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Samyutta Nikaya

SN 22.6 Paṭisallāṇa Sutta (Retreat into Seclusion) SN 22.6

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SN 22.6 
Saṁyutta Nikāya 
The Connected Discourses 
 
Khandhavagga Saṁyutta  
Group of Discourses Connected to the Aggregates 
Khandha Saṁyutta  
Connected to the Theme of Aggregates 
Nakulapitu Vagga 
The Section on Nakula’s Father 
 
Paṭisallāṇa Sutta 
“Retreat into Seclusion” 
 
Translated by Bhikkhu Candana 
Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2025 
 
 
This is what I personally heard. 
 
At one time, while The Blessed One was residing at the monastery donated by Anāthapiṇḍika at 
Jeta’s Park in Sāvatthī, He addressed the Bhikkhus by saying: 
 
“Bhikkhus!” 
 
“Yes, Blessed Lord!” those Bhikkhus replied. 
 
And The Blessed One continued by saying: 
 
“Bhikkhus, practice in seclusion, as you deepen your meditation by fully engaging in it and 
taking it with you wherever you are, and into whatever it is that you do.  
 
“I declare this, because in doing so, the Bhikkhu finally comes to know and understand things, 
by seeing them as they truly are. 
 
“And what is it that he comes to know and understand, by seeing them as they truly are? 
 
“He comes to know and understand, by seeing the point of origin and disappearance of forms. He 
comes to know and understand, by seeing the point of origin and disappearance of feelings. He 
comes to know and understand, by seeing the point of origin and disappearance of perceptions 
and memories. He comes to know and understand, by seeing the point of origin and

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disappearance of habitual drives (saṅkhārās). He comes to know and understand, by seeing the 
point of origin and disappearance of consciousness. 
 
“And what is meant by the point of origin of form; the point of origin of feelings; the point of 
origin of perception; the point of origin of habitual drives, and the point of origin of 
consciousness? 
 
“It is when the Bhikkhu eagerly welcomes, becoming delighted with an experience, as he 
fervently takes it up and grabs it tenaciously. 
 
“And what exactly does the Bhikkhu eagerly welcome, by becoming delighted with an 
experience, as he fervently takes it up and grabs it tenaciously? 
 
 
a. “Here, the Bhikkhu eagerly welcomes by becoming delighted, as he fervently takes up and 
tenaciously grabs onto forms, and those things having to do with forms.  
 
“Now, this delighting and eagerness itself gives rise to a perpetual drive to look forward to more 
enjoyment and relishing of form, and those things having to do with forms. This drive to look 
forward to more enjoyment and delight then leads to the tendency to grab and hold on. It is 
because of this wanting to grab and hold on, that the desire for rebecoming is established in him. 
Once the desire to rebecome is set in, then this itself serves as a requirement for rebirth to take 
place. And once rebirth has taken place, then the very condition for sickness, ageing, and death is 
met, whereby sadness, heavy grief, wailing, sorrow, torment, depression, and anguish all follow 
closely behind, and are thus experienced by the Bhikkhu. 
 
“This, therefore, is how this whole mass of suffering comes about and manifests. 
 
 
b. “Further, the Bhikkhu eagerly welcomes by becoming delighted, as he fervently takes up and 
tenaciously grabs onto feelings, and those things having to do with feeling.  
 
“Now, this delighting and eagerness itself gives rise to a perpetual drive to look forward to more 
enjoyment and relishing of feeling, and those things having to do with feeling. This drive to look 
forward to more enjoyment and delight then leads to the tendency to grab and hold on. It is 
because of this wanting to grab and hold on, that the desire for rebecoming is established in him. 
Once the desire to rebecome is set in, then this itself serves as a requirement for rebirth to take 
place. And once rebirth has taken place, then the very condition for sickness, ageing, and death is 
met, whereby sadness, heavy grief, wailing, sorrow, torment, depression, and anguish all follow 
closely behind, and are thus experienced by the Bhikkhu. 
 
“This, therefore, is how this whole mass of suffering comes about and manifests. 
 
 
c. “Further, the Bhikkhu eagerly welcomes by becoming delighted, as he fervently takes up and 
tenaciously grabs onto perceptions, and those things having to do with perception or memory.

