Evaṁ me sutaṁ—So I have heard. ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.
Tena kho pana samayena āyasmā lomasakaṅgiyo sakkesu viharati kapilavatthusmiṁ nigrodhārāme. Now at that time Venerable Lomasakaṅgiya was staying in the Sakyan country at Kapilavatthu in the Banyan Tree Monastery.
Atha kho candano devaputto abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇo kevalakappaṁ nigrodhārāmaṁ obhāsetvā yenāyasmā lomasakaṅgiyo tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho candano devaputto āyasmantaṁ lomasakaṅgiyaṁ etadavoca: Then, late at night, the glorious god Candana, lighting up the entire Banyan Tree Monastery, went up to the Venerable Lomasakaṅgiya, and stood to one side. Standing to one side, he said to Venerable Lomasakaṅgiya:
“dhāresi tvaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañcā”ti? “Bhikkhu, do you remember the recitation passage and analysis of One Fine Night?”
“Na kho ahaṁ, āvuso, dhāremi bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca. “No, friend, I do not. Tvaṁ panāvuso, dhāresi bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañcā”ti? Do you?”
“Ahampi kho, bhikkhu, na dhāremi bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca. “I also do not. Dhāresi pana tvaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattiyo gāthā”ti? But do you remember just the verses on One Fine Night?”
“Na kho ahaṁ, āvuso, dhāremi bhaddekarattiyo gāthā. “I do not. Tvaṁ panāvuso, dhāresi bhaddekarattiyo gāthā”ti? Do you?”
“Dhāremi kho ahaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattiyo gāthā”ti. “I do.”
“Yathā kathaṁ pana tvaṁ, āvuso, dhāresi bhaddekarattiyo gāthā”ti? “How do you remember the verses on One Fine Night?”
“Ekamidaṁ, bhikkhu, samayaṁ bhagavā devesu tāvatiṁsesu viharati pāricchattakamūle paṇḍukambalasilāyaṁ. “This one time, the Buddha was staying among the gods of the Thirty-Three at the root of the Shady Orchid Tree on the stone spread with a cream rug. Tatra bhagavā devānaṁ tāvatiṁsānaṁ bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca abhāsi: There he taught the recitation passage and analysis of One Fine Night to the gods of the Thirty-Three:
‘Atītaṁ nānvāgameyya, ‘Don’t run back to the past, nappaṭikaṅkhe anāgataṁ; don’t long for the future. Yadatītaṁ pahīnaṁ taṁ, What’s past is left behind; appattañca anāgataṁ. the future has not arrived.
Paccuppannañca yo dhammaṁ, Whatever phenomenon is presently arisen *A phenomenon is a totality of all the aggregates, the present situation as a whole (“sitting alone in a room perceiving various agreeable or disagreeable mental images about the past or future”), and not just one specific object within that. tattha tattha vipassati; is clearly seen right there. * One sees thoughts about the past or future *as present phenomena* too. This automatically prevents one from delighting in and getting pulled by them if done properly, without having to deny their presence. Asaṁhīraṁ asaṅkuppaṁ, Knowing this, foster it— taṁ vidvā manubrūhaye. unfaltering, unshakable.
Ajjeva kiccamātappaṁ, Today’s the day to work diligently— ko jaññā maraṇaṁ suve; who knows, tomorrow may bring death! Na hi no saṅgaraṁ tena, For there is no bargain to be struck mahāsenena maccunā. with Death and his mighty hordes.
Evaṁvihāriṁ ātāpiṁ, The peaceful sage explained it’s those ahorattamatanditaṁ; who diligently abide like this, Taṁ ve bhaddekarattoti, tireless all day and night, *Diligence is required to curb one’s own tendency to the wrong type of diligence: interference with arisen phenomena, most especially feelings. It’s not a matter of just relaxing and letting things be. santo ācikkhate munī’ti. who truly have one fine night.’
Evaṁ kho ahaṁ, bhikkhu, dhāremi bhaddekarattiyo gāthā. That’s how I remember the verses of One Fine Night. Uggaṇhāhi tvaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca; Learn the recitation passage and analysis of One Fine Night, bhikkhu, pariyāpuṇāhi tvaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca; memorize it, dhārehi tvaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca. and remember it. Atthasaṁhito, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattassa uddeso ca vibhaṅgo ca ādibrahmacariyako”ti. It is beneficial and is fundamental to the renunciate life.” *It’s not just *one way* of practice; it’s the template for every type of mental cultivation because it’s the Middle Way: one does not indulge in presently arisen states, nor does one try to replace them (beyond the foundational setup of virtue and sense restraint, which needs to be there from beforehand). The four _satipaṭṭhānas_ are the practices to achieve this Middle Way: they serve as a foundation with which the arisen form, feeling, perception, intention, and consciousness can be allowed to be what they are without thereby falling into appropriation of them. If they are used as _objects_ to directly attend to, they simply replace the present experience, losing their entire purpose. When the Suttas speak about [“obliterating”](https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=mn2#mn2:20.1-mn2:20.2) unskillful thoughts, they refer to the stopping of one’s intentional engagement and proliferation of certain feelings and perceptions, not to the stopping of those feelings and perceptions themselves. The background “anchoring” that the _satipaṭṭhānas_ create, comparable to [a post](https://suttacentral.net/sn35.247/en/sujato?lang=en) to which wild animals are tied to as they continue to pull in different directions, is what prevents precisely this intentional engagement without thereby generating another one. Perseverance in this type of effort eventually leads to an [opening *amidst* the confinement](https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=an9.42#an9.42:3.2-an9.42:4.2) of those same feelings and perceptions instead of providing one with an altogether different content of experience.
