“‘Samuddo, samuddo’ti, bhikkhave, assutavā puthujjano bhāsati. “Bhikkhus, an unlearned ordinary person speaks of the ocean. Neso, bhikkhave, ariyassa vinaye samuddo. But that is not the ocean in the training of the Noble One. Mahā eso, bhikkhave, udakarāsi mahāudakaṇṇavo. That is just a large body of water, a large sea of water. Cakkhu, bhikkhave, purisassa samuddo; The eye, bhikkhus, is the ocean for a man, tassa rūpamayo vego. and its tide is made of sights.
Yo taṁ rūpamayaṁ vegaṁ sahati, ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, atari cakkhusamuddaṁ saūmiṁ sāvaṭṭaṁ sagāhaṁ sarakkhasaṁ; One who withstands that tide is said to have crossed over the ocean of the eye, with its waves and whirlpools, its saltwater crocodiles and monsters. *Freedom from suffering is often conceived to be reached when things that incite suffering no longer arise for one. The Buddha's instructions not to take things as “mine” and to “let go” are misused as strategies to suppress and ameliorate feelings.
Instead, the right, imperturbable freedom is born of being ready to withstand *whatever* the six senses throw at one, and this is the measure of having understood one’s entire experience, top to bottom, as not-self, as opposed to the common trap of using the idea of not-self as a coping mechanism.
It should be noted that one starts out not seeing the full extent of the “tide”, in the same sense as a _puthujjana_ doesn’t see suffering, the first noble truth. So, “withstanding the tide” requires developing understanding of what that entails first. One must fully comprehend how exactly one fails withstand the tide, [at which point one would be a *sotāpanna*](https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=mn9#mn9:3.1-mn9:3.2). tiṇṇo pāraṅgato thale tiṭṭhati brāhmaṇo …pe… Crossed over, the brahmin stands on dry land. *This same metaphor is used in several other Suttas with reference to the Arahant.
jivhā, bhikkhave, purisassa samuddo; The ear … nose … tongue … body … tassa rasamayo vego. Yo taṁ rasamayaṁ vegaṁ sahati, ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, atari jivhāsamuddaṁ saūmiṁ sāvaṭṭaṁ sagāhaṁ sarakkhasaṁ; tiṇṇo pāraṅgato thale tiṭṭhati brāhmaṇo …pe… mano, bhikkhave, purisassa samuddo; The mental faculty is the ocean for a man, tassa dhammamayo vego. and its tide is made of phenomena. Yo taṁ dhammamayaṁ vegaṁ sahati, ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, atari manosamuddaṁ saūmiṁ sāvaṭṭaṁ sagāhaṁ sarakkhasaṁ; One who withstands that tide is said to have crossed over the ocean of the mental faculty, with its waves and whirlpools, its saltwater crocodiles and monsters. tiṇṇo pāraṅgato thale tiṭṭhati brāhmaṇo”ti. Crossed over, the brahmin stands on dry land.”
Idamavoca …pe… That is what the Buddha said. satthā: Then the Excellent One, the Teacher, went on to say:
“Yo imaṁ samuddaṁ sagāhaṁ sarakkhasaṁ, “He who has crossed this ocean so hard to cross, with its saltwater crocodiles and monsters, Saūmiṁ sāvaṭṭaṁ sabhayaṁ duttaraṁ accatari; With its waves, whirlpools, and dangers, Sa vedagū vusitabrahmacariyo, He, perfected in understanding, who has completed the renunciate path, Lokantagū pāragatoti vuccatī”ti. Is called ‘One who reached the end of the world, and went beyond’.
Paṭhamaṁ.
Origin URL: https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=sn35.228