SN35_151: Antevāsikasutta

Antevāsikasutta - translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi

“Bhikkhus, this holy life is lived without students and without a teacher. A bhikkhu who has students and a teacher dwells in suffering, not in comfort. A bhikkhu who has no students and no teacher dwells happily, in comfort.

“And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu who has students and a teacher dwell in suffering, not in comfort? Here, bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu has seen a form with the eye, there arise in him evil unwholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters. They dwell within him. Since those evil unwholesome states dwell within him, he is called ‘one who has students.’ They assail him. Since evil unwholesome states assail him, he is called ‘one who has a teacher.’

“Further, when a bhikkhu has heard a sound with the ear … cognized a mental phenomenon with the mind … sn.iv.137 he is called ‘one who has a teacher.’

“It is in this way that a bhikkhu who has students and a teacher dwells in suffering, not in comfort.

“And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu who has no students and no teacher dwell happily, in comfort? Here, bhikkhus, when a bhikkhu has seen a form with the eye, there do not arise in him evil unwholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters. They do not dwell within him. Since those evil unwholesome states do not dwell within him, he is called ‘one who has no students.’ They do not assail him. Since evil unwholesome states do not assail him, he is called ‘one who has no teacher.’

“Further, when a bhikkhu has heard a sound with the ear … cognized a mental phenomenon with the mind … he is called ‘one who has no teacher.’

“It is in this way, bhikkhus, that a bhikkhu who has no students and no teacher dwells happily, in comfort.

“Bhikkhus, this holy life is lived without students and without a teacher. sn.iv.138 A bhikkhu who has students and a teacher dwells in suffering, not in comfort. A bhikkhu who has no students and no teacher dwells happily, in comfort.”

© 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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