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Buddhism

Iti 7 · uttaka 7

Thai temple painting: Prince Vessantara gives away the white elephant
Vessantara Jātaka, Chapter 2 (Himavanta Forest) · Thai, Rattanakosin, c. 1850–1870 · Walters Art Museum

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, one who has not fully known & fully understood the All,1 whose mind has not been cleansed of passion for it, has not abandoned it, is incapable of putting an end to stress. But one who has fully known & fully understood the All, whose mind has been cleansed of passion for it and has abandoned it, is capable of putting an end to stress.”

Knowing the All

from all around,

not stirred by passion

in all places:

he, having comprehended

the All,

has gone beyond

all stress.

Note

1. “The All” = the six senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, & ideation) and their respective objects. This covers every aspect of experience that can be described, but does not include nibbāna. For a full discussion of this point, see The Mind Like Fire Unbound, pp. 30—32.


Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 licence, for free distribution only. Source: dhammatalks.org (Metta Forest Monastery).

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