Idamavoca candano devaputto. That’s what the god Candana said Idaṁ vatvā tatthevantaradhāyi. before vanishing right there.
Atha kho āyasmā lomasakaṅgiyo tassā rattiyā accayena senāsanaṁ saṁsāmetvā pattacīvaramādāya yena sāvatthi tena cārikaṁ pakkāmi. Then Venerable Lomasakaṅgiya set his lodgings in order and, taking his bowl and robe, set out for Sāvatthī. Anupubbena cārikaṁ caramāno yena sāvatthi jetavanaṁ anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāmo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā lomasakaṅgiyo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: Eventually he came to Sāvatthī and Jeta’s Grove. He went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and told him what had happened. Then he added:
“Ekamidāhaṁ, bhante, samayaṁ sakkesu viharāmi kapilavatthusmiṁ nigrodhārāme. Atha kho, bhante, aññataro devaputto abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇo kevalakappaṁ nigrodhārāmaṁ obhāsetvā yenāhaṁ tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho, bhante, so devaputto maṁ etadavoca: ‘dhāresi tvaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañcā’ti? Evaṁ vutte, ahaṁ, bhante, taṁ devaputtaṁ etadavocaṁ: ‘na kho ahaṁ, āvuso, dhāremi bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca. Tvaṁ panāvuso, dhāresi bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañcā’ti? ‘Ahampi kho, bhikkhu, na dhāremi bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca. Dhāresi pana tvaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattiyo gāthā’ti? ‘Na kho ahaṁ, āvuso, dhāremi bhaddekarattiyo gāthā. Tvaṁ panāvuso, dhāresi bhaddekarattiyo gāthā’ti? ‘Dhāremi kho ahaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattiyo gāthā’ti. ‘Yathā kathaṁ pana tvaṁ, āvuso, dhāresi bhaddekarattiyo gāthā’ti? ‘Ekamidaṁ, bhikkhu, samayaṁ bhagavā devesu tāvatiṁsesu viharati pāricchattakamūle paṇḍukambalasilāyaṁ. Tatra kho bhagavā devānaṁ tāvatiṁsānaṁ bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca abhāsi:
“Atītaṁ nānvāgameyya, …pe… Taṁ ve bhaddekarattoti, santo ācikkhate munī”ti.
Evaṁ kho ahaṁ, bhikkhu, dhāremi bhaddekarattiyo gāthā. Uggaṇhāhi tvaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca; pariyāpuṇāhi tvaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca; dhārehi tvaṁ, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca. Atthasaṁhito, bhikkhu, bhaddekarattassa uddeso ca vibhaṅgo ca ādibrahmacariyako’ti.
Idamavoca, bhante, so devaputto. Idaṁ vatvā tatthevantaradhāyi. Sādhu me, bhante, bhagavā bhaddekarattassa uddesañca vibhaṅgañca desetū”ti. “Bhante, please teach me the recitation passage and analysis of One Fine night.”
“Jānāsi pana tvaṁ, bhikkhu, taṁ devaputtan”ti? “But bhikkhu, do you know that god?”
“Na kho ahaṁ, bhante, jānāmi taṁ devaputtan”ti. “I do not, Bhante.”
“Candano nāma so, bhikkhu, devaputto. “That god was named Candana. Candano, bhikkhu, devaputto aṭṭhiṁ katvā manasikatvā sabbacetasā samannāharitvā ohitasoto dhammaṁ suṇāti. Candana pays attention, applies the mind, focuses wholeheartedly, and actively listens to the teaching. Tena hi, bhikkhu, suṇāhi, sādhukaṁ manasi karohi; bhāsissāmī”ti. Well then, bhikkhu, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.”
“Evaṁ, bhante”ti kho āyasmā lomasakaṅgiyo bhagavato paccassosi. “Yes, Bhante”, Venerable Lomasakaṅgiya replied. Bhagavā etadavoca: The Buddha said this:
“Atītaṁ nānvāgameyya, “Don’t run back to the past, nappaṭikaṅkhe anāgataṁ; don’t hope for the future. Yadatītaṁ pahīnaṁ taṁ, What’s past is left behind; appattañca anāgataṁ. the future has not arrived.
Paccuppannañca yo dhammaṁ, Whatever phenomenon is presently arisen tattha tattha vipassati; is clearly seen right there. Asaṁhīraṁ asaṅkuppaṁ, Knowing this, foster it— taṁ vidvā manubrūhaye. unfaltering, unshakable.
