SN35_97: Pamādavihārīsutta

Pamādavihārīsutta - translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi

“Bhikkhus, I will teach you about one who dwells negligently, and about one who dwells diligently. Listen to that….

“And how, bhikkhus, does one dwell negligently? If one dwells without restraint over the eye faculty, the mind is soiled among forms cognizable by the eye. If the mind is soiled, there is no gladness. When there is no gladness, there is no rapture. When there is no rapture, there is no tranquillity. When there is no tranquillity, one dwells in suffering. The mind of one who suffers does not become concentrated. When the mind is not concentrated, phenomena do not become manifest. Because phenomena do not become manifest, one is reckoned as ‘one who dwells negligently.’

“If one dwells without restraint over the ear faculty, the mind is soiled among sounds cognizable by the ear…. If one dwells without restraint over the mind faculty, the mind is soiled among mental phenomena cognizable by the mind…. Because phenomena do not become manifest, one is reckoned as ‘one who dwells negligently.’

“It is in such a way, bhikkhus, that one dwells negligently.

“And how, bhikkhus, does one dwell diligently? If one dwells with restraint over the eye faculty, the mind is not soiled among forms cognizable by the eye. If the mind is not soiled, gladness is born. When one is gladdened, rapture is born. When the mind is uplifted by rapture, the body becomes tranquil. One tranquil in body experiences happiness. The mind of one who is happy becomes concentrated. When the mind is concentrated, sn.iv.79 phenomena become manifest. Because phenomena become manifest, one is reckoned as ‘one who dwells diligently.’

“If one dwells with restraint over the ear faculty, the mind is not soiled among sounds cognizable by the ear…. If one dwells with restraint over the mind faculty, the mind is not soiled among mental phenomena cognizable by the mind…. Because phenomena become manifest, one is reckoned as ‘one who dwells diligently.’

“It is in such a way, bhikkhus, that one dwells diligently.”

© 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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