Vadanti ve duṭṭhamanāpi eke, Some of corrupt mind will speak; Athopi ve saccamanā vadanti; While others speak from truthful mind. Vādañca jātaṁ muni no upeti, The sage does not get into arisen debate, Tasmā munī natthi khilo kuhiñci. And so, the sage is not fixed anywhere. *“_khila_ is nearly always translated as ‘barrenness,’but at least in the Sutta Nipata, it is an alternative spelling of _khīla_ which in its literal meaning is a stake or post (see Snp 1.2) to which something is tied or by which something is demarcated. Sofiguratively, it means being ‘fixed’: sometimes ‘obstinate’like in [MN 16](https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=mn16), or in a more subtle sense one could say ‘having astake in something.’ ‘Barrenness’ doesn’t fit for most contexts, see especially Snp. 1.12 where the sage is described as‘having cut down what has grown, not replanting’ (i.e. barrenness is actually what makes him a sage!) and later in the sameverse as _akhilaṁ._ ”
Sakañhi diṭṭhiṁ kathamaccayeyya, How to transcend one’s very own view Chandānunīto ruciyā niviṭṭho; When settled in preference, carried by zeal? Sayaṁ samattāni pakubbamāno, One having formed conclusions of his own Yathā hi jāneyya tathā vadeyya. Could speak just in the way he knows.
Yo attano sīlavatāni jantu, The one who, even unasked, speaks Anānupuṭṭhova paresa pāva; To others of his own practice and virtue Anariyadhammaṁ kusalā tamāhu, Is ignoble in nature, as the skilled say, Yo ātumānaṁ sayameva pāva. Declaring himself on his own.
Santo ca bhikkhu abhinibbutatto, The calm and self-extinguished bhikkhu Itihanti sīlesu akatthamāno; Does not boast of his virtue, “I am like this” Tamariyadhammaṁ kusalā vadanti, He, say the skilled, is of noble nature, Yassussadā natthi kuhiñci loke. protruding nowhere in the world.
Pakappitā saṅkhatā yassa dhammā, Whatever ideas are made and done Purakkhatā santi avīvadātā; become polluted with preference: Yadattani passati ānisaṁsaṁ, Wherever one sees his own advantage Taṁ nissito kuppapaṭiccasantiṁ. On that he rests his unstable peace.
Diṭṭhīnivesā na hi svātivattā, It is not easy to surmount the settling in views— Dhammesu niccheyya samuggahītaṁ; The taking up having judged between ideas. *See [Snp 4.9](https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=snp4.9). Tasmā naro tesu nivesanesu, And so, a man among these settlements *_nivesa_ literally means “abode”, and so it is also used metaphorically in the sense of something fixated on or adhered to. Nirassatī ādiyatī ca dhammaṁ. In dropping one idea, takes hold of the next. *Views are not relinquished by a straightforward rejection of all views—since [*that* is itself a view](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB7N-9slAW8)— but by concretely understanding [the domain where views in their nature, regardless of their content, necessarily arise](https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=mn8#mn8:3.4-mn8:3.6). Not only with views but across the board, [_yoniso manasikāra_](https://www.hillsidehermitage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/The-Meaning-of-Yoniso-Manasikara-Bhikkhu-Anigha.pdf) is the only way to let go of something without taking up something else in the process.
Dhonassa hi natthi kuhiñci loke, Nowhere in the world has one of clarity Pakappitā diṭṭhi bhavābhavesu; A view determined by any state of being. Māyañca mānañca pahāya dhono, Clarified by giving up deception and conceit, Sa kena gaccheyya anūpayo so. In what way would he, who is disengaged, go?
Upayo hi dhammesu upeti vādaṁ, One engaged among ideas embarks in debate Anūpayaṁ kena kathaṁ vadeyya; But how to debate the disengaged – on what grounds? Attā nirattā na hi tassa atthi, For him, nothing is taken up or let go, Adhosi so diṭṭhimidheva sabbanti. He has shaken off all views right here.
Duṭṭhaṭṭhakasuttaṁ tatiyaṁ.
Origin URL: https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=snp4.3