SN 56.35: Sattisata Sutta — One Hundred Spears

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Sylvester
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Re: SN 56.35: Sattisata Sutta — One Hundred Spears

Post by Sylvester »

Spiny Norman wrote: Yes, interesting. I tend to look at suttas in terms of their purpose. This is a type I would class as "encouragement to practice".
Yes, and here's another lovely one from MN 139. Although it does not state it in positive terms of pleasure and happiness, I think the message still get across -
One should not pursue sensual pleasure, which is low, vulgar, coarse, ignoble, and unbeneficial; and one should not pursue self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, and unbeneficial. ’ So it was said. And with reference to what was this said?

“The pursuit of the enjoyment of one whose pleasure is linked to sensual desires1258—low, vulgar, coarse, ignoble, and unbeneficial—is a state beset by suffering, vexation, despair, and fever, and it is the wrong way.1259 [231] Disengagement from the pursuit of the enjoyment of one whose pleasure is linked to sensual desires—low, vulgar, coarse, ignoble, and unbeneficial—is a state without suffering, vexation, despair, and fever, and it is the right way.

“The pursuit of self-mortification—painful, ignoble, and unbeneficial—is a state beset by suffering, vexation, despair, and fever, and it is the wrong way. Disengagement from the pursuit of self-mortification—painful, ignoble, and unbeneficial—is a state without suffering, vexation, despair, and fever, and it is the right way.

per BB trans
The underlined words are adukkha anupaghāta anupāyāsa apariḷāha. Ven Nyanatiloka translated the last line more lyrically as -
Free from pain and torture is this path,
free from groaning and suffering:
it is the perfect path.
For some strange reason, Ajahn Brahm prefers Ven Nyanatiloka's translation. I guess it comes from a shared understanding of the anupaghāta = without injuring/without hurting/with kindness.
Spiny Norman
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Re: SN 56.35: Sattisata Sutta — One Hundred Spears

Post by Spiny Norman »

mikenz66 wrote:
Spiny Norman wrote: Yes, interesting. I tend to look at suttas in terms of their purpose. This is a type I would class as "encouragement to practice".
That's a good point. Perhaps reading
I tell you, the realization of the four noble truths would be accompanied by pleasure & happiness.
and then worrying about the exact definition of "pleasure and happiness" is missing the point...

:anjali:
Mike
I haven't looked at the suttas systematically in terms of purpose, but I think quite a lot of suttas would fall into the "encouragement to practice" classification. Other classifications of purpose might be "instructions for practice" and "explanation of doctrine" - obviously some suttas would be fulfilling more than one purpose. I think this approach can be useful in setting context - I think sometimes when looking at suttas we get bogged down in detail and miss the bigger picture.
Buddha save me from new-agers!
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