SN22_66: Aniccasutta

Aniccasutta - translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi

At Savatthi. Then a certain bhikkhu approached the Blessed One … and said to him:

“Venerable sir, it would be good if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief….”

“Bhikkhu, you should abandon desire for whatever is impermanent.”

“Understood, Blessed One! Understood, Fortunate One!”

“In what way, bhikkhu, do you understand in detail the meaning of what was stated by me in brief?”

“Form, venerable sir, is impermanent; I should abandon desire for it. Feeling is impermanent … Perception is impermanent … Volitional formations are impermanent … Consciousness is impermanent; I should abandon desire for it.

“It is in such a way, venerable sir, that I understand in detail the meaning of what was stated by the Blessed One in brief.”

“Good, good, bhikkhu! It is good that you understand in detail the meaning of what was stated by me in brief. Form is impermanent … Consciousness is impermanent; you should abandon desire for it. It is in such a way that the meaning of what was stated by me in brief should be understood in detail.” sn.iii.77

… And that bhikkhu became one of the arahants.

© Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Wisdom Publications, 2000)

This excerpt from The Connected Discourses of the Buddha by Bhikkhu Bodhi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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