AN 4.50 - AN 4:50 Obscurations | Upakkilesa Sutta Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu Source: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN4_50.html License: CC-BY-NC-4.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Copyright: Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017 License notice: Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported. To see a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. “Commercial” shall mean any sale, whether for commercial or non-profit purposes or entities. Questions about this book may be addressed to Metta Forest Monastery Valley Center, CA 92082-1409 U.S.A. Additional resources More Dhamma talks, books and translations by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu are available to download in digital audio and various ebook formats at dhammatalks.org. Printed copy A paperback copy of this book is available free of charge. To request one, write to: Book Request, Metta Forest Monastery, PO Box 1409, Valley Center, CA 92082 USA. Attribution: From Handful of Leaves, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu; https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/Ebooks/SuttaPitaka_251113.epub. Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported. To see a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. “Commercial” shall mean any sale, whether for commercial or non-profit purposes or entities. Questions about this book may be addressed to Metta Forest Monastery Valley Center, CA 92082-1409 U.S.A. Additional resources More Dhamma talks, books and translations by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu are available to download in digital audio and various ebook formats at dhammatalks.org. Printed copy A paperback copy of this book is available free of charge. To request one, write to: Book Request, Metta Forest Monastery, PO Box 1409, Valley Center, CA 92082 USA. Publisher references (not part of the sutta): See also: SN 42:10 Changes: Presentation only: original HTML markup reflowed into plain text; wording, numbering and source repetitions retained. No repetitions expanded. Completeness: ABBREVIATED. Every source-unit character is preserved, including introductions, notes and verse structure. Thanissaro's collection-level note explicitly states that repetitions were cut: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/about.html. This is evidence about the translation method, not an assertion that every individual unit contains an omission; no repetitions reconstructed. Obscurations Upakkilesa Sutta (AN 4:50) “Monks, there are these four obscurations of the sun and moon, obscured by which the sun and moon don’t glow, don’t shine, don’t dazzle. Which four? “Clouds are an obscuration of the sun and moon, obscured by which the sun and moon don’t glow, don’t shine, don’t dazzle. “Fog is an obscuration.… “Smoke and dust is an obscuration.… “Rāhu, the king of the asuras [believed to be the cause of an eclipse] is an obscuration of the sun and moon, obscured by which the sun and moon don’t glow, don’t shine, don’t dazzle. “These are the four obscurations of the sun and moon, obscured by which the sun and moon don’t glow, don’t shine, don’t dazzle. “In the same way, there are four obscurations of contemplatives & brahmans, obscured by which some contemplatives & brahmans don’t glow, don’t shine, don’t dazzle. Which four? “There are some contemplatives & brahmans who drink alcohol and fermented liquor, who don’t refrain from drinking alcohol and fermented liquor. This is the first obscuration of contemplatives & brahmans, obscured by which some contemplatives & brahmans don’t glow, don’t shine, don’t dazzle. “There are some contemplatives & brahmans who engage in sexual intercourse, who don’t refrain from sexual intercourse. This is the second obscuration of contemplatives & brahmans, obscured by which some contemplatives & brahmans don’t glow, don’t shine, don’t dazzle. “There are some contemplatives & brahmans who consent to gold & silver, who don’t refrain from accepting gold & silver. This is the third obscuration of contemplatives & brahmans, obscured by which some contemplatives & brahmans don’t glow, don’t shine, don’t dazzle. “There are some contemplatives & brahmans who maintain life through wrong livelihood, who don’t refrain from wrong livelihood. This is the fourth obscuration of contemplatives & brahmans, obscured by which some contemplatives & brahmans don’t glow, don’t shine, don’t dazzle. “These are the four obscurations, obscured by which some contemplatives & brahmans don’t glow, don’t shine, don’t dazzle.” Obscured by passion & aversion —some brahmans & contemplatives— people entrenched in ignorance, delighting in endearing forms, drink alcohol & fermented liquor, engage in sexual intercourse, unwise, consent to gold & silver, live by means of wrong livelihood —some brahmans & contemplatives. These are said to be obscurations by the Awakened One, kinsman of the Sun. Because of these obscurations some brahmans & contemplatives don’t glow, don’t shine, are impure, dusty, dead.1 Covered with darkness, slaves to craving, led on, they swell the terrible charnel ground, they grab at further becoming. Note 1. Reading matā with the Thai edition. The Burmese edition has magā, “stupid.”