Snp 3.12 - Sn 3:12 The Contemplation of Dualities
Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
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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.
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Publisher references (not part of the sutta): See also: DN 15; MN 9; MN 140; SN 12:1; SN 12:15; SN 22:94; SN 35:93; AN 4:5; AN 4:24; Iti 51; Iti 103
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3:12 The Contemplation of Dualities

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī in the Eastern Monastery, the palace of Migāra’s mother. Now on that occasion—the uposatha day of the fifteenth, a perfect full-moon night—the Blessed One was sitting in the open air surrounded by the Saṅgha of monks. Surveying the silent Saṅgha of monks, he addressed them: “Monks, if there are any who ask, ‘Your listening to teachings that are skillful, noble, leading onward, going to self-awakening is a prerequisite for what?’ they should be told, ‘For the sake of knowing qualities of dualities as they actually are.’ Which duality are you speaking about? ‘This is stress. This is the origination of stress’: This is one contemplation. ‘This is the cessation of stress. This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“Those who don’t discern stress,
what brings stress into play,
& where it totally stops,
  without trace;
who don’t know the path,
the way to the stilling of stress:
  lowly
in their awareness-release
& discernment-release,
  incapable
of making an end,
  they’re headed
  to birth & aging.

But those who discern stress,
what brings stress into play,
& where it totally stops,
  without trace;
who discern the path,
the way to the stilling of stress:
  consummate
in their awareness-release
& discernment-release,
  capable
of making an end,
  they aren’t headed
  to birth & aging.1

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever stress comes into play is all from acquisition2 as a requisite condition’: This is one contemplation. ‘From the remainderless fading & cessation of that very acquisition, there is no coming into play of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“From acquisition as cause
the many forms of stress
come into being in the world.
Whoever, unknowing,
makes acquisitions
  —the dullard—
comes to stress
  again & again.

Therefore, discerning,
you shouldn’t create acquisitions
as you stay focused on
  the birth & origin of stress.”

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever stress comes into play is all from ignorance as a requisite condition’: This is one contemplation. ‘From the remainderless fading & cessation of that very ignorance, there is no coming into play of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“Those who journey the wandering-on
through birth & death, again & again,
  in this state here
  or anywhere else,
that destination is simply through ignorance.
This ignorance is a great delusion
whereby they have wandered-on
  a long, long time.
While beings immersed in clear knowing
  don’t go to further becoming.

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever stress comes into play is all from fabrication as a requisite condition’: This is one contemplation. ‘From the remainderless fading & cessation of that very fabrication, there is no coming into play of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“Any stress that comes into play
is all from fabrication
  as a requisite
  condition.
With the cessation of fabrication,
  there is no stress
  coming into play.
Knowing this drawback—
that stress comes from fabrication
  as a requisite
  condition—
with the tranquilizing of all fabrication,
with the stopping of perception:
  That’s how there is
  the ending of stress.
Knowing this as it actually is,
an attainer-of-knowledge
  sees rightly.
  Seeing rightly,
  the wise—
conquering the fetter of Māra—
go to no further becoming.

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever stress comes into play is all from consciousness as a requisite condition’: This is one contemplation. ‘From the remainderless fading & cessation of that very consciousness, there is no coming into play of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“Any stress that comes into play
is all from consciousness
  as a requisite
  condition.
With the cessation of consciousness,
  there is no stress
  coming into play.
Knowing this drawback—
that stress comes from consciousness
  as a requisite
  condition—
with the stilling of consciousness, the monk
  free from hunger
  is totally unbound.

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever stress comes into play is all from contact as a requisite condition’: This is one contemplation. ‘From the remainderless fading & cessation of that very contact, there is no coming into play of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“For those overcome by contact,
flowing along in the stream of becoming,
following a miserable path,
  the ending of fetters
  is far away.
While those who comprehend contact,
delighting in stilling through discernment,
  they, by breaking through contact,
  free from hunger,
  are totally unbound.

