Aṅguttara Nikāya 6.29

Numbered Discourses 6.29

3. Anuttariyavagga

3. Unsurpassable

Udāyīsutta

With Udāyī

Atha kho bhagavā āyasmantaṁ udāyiṁ āmantesi: “kati nu kho, udāyi, anussatiṭṭhānānī”ti?

Then the Buddha said to Udāyī, “Udāyī, how many topics for recollection are there?”

Evaṁ vutte, āyasmā udāyī tuṇhī ahosi.

When he said this, Udāyī kept silent.

Dutiyampi kho bhagavā āyasmantaṁ udāyiṁ āmantesi: “kati nu kho, udāyi, anussatiṭṭhānānī”ti? Dutiyampi kho āyasmā udāyī tuṇhī ahosi. Tatiyampi kho bhagavā āyasmantaṁ udāyiṁ āmantesi: “kati nu kho, udāyi, anussatiṭṭhānānī”ti?

And a second time … and a third time, the Buddha said to him, “Udāyī, how many topics for recollection are there?”

Tatiyampi kho āyasmā udāyī tuṇhī ahosi.

And a second time and a third time Udāyī kept silent.

Atha kho āyasmā ānando āyasmantaṁ udāyiṁ etadavoca: “satthā taṁ, āvuso udāyi, āmantesī”ti.

Then Venerable Ānanda said to Venerable Udāyī, “Friend Udāyī, the teacher is addressing you.”

“Suṇomahaṁ, āvuso ānanda, bhagavato.

“Friend Ānanda, I hear the Buddha.

Idha, bhante, bhikkhu anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussarati—Seyyathidaṁ—ekampi jātiṁ dvepi jātiyo …pe…. Iti sākāraṁ sauddesaṁ anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussarati. Idaṁ, bhante, anussatiṭṭhānan”ti.

It’s when a bhikkhu recollects many kinds of past lives. That is: one, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand rebirths; many eons of the world contracting, many eons of the world expanding, many eons of the world contracting and expanding. They remember: ‘There, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn somewhere else. There, too, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn here.’ And so they recollect their many kinds of past lives, with features and details. This is a topic for recollection.”

Atha kho bhagavā āyasmantaṁ ānandaṁ āmantesi: “aññāsiṁ kho ahaṁ, ānanda: ‘nevāyaṁ udāyī moghapuriso adhicittaṁ anuyutto viharatī’ti. Kati nu kho, ānanda, anussatiṭṭhānānī”ti?

Then the Buddha said to Venerable Ānanda: “Ānanda, I know that this silly man Udāyī is not committed to the higher mind. Ānanda, how many topics for recollection are there?”

“Pañca, bhante, anussatiṭṭhānāni. Katamāni pañca?

“Sir, there are five topics for recollection. What five?

Idha, bhante, bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi …pe… tatiyaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati. Idaṁ, bhante, anussatiṭṭhānaṁ evaṁ bhāvitaṁ evaṁ bahulīkataṁ diṭṭhadhammasukhavihārāya saṁvattati.

Firstly, a bhikkhu, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first jhāna … second jhāna … third jhāna. When this topic of recollection is developed and cultivated in this way it leads to blissful meditation in this very life.

“Puna caparaṁ, bhante, bhikkhu ālokasaññaṁ manasi karoti, divā saññaṁ adhiṭṭhāti, yathā divā tathā rattiṁ, yathā rattiṁ tathā divā; iti vivaṭena cetasā apariyonaddhena sappabhāsaṁ cittaṁ bhāveti. Idaṁ, bhante, anussatiṭṭhānaṁ evaṁ bhāvitaṁ evaṁ bahulīkataṁ ñāṇadassanappaṭilābhāya saṁvattati.

Furthermore, a bhikkhu focuses on the perception of light, concentrating on the perception of day regardless of whether it’s night or day. And so, with an open and unenveloped heart, they develop a mind that’s full of radiance. When this topic of recollection is developed and cultivated in this way it leads to knowledge and vision.

Puna caparaṁ, bhante, bhikkhu imameva kāyaṁ uddhaṁ pādatalā adho kesamatthakā tacapariyantaṁ pūraṁ nānappakārassa asucino paccavekkhati: ‘atthi imasmiṁ kāye kesā lomā nakhā dantā taco, maṁsaṁ nhāru¹ aṭṭhi aṭṭhimiñjaṁ vakkaṁ, hadayaṁ yakanaṁ kilomakaṁ pihakaṁ papphāsaṁ, antaṁ antaguṇaṁ udariyaṁ karīsaṁ, pittaṁ semhaṁ pubbo lohitaṁ sedo medo, assu vasā kheḷo siṅghāṇikā lasikā muttan’ti. Idaṁ, bhante, anussatiṭṭhānaṁ evaṁ bhāvitaṁ evaṁ bahulīkataṁ kāmarāgappahānāya saṁvattati.

Furthermore, a bhikkhu examines their own body up from the soles of the feet and down from the tips of the hairs, wrapped in skin and full of many kinds of filth. ‘In this body there is head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, undigested food, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, saliva, snot, synovial fluid, urine.’ When this topic of recollection is developed and cultivated in this way it leads to giving up sensual desire.