Ajjeva kiccamātappaṁ, Today’s the day to work diligently— ko jaññā maraṇaṁ suve; who knows, tomorrow may bring death! Na hi no saṅgaraṁ tena, For there is no bargain to be struck mahāsenena maccunā. with Death and his mighty hordes.
Evaṁvihāriṁ ātāpiṁ, The peaceful sage explained it’s those ahorattamatanditaṁ; who diligently abide like this, Taṁ ve bhaddekarattoti, tireless all day and night, santo ācikkhate muni. who truly have one fine night.’
Kathañca, bhikkhu, atītaṁ anvāgameti …pe… And how does one run back to the past?Thinking, ‘I had such form … feeling … perception … activities … consciousness in the past,’ one musters delight there.
evaṁ kho, bhikkhu, atītaṁ anvāgameti. That’s how one runs back to the past.
Kathañca, bhikkhu, atītaṁ nānvāgameti …pe… And how does one run back to the past? Thinking, ‘I had such form … feeling … perception … activities … consciousness in the past,’ one does not muster delight there. *The Pāli has a direct quote of the thought and says one does not delight *there*. It does not say one _doesn’t have_ memories about the past.
evaṁ kho, bhikkhu, atītaṁ nānvāgameti. That’s how one doesn’t run back to the past.
Kathañca, bhikkhu, anāgataṁ paṭikaṅkhati …pe… And how does one long for the future? Thinking, ‘May I have such form … feeling … perception … activities … consciousness in the future,’ one musters delight there. *This is ironically what’s happening behind the scenes whenever one attempts to suppress thoughts about the past or future, and fabricate more agreeable states in general. One internally longs for a particular type of experience that has not yet arisen, whereas the right cultivation is equanimity towards what is there *now*, as said in the verse. Obviously, there has to be a wholesome interest (_chanda_) in developing the mind, but that interest should drive one to abandon all longing (_abhijjhā_, the first hindrance), not to justify certain types of it.
evaṁ kho, bhikkhu, anāgataṁ paṭikaṅkhati. That’s how one longs for the future.
Kathañca, bhikkhu, anāgataṁ nappaṭikaṅkhati …pe… And how does one not long for the future? Thinking, ‘May I have such form … feeling … perception … activities … consciousness in the past,’ one does not muster delight there.
evaṁ kho, bhikkhu, anāgataṁ nappaṭikaṅkhati. That’s how one doesn’t long for the future.
Kathañca, bhikkhu, paccuppannesu dhammesu saṁhīrati …pe… And how does one falter amid presently arisen phenomena? It’s when an unlearned ordinary person has not seen the noble ones, and is neither skilled nor trained in the teaching of the noble ones. They’ve not seen true persons, and are neither skilled nor trained in the teaching of the true persons. They regard form as self, self as possessing form, form in self, or self in form. They regard feeling … perception … activities … consciousness as self, self as possessing consciousness, consciousness in self, or self in consciousness. *Similar to the above, it’s only because of still appropriating the five aggregates to some extent that one would seek to change their _content_, instead of cultivating the unfaltering recognition of the nature of whatever content is presently arisen.
evaṁ kho, bhikkhu, paccuppannesu dhammesu saṁhīrati. That’s how one falters amid presently arisen phenomena.
Kathañca, bhikkhu, paccuppannesu dhammesu na saṁhīrati …pe… And how does one not falter amid presently arisen phenomena? It’s when a learned noble disciple has seen the noble ones, and is skilled and trained in the teaching of the noble ones. They’ve seen true persons, and are skilled and trained in the teaching of the true persons. They don’t regard form as self, self as possessing form, form in self, or self in form. They don’t regard feeling … perception … activities … consciousness as self, self as possessing consciousness, consciousness in self, or self in consciousness.
evaṁ kho, bhikkhu, paccuppannesu dhammesu na saṁhīrati. That’s how one doesn’t falter amid presently arisen phenomena.
Atītaṁ nānvāgameyya, nappaṭikaṅkhe anāgataṁ; Yadatītaṁ pahīnaṁ taṁ, appattañca anāgataṁ.
Paccuppannañca yo dhammaṁ, tattha tattha vipassati; Asaṁhīraṁ asaṅkuppaṁ, taṁ vidvā manubrūhaye.
Ajjeva kiccamātappaṁ, ko jaññā maraṇaṁ suve; Na hi no saṅgaraṁ tena, mahāsenena maccunā.
Evaṁvihāriṁ ātāpiṁ, ahorattamatanditaṁ; Taṁ ve bhaddekarattoti, santo ācikkhate munī”ti.
Idamavoca bhagavā. That is what the Buddha said. Attamano āyasmā lomasakaṅgiyo bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinandīti. Pleased, Venerable Lomasakaṅgiya delighted in what the Buddha said.
Lomasakaṅgiyabhaddekarattasuttaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ catutthaṁ.
Origin URL: https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=mn134