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever stress comes into play is all from feeling as a requisite condition’: This is one contemplation. ‘From the remainderless fading & cessation of that very feeling, there is no coming into play of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“Knowing that
whatever is felt—
pleasure, pain,
neither pleasure nor pain,
within or without—
is stressful;
seeing
      its deceptive nature,
      its dissolving,
      its passing away
at each contact,
          each
  contact,
he knows it right there:
  With just the ending of feeling,
  there is no stress
  coming into play.

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever stress comes into play is all from craving as a requisite condition’: This is one contemplation. ‘From the remainderless fading & cessation of that very craving, there is no coming into play of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“With craving his companion, a man
wanders on a long, long time.
Neither in this state here
nor anywhere else
does he go beyond
  the wandering- on.
Knowing this drawback—
that craving brings stress into play—
free from craving,
devoid of clinging,
mindful, the monk
  lives the mendicant life.”3

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever stress comes into play is all from clinging as a requisite condition’: This is one contemplation. ‘From the remainderless fading & cessation of that very clinging, there is no coming into play of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“From clinging as a requisite condition
  comes becoming.
One who has come into being
  goes
  to stress.
  There is death
for one who is born.
This is the coming into play
  of stress.
Thus, with the ending of clinging, the wise
  seeing rightly,
  directly knowing
  the ending of birth,
go to no further becoming.

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever stress comes into play is all from arousal4 as a requisite condition’: This is one contemplation. ‘From the remainderless fading & cessation of that very arousal, there is no coming into play of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“Any stress that comes into play
is all from arousal
  as a requisite
  condition.
With the cessation of arousal,
  there is no stress
  coming into play.
Knowing this drawback—
that stress comes from arousal
  as a requisite
  condition—
with the relinquishing
of all arousal,
a monk released in non-arousal,
his craving for becoming crushed,
his mind at peace,
his wandering-on in birth totally ended:
  He has no further becoming.

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever stress comes into play is all from nutriment5 as a requisite condition’: This is one contemplation. ‘From the remainderless fading & cessation of that very nutriment, there is no coming into play of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“Any stress that comes into play
is all from nutriment
  as a requisite
  condition.
With the cessation of nutriment,
  there is no stress
  coming into play.
Knowing this drawback—
that stress comes from nutriment
  as a requisite
  condition—
comprehending all nutriment,
independent of all nutriment,6
rightly seeing
freedom from disease
through the total ending
of effluents,
  judiciously associating,
  a judge,
he, an attainer-of-knowledge,
goes beyond judgment,
  beyond classification.7

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever stress comes into play is all from what is perturbed as a requisite condition’: This is one contemplation. ‘From the remainderless fading & cessation of what is perturbed, there is no coming into play of stress’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“Any stress that comes into play
is all from what is perturbed
  as a requisite
  condition.
With the cessation of what is perturbed,
  there is no stress
  coming into play.
Knowing this drawback—
that stress comes from what is perturbed
  as a requisite
  condition—
the monk thus renouncing perturbance,
putting a stop to fabrications,
free from perturbance, free
  from clinging,
mindful he lives
the mendicant life.

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘For one who is dependent, there is wavering’: This is one contemplation. ‘One who is independent doesn’t waver’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“One independent
doesn’t
  waver.
One dependent,
clinging
  to this state here
  or anywhere else,
doesn’t go beyond
the wandering-on.
Knowing this drawback—
  the great danger in
  dependencies—
in-
dependent,
free from clinging,
mindful the monk
lives the mendicant life.8

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Formless phenomena are more peaceful than forms’: This is one contemplation. ‘Cessation is more peaceful than formless phenomena’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

Those beings headed to forms,
and those standing in the formless,
with no knowledge of cessation,
return to further becoming.