Puna caparaṁ, bhante, bhikkhu seyyathāpi passeyya sarīraṁ sivathikāya² chaṭṭitaṁ ekāhamataṁ vā dvīhamataṁ vā tīhamataṁ vā uddhumātakaṁ vinīlakaṁ vipubbakajātaṁ. So imameva kāyaṁ evaṁ³ upasaṁharati: ‘ayampi kho kāyo evaṁdhammo evaṁbhāvī evaṁanatīto’ti.

Furthermore, suppose a bhikkhu were to see a corpse thrown in a charnel ground. And it had been dead for one, two, or three days, bloated, livid, and festering. They’d compare it with their own body: ‘This body is also of that same nature, that same kind, and cannot go beyond that.’

Seyyathāpi vā pana⁴ passeyya sarīraṁ sīvathikāya chaṭṭitaṁ kākehi vā khajjamānaṁ kulalehi vā khajjamānaṁ gijjhehi vā khajjamānaṁ sunakhehi vā khajjamānaṁ siṅgālehi vā khajjamānaṁ vividhehi vā pāṇakajātehi khajjamānaṁ. So imameva kāyaṁ evaṁ upasaṁharati: ‘ayampi kho kāyo evaṁdhammo evaṁbhāvī evaṁanatīto’ti.

Or suppose they were to see a corpse thrown in a charnel ground being devoured by crows, hawks, vultures, dogs, jackals, and many kinds of little creatures. They’d compare it with their own body: ‘This body is also of that same nature, that same kind, and cannot go beyond that.’

Seyyathāpi vā pana passeyya sarīraṁ sīvathikāya chaṭṭitaṁ aṭṭhikasaṅkhalikaṁ samaṁsalohitaṁ nhārusambandhaṁ …pe… aṭṭhikasaṅkhalikaṁ nimmaṁsalohitamakkhitaṁ nhārusambandhaṁ … aṭṭhikasaṅkhalikaṁ apagatamaṁsalohitaṁ nhārusambandhaṁ. Aṭṭhikāni apagatasambandhāni disāvidisāvikkhittāni, aññena hatthaṭṭhikaṁ aññena pādaṭṭhikaṁ aññena jaṅghaṭṭhikaṁ aññena ūruṭṭhikaṁ aññena kaṭiṭṭhikaṁ⁵ aññena phāsukaṭṭhikaṁ aññena piṭṭhikaṇṭakaṭṭhikaṁ aññena khandhaṭṭhikaṁ aññena gīvaṭṭhikaṁ aññena hanukaṭṭhikaṁ aññena dantakaṭṭhikaṁ aññena sīsakaṭāhaṁ, aṭṭhikāni setāni saṅkhavaṇṇappaṭibhāgāni⁶ aṭṭhikāni puñjakitāni⁷ terovassikāni aṭṭhikāni pūtīni cuṇṇakajātāni. So imameva kāyaṁ evaṁ upasaṁharati: ‘ayampi kho kāyo evaṁdhammo evaṁbhāvī evaṁanatīto’ti. Idaṁ, bhante, anussatiṭṭhānaṁ evaṁ bhāvitaṁ evaṁ bahulīkataṁ asmimānasamugghātāya saṁvattati.

Furthermore, suppose they were to see a corpse thrown in a charnel ground, a skeleton with flesh and blood, held together by sinews … A skeleton without flesh but smeared with blood, and held together by sinews … A skeleton rid of flesh and blood, held together by sinews … Bones rid of sinews scattered in every direction. Here a hand-bone, there a foot-bone, here a shin-bone, there a thigh-bone, here a hip-bone, there a rib-bone, here a back-bone, there an arm-bone, here a neck-bone, there a jaw-bone, here a tooth, there the skull … White bones, the color of shells … Decrepit bones, heaped in a pile … Bones rotted and crumbled to powder. They’d compare it with their own body: ‘This body is also of that same nature, that same kind, and cannot go beyond that.’ When this topic of recollection is developed and cultivated in this way it leads to uprooting the conceit ‘I am’.

Puna caparaṁ, bhante, bhikkhu sukhassa ca pahānā …pe… catutthaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati. Idaṁ, bhante, anussatiṭṭhānaṁ evaṁ bhāvitaṁ evaṁ bahulīkataṁ anekadhātupaṭivedhāya saṁvattati. Imāni kho, bhante, pañca anussatiṭṭhānānī”ti.

Furthermore, a bhikkhu, giving up pleasure and pain, and ending former happiness and sadness, enters and remains in the fourth jhāna, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. When this topic of recollection is developed and cultivated in this way it leads to the penetration of many elements. These are the five topics for recollection.”

“Sādhu sādhu, ānanda. Tena hi tvaṁ, ānanda, idampi chaṭṭhaṁ anussatiṭṭhānaṁ dhārehi. Idhānanda, bhikkhu satova abhikkamati satova paṭikkamati satova tiṭṭhati satova nisīdati satova seyyaṁ kappeti satova kammaṁ adhiṭṭhāti. Idaṁ, ānanda, anussatiṭṭhānaṁ evaṁ bhāvitaṁ evaṁ bahulīkataṁ satisampajaññāya saṁvattatī”ti.

“Good, good, Ānanda. Well then, Ānanda, you should also remember this sixth topic for recollection. In this case, a bhikkhu goes out mindfully, returns mindfully, stands mindfully, sits mindfully, lies down mindfully, and applies themselves to work mindfully. When this topic of recollection is developed and cultivated in this way it leads to mindfulness and situational awareness.”

Navamaṁ.