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“Now, this delighting and eagerness itself gives rise to a perpetual drive to look forward to more 
enjoyment and relishing of perception, and those things having to do with perception. This drive 
to look forward to more enjoyment and delight then, leads to the tendency to grab and hold on. It 
is because of this wanting to grab and hold on, that the desire for rebecoming is established in 
him. Once the desire to rebecome is set in, then this itself serves as a requirement for rebirth to 
take place. And once rebirth has taken place, then the very condition for sickness, ageing, and 
death is met, whereby sadness, heavy grief, wailing, sorrow, torment, depression, and anguish all 
follow closely behind, and are thus experienced by the Bhikkhu. 
 
“This, therefore, is how this whole mass of suffering comes about and manifests. 
 
 
d. “Further, the Bhikkhu eagerly welcomes by becoming delighted, as he fervently takes up and 
tenaciously grabs onto habitual drives, and those things having to do with habitual drives or 
saṅkhārās.  
 
“Now, this delighting and eagerness itself gives rise to a perpetual drive to look forward to more 
enjoyment and relishing of habitual drives, and those things having to do with habitual drives. 
This drive to look forward to more enjoyment and delight then leads to the tendency to grab and 
hold on. It is because of this wanting to grab and hold on, that the desire for rebecoming is 
established in him. Once the desire to rebecome is set in, then this itself serves as a requirement 
for rebirth to take place. And once rebirth has taken place, then the very condition for sickness, 
ageing, and death is met, whereby sadness, heavy grief, wailing, sorrow, torment, depression, 
and anguish all follow closely behind, and are thus experienced by the Bhikkhu. 
 
“This, therefore, is how this whole mass of suffering comes about and manifests. 
 
 
e. “Further, the Bhikkhu eagerly welcomes by becoming delighted, as he fervently takes up and 
tenaciously grabs onto consciousness, and those things having to do with consciousness.  
 
“Now, this delighting and eagerness itself gives rise to a perpetual drive to look forward to more 
enjoyment and relishing of consciousness, and those things having to do with consciousness. 
This drive to look forward to more enjoyment and delight then leads to the tendency to grab and 
hold on. It is because of this wanting to grab and hold on, that the desire for rebecoming is 
established in him. Once the desire to rebecome is set in, then this itself serves as a requirement 
for rebirth to take place. And once rebirth has taken place, then the very condition for sickness, 
ageing, and death is met, whereby sadness, heavy grief, wailing, sorrow, torment, depression, 
and anguish all follow closely behind, and are thus experienced by the Bhikkhu. 
 
“This, therefore, is how this whole mass of suffering comes about and manifests. 
 
“Therefore, Bhikkhus, this is what is meant by the point of origin of form; the point of origin of 
feelings; the point of origin of perception; the point of origin of habitual drives, and the point of 
origin of consciousness.

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“And what, Bhikkhus, is meant by the disappearance of form; the disappearance of feelings; the 
disappearance of perception; the disappearance of habitual drives; and the disappearance of 
consciousness? 
 
“It is when the Bhikkhu does not eagerly welcome, nor becomes delighted, nor does he excitedly 
take up or tenaciously grab. 
 
“And what exactly does the Bhikkhu not eagerly welcome, nor becomes delighted, nor does he 
excitedly take up or grab? 
 
 
aa. “Here, the Bhikkhu does not eagerly welcome, nor becomes delighted, nor does he excitedly 
take up or grab onto forms, and all those things having to do with forms.  
 
“Now, because of the absence of delighting or eagerness itself, the perpetual drive to look 
forward to more enjoyment and relishing of form comes to an end, along with the disappearance 
of all those things having to do with forms. This absence and lack of momentum to look forward 
to more enjoyment and delight then brings to an end the very tendency to grab or hold on. It is 
because of this ceasing and disappearance of the drive to grab or hold on, that the desire for 
rebecoming comes to an end in him. Once the desire to rebecome has thus vanished and ended, 
then this itself brings rebirth to a full stop. And once rebirth has stopped and fully ceased, then 
the very condition for sickness, ageing, and death is no longer there, whereby as a direct 
consequence, sadness, heavy grief, wailing, sorrow, torment, depression, and anguish all cease 
and thus are ended for the Bhikkhu. 
 
“This, therefore, is how this whole mass of suffering comes to its end and fully ceases. 
 
 
bb. “Furthermore, the Bhikkhu does not eagerly welcome, nor becomes delighted, nor does he 
excitedly take up nor tenaciously grabs onto feelings, and all those things having to do with 
feeling.  
 