But, comprehending form,
not taking a stance in formless things,
those released in cessation
are people who’ve left death behind.9

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever is considered as “This is true” by the world with its devas, Māras, & Brahmās, by this generation with its contemplatives & brahmans, its royalty & commonfolk, is rightly seen as it has come to be with right discernment by the noble ones as “This is false”’: This is one contemplation. ‘Whatever is considered as “This is false” by the world with its devas, Māras, & Brahmās, by this generation with its contemplatives & brahmans, its royalty & commonfolk, is rightly seen as it has come to be with right discernment by the noble ones as “This is true”’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“See the world, together with its devas,
supposing not-self to be self.
Entrenched in name-&-form,
they suppose that ‘This is true.’
In whatever terms they suppose it
it turns into something other than that,10
  and that’s what’s false about it:
  Changing,
it’s deceptive by nature.
Undeceptive by nature
is unbinding11:
That the noble ones know
  as true.
They, through breaking through
  to the truth,
hunger-free,
are totally unbound.

“Now, if there are any who ask, ‘Would there be the right contemplation of dualities in yet another way?’ they should be told, ‘There would.’ How would that be? ‘Whatever is considered as “This is bliss” by the world with its devas, Māras, & Brahmās, by this generation with its contemplatives & brahmans, its royalty & commonfolk, is rightly seen as it has come to be with right discernment by the noble ones as “This is stressful”’: This is one contemplation. ‘Whatever is considered as “This is stressful” by the world with its devas, Māras, & Brahmās, by this generation with its contemplatives & brahmans, its royalty & commonfolk, is rightly seen as it has come to be with right discernment by the noble ones as “This is bliss”’: This is a second contemplation. For a monk rightly contemplating this duality in this way—heedful, ardent, & resolute—one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis right here-&-now, or—if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance—non-return.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

“All sights, sounds, smells, tastes,
tactile sensations, & ideas
that are welcome,
  appealing,
agreeable—
as long as they’re said
  to exist,
are supposed by the world
together with its devas
  to be bliss.
But when they cease,
that’s supposed by them
  to be stress.
The stopping of self-identity
is viewed by the noble ones
      as bliss.
This, when seen,
runs counter
to the whole world.

What others say is blissful,
the noble ones say is stress.
What others say is stressful,
the noble know as bliss.
See the Dhamma, hard to understand!
  Here those who don’t know
  are confused.
For those who are veiled,
  it’s darkness,
  blindness
  for those who don’t see.
But for the good it is blatant,
like light for those who see.

Though in its very presence,
they don’t understand it—
dumb animals, unadept in the Dhamma.
It’s not easy
for those overcome
  by passion for becoming,
flowing along
  in the stream of becoming,
falling under Māra’s sway,12
  to wake up
  to this Dhamma.

Who, apart from the noble,
is worthy to wake up
to this state?—
  the state that,
  through rightly knowing it,
  they totally unbind,
      effluent-free.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted in the Blessed One’s words. And while this explanation was being given, the minds of 60 monks, through lack of clinging, were released from effluents.

vv. 724–765

Notes

1. See SN 56:22.

2. The term ‘acquisition’ (upadhi), in its everyday sense, denotes the possessions, baggage, and other paraphernalia that a nomadic family might carry around with it in its wanderings. On the psychological level, it denotes anything for which one might have a sense of ‘I’ or ‘mine’ and which, consequently, one would carry around as a kind of mental baggage. The verse following this prose passage is identical with the Buddha’s first answer to Mettagū in Sn 5:4.

3. See Iti 15.

4. Arousal = ārambha, a word with many possible alternative meanings. Among them: disruption; seizure of an object; inception of action (often with violent connotations).

5. “There are these four nutriments for the maintenance of beings who have come into being or for the support of those in search of a place to be born. Which four? Physical food, gross or refined; contact as the second, intellectual intention the third, and consciousness the fourth.” — SN 12:63. For more on this topic, see SN 12:63–64.

6. See Dhp 92–93.

7. See Iti 63, SN 1:20, and SN 22:85–86.

8. See Ud 8:4.

9. See Iti 72–73.

10. See MN 113, note 3.

11. “His release, being founded on truth, does not fluctuate, for whatever is deceptive is false; unbinding—the undeceptive—is true. Thus a monk so endowed is endowed with the highest determination for truth, for this—unbinding, the undeceptive—is the highest noble truth.” — MN 140

12. On Māra’s sway, see SN 4:19, SN 35:115, SN 35:189, and SN 35:199.