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SN 23.2 
Saṁyutta Nikāya 
The Connected Discourses 
 
Khandhavagga Saṁyutta  
Group of Discourses Connected to the Aggregates 
Rādha Saṁyutta 
Connected Discourses to the Venerable Rādha 
Paṭhama Māra Vagga 
(Section on Māra – Part 1) 
 
 
Satta Sutta 
“What Is a Sentient Being?” 
 
Translated by Candana Bhikkhu 
 
Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2024 
 
 
Once, while The Blessed One was residing at Sāvatthī’s Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery, in 
Jeta’s Park, the Venerable Rādha went and approached The Blessed One, and after respectfully 
paying homage to The Teacher, he sat to one side, and began asking a question: 
 
“Bhante, people keep exclaiming: ‘Sentient being! Sentient being!’ But, Bhante, what exactly is 
being referred to here by the term ‘sentient being’? How is one to clearly define what a ‘sentient 
being’ really is?”  
 
And The Blessed One replied by saying: 
 
a. “Rādha, while encountering any kind of form (rūpa), whenever the person experiences any 
kind of desire or longing for that form; any kind of delighting in or wanting to grab and cherish 
that form in any way; or thirst for more of the experience pertaining to that form, then one would 
be correct in referring to such a person as a ‘sentient being.’ 
 
b. “Rādha, while encountering any kind of feeling (vedanā), whenever the person experiences 
any kind of desire or longing for that feeling; any kind of delighting in or wanting to grab and 
cherish that feeling in any way; or thirst for more of the experience pertaining to that feeling, 
then one would be correct in referring to such a person as a ‘sentient being.’

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c. “Rādha, while encountering any kind of perception or memory (saññā), whenever the person 
experiences any kind of desire or longing for that perception or memory; any kind of delighting 
in or wanting to grab and cherish that perception or memory in any way; or thirst for more of the 
experience pertaining to that perception or memory, then one would be correct in referring to 
such a person as a ‘sentient being.’ 
 
d. “Rādha, while encountering any kind of saṅkhāra or habitual tendency, whenever the person 
experiences any kind of desire or longing for that habitual tendency; any kind of delighting in or 
wanting to grab and cherish that habitual tendency in any way; or thirst for more of the 
experience pertaining to that habitual tendency, then one would be correct in referring to such a 
person as a ‘sentient being.’ 
 
e. “Rādha, while encountering any kind of viññāṇa or consciousness, whenever the person 
experiences any kind of desire or longing for that consciousness; any kind of delighting in or 
wanting to grab and cherish that consciousness in any way; or thirst for more of the experience 
pertaining to that consciousness, then one would be correct in referring to such a person as a 
‘sentient being.’  
 
“Imagine, Rādha, a group of boys and girls sitting and playing by the seashore, while also 
building sandcastles. 
 
“Now, so long as those children have not dropped that passion and desire; the longing and greed 
towards those sandcastles, then, they will continue to delight in them, or want to grab onto and 
cherish them, while still having the thirst for more of the experience of building those 
sandcastles, relating to them as things that belong to them. 
 
“However, the moment those children do go ahead and drop that passion and desire; the longing 
and greed towards those sandcastles, then all delighting and cherishing for those creations is 
obliterated in them, as their relationship with those sandcastles comes to an abrupt end.  
 
“And as a result, they so easily and without any hesitation dismantle and smash those 
constructions that they built, as they destroy them with their tiny hands and feet; turning those 
sandcastles back into the piles of sandy grains they once were! 
 
 
a. “Now, in just the same way, Rādha, your mission should be to go ahead and drop any passion 
and desire; the longing and greed towards all kinds of forms, whereby all delighting and 
cherishing of form is obliterated in you, as you too dismantle and smash form and your 
identification with form, destroying it into smithereens.  
“You must do this by practicing constantly, as you completely smash and destroy that thirst and 
craving in you, for more forms.  
 
b. “Similarly, Rādha, you should drop any passion and desire; the longing and greed towards all 
kinds of feelings, whereby all delighting and cherishing of feeling is obliterated in you, as you

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too dismantle and smash feelings and your identification with feelings, destroying them into 
smithereens. 
“You must do this by practicing constantly, as you completely smash and destroy that thirst and 
craving in you, for more feelings. 
 
c. “Similarly, Rādha, you should drop any passion and desire; the longing and greed towards all 
kinds of perceptions and memories, whereby all delighting and cherishing of perception is 
obliterated in you, as you too dismantle and smash perception and your identification with 
perception, destroying it into smithereens. 
“You must do this by practicing constantly, as you completely smash and destroy that thirst and 
craving in you, for more perceptions. 
 
d. “Similarly, Rādha, you should drop any passion and desire; the longing and greed towards all 
kinds of saṅkhārā or habitual tendencies, whereby all delighting and cherishing of habitual 
tendencies is obliterated in you, as you too dismantle and smash habitual tendencies and your 
identification with habitual tendencies, destroying them into smithereens. 
“You must do this by practicing constantly, as you completely smash and destroy that thirst and 
craving in you, for more habitual tendencies. 
 
e. “Also, Rādha, you should drop any passion and desire; the longing and greed towards all kinds 
of consciousness, whereby all delighting and cherishing of consciousness is obliterated in you, as 
you too dismantle and smash consciousness and your identification with consciousness, 
destroying it into smithereens. 
“You must do this by practicing constantly, as you completely smash and destroy that thirst and 
craving in you, for more consciousnesses. 
 
“This, Rādha, because Nibbāna itself is none other than that very destruction and complete 
elimination of the constant thirst and craving for more!”   
 
 
 
Sādhu  
Sādhu  
Sādhu
