Dutiyasamuddasutta

Saṁyutta Nikāya 35.229

Linked Discourses 35.229

18. Samuddavagga

18. The Ocean

Dutiyasamuddasutta

The Ocean (2nd)

“‘Samuddo, samuddo’ti, bhikkhave, assutavā puthujjano bhāsati.

“Mendicants, an unlearned ordinary person speaks of the ocean.

Neso, bhikkhave, ariyassa vinaye samuddo.

But that’s not the ocean in the training of the Noble One.

Mahā eso, bhikkhave, udakarāsi mahāudakaṇṇavo.

That’s just a large body of water, a large sea of water.

Santi, bhikkhave, cakkhuviññeyyā rūpā iṭṭhā kantā manāpā piyarūpā kāmūpasaṁhitā rajanīyā.

There are sights known by the eye, which are likable, desirable, agreeable, pleasant, sensual, and arousing.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, ariyassa vinaye samuddo.

This is called the ocean in the training of the Noble One.

Etthāyaṁ sadevako loko samārako sabrahmako sassamaṇabrāhmaṇī pajā sadevamanussā yebhuyyena samunnā tantākulakajātā kulagaṇṭhikajātā muñjapabbajabhūtā, apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ saṁsāraṁ nātivattati …pe….

And it’s here that this world—with its gods, Māras, and divinities, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, gods and humans—is for the most part sunk. It’s become tangled like string, knotted like a ball of thread, and matted like rushes and reeds, and it doesn’t escape the places of loss, the bad places, the underworld, transmigration.

Santi, bhikkhave, jivhāviññeyyā rasā …pe… santi, bhikkhave, manoviññeyyā dhammā iṭṭhā kantā manāpā piyarūpā kāmūpasaṁhitā rajanīyā.

There are sounds … smells … tastes … touches … ideas known by the mind, which are likable, desirable, agreeable, pleasant, sensual, and arousing.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, ariyassa vinaye samuddo.

This is called the ocean in the training of the Noble One.

Etthāyaṁ sadevako loko samārako sabrahmako sassamaṇabrāhmaṇī pajā sadevamanussā yebhuyyena samunnā tantākulakajātā kulagaṇṭhikajātā muñjapabbajabhūtā apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ saṁsāraṁ nātivattatīti.

And it’s here that this world—with its gods, Māras, and divinities, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, gods and humans—is for the most part sunk. It’s become tangled like string, knotted like a ball of thread, and matted like rushes and reeds, and it doesn’t escape the places of loss, the bad places, the underworld, transmigration.

Yassa rāgo ca doso ca,

Those in whom greed, hate, and ignorance

Avijjā ca virājitā;

have faded away;

So imaṁ samuddaṁ sagāhaṁ sarakkhasaṁ,

have crossed the ocean so hard to cross,

Saūmibhayaṁ duttaraṁ accatari.

with its saltwater crocodiles and monsters,
its waves and dangers.

Saṅgātigo maccujaho nirupadhi,

They’ve slipped their chains, given up death, and have no attachments.

Pahāsi dukkhaṁ apunabbhavāya;

They’ve given up suffering,
so there are no more future lives.

Atthaṅgato so na puneti,

They’ve disappeared, and cannot be measured;

Amohayī maccurājanti brūmī”ti.

and they’ve confounded the King of Death, I say.”

Dutiyaṁ.