings to their actions.
right effort
Effort that is well aimed: heading off what is unhelpful and building up what helps -- a factor of the eightfold path.
right livelihood
Making a living in a way that does not depend on harming or deceiving anyone -- a factor of the eightfold path.
right remembering
This project's rendering of the path factor usually translated "right mindfulness" -- keeping what actually matters in view, moment to moment, rather than losing track of it.
right speech
Speech that is truthful, kind, timely, and worth saying -- a factor of the eightfold path.
right unification of mind
The path factor in which the mind gathers together and becomes unified, supported and directed by the rest of the noble path. The thinking mind and the heart work as one whole; nobody forces them into a trance.
right view
Seeing how experience and practice actually work -- the first factor of the eightfold path. "Right" here means well-aimed and accurate, not morally righteous.
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).
Tathāgata
A title for the Buddha, traditionally left untranslated. It means roughly "the one who has arrived at things as they truly are."
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