“Now, because of the absence of delighting or eagerness itself, the perpetual drive to look 
forward to more enjoyment and relishing of feeling comes to an end, along with the 
disappearance of all those things having to do with feeling. This absence and lack of momentum 
to look forward to more enjoyment and delight then brings to an end the very tendency to grab or 
hold on. It is because of this ceasing and disappearance of the drive to grab or hold on, that the 
desire for rebecoming comes to an end in him. Once the desire to rebecome has thus vanished 
and ended, then this itself brings rebirth to a full stop. And once rebirth has stopped and fully 
ceased, then the very condition for sickness, ageing, and death is no longer there, whereby as a 
direct consequence, sadness, heavy grief, wailing, sorrow, torment, depression, and anguish all 
cease and thus are ended for the Bhikkhu. 
 
“This, therefore, is how this whole mass of suffering comes to its end and fully ceases.

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cc. “Furthermore, the Bhikkhu does not eagerly welcome, nor becomes delighted, nor does he 
excitedly take up nor tenaciously grabs onto perceptions, and all those things having to do with 
perception.  
 
“Now, because of the absence of delighting or eagerness itself, the perpetual drive to look 
forward to more enjoyment and relishing of perception comes to an end, along with the 
disappearance of all those things having to do with perception or memory. This absence and lack 
of momentum to look forward to more enjoyment and delight then brings to an end the very 
tendency to grab or hold on. It is because of this ceasing and disappearance of the drive to grab 
or hold on, that the desire for rebecoming comes to an end in him. Once the desire to rebecome 
has thus vanished and ended, then this itself brings rebirth to a full stop. And once rebirth has 
stopped and fully ceased, then the very condition for sickness, ageing, and death is no longer 
there, whereby as a direct consequence, sadness, heavy grief, wailing, sorrow, torment, 
depression, and anguish all cease and thus are ended for the Bhikkhu. 
 
“This, therefore, is how this whole mass of suffering comes to its end and fully ceases. 
 
 
dd. “Furthermore, the Bhikkhu does not eagerly welcome, nor becomes delighted, nor does he 
excitedly take up nor tenaciously grabs onto habitual drives, and all those things having to do 
with habitual drives or saṅkhārās.  
 
“Now, because of the absence of delighting or eagerness itself, the perpetual drive to look 
forward to more enjoyment and relishing of habitual drives comes to an end, along with the 
disappearance of all those things having to do with habitual drives. This absence and lack of 
momentum to look forward to more enjoyment and delight then brings to an end the very 
tendency to grab or hold on. It is because of this ceasing and disappearance of the drive to grab 
or hold on, that the desire for rebecoming comes to an end in him. Once the desire to rebecome 
has thus vanished and ended, then this itself brings rebirth to a full stop. And once rebirth has 
stopped and fully ceased, then the very condition for sickness, ageing, and death is no longer 
there, whereby as a direct consequence, sadness, heavy grief, wailing, sorrow, torment, 
depression, and anguish all cease and thus are ended for the Bhikkhu. 
 
“This, therefore, is how this whole mass of suffering comes to its end and fully ceases. 
 
 
ee. “Furthermore, the Bhikkhu does not eagerly welcome, nor becomes delighted, nor does he 
excitedly take up nor tenaciously grabs onto consciousness, and all those things having to do 
with consciousness.  
 
“Now, because of the absence of delighting or eagerness itself, the perpetual drive to look 
forward to more enjoyment and relishing of consciousness comes to an end, along with the 
disappearance of all those things having to do with consciousness. This absence and lack of 
momentum to look forward to more enjoyment and delight then brings to an end the very 
tendency to grab or hold on. It is because of this ceasing and disappearance of the drive to grab 
or hold on, that the desire for rebecoming comes to an end in him. Once the desire to rebecome

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has thus vanished and ended, then this itself brings rebirth to a full stop. And once rebirth has 
stopped and fully ceased, then the very condition for sickness, ageing, and death is no longer 
there, whereby as a direct consequence, sadness, heavy grief, wailing, sorrow, torment, 
depression, and anguish all cease and thus are ended for the Bhikkhu. 
 
 
“This, therefore, is how this whole mass of suffering comes to its end and fully ceases. 
 
“Therefore, Bhikkhus, this is what is meant by the disappearance of form; the disappearance of 
feelings; the disappearance of perception; the disappearance of habitual drives; and the 
disappearance of consciousness.” 
 
 
 
Sādhu  
Sādhu  
Sādhu 
 
 
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