SN 35.28. Burns

At one time the Buddha was staying on Gaya’s Head near Gaya, together with a thousand mendicants. There he addressed the mendicants:

“Mendicants, all burns. And what is the all that burns?

The sense of sight burns. Sights burn. Sight-consciousness burns. Sense impressions of sight burn. Any sensation coming from sense impressions of sight—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral—also burns. They burn with what? They burn with the fire of desire, the fire of anger, and the fire of delusion. They burn with birth, old age and death, and sorrow, grief, pain, sadness, and distress, I say.

The sense of hearing burns. Sounds burn. Hearing-consciousness burns. Sense impressions of hearing burn. Any sensation coming from sense impressions of hearing—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral—also burns. They burn with what? They burn with the fire of desire, the fire of anger, and the fire of delusion. They burn with birth, old age and death, and sorrow, grief, pain, sadness, and distress, I say.

The sense of smell burns. Smells burn. Smell-consciousness burns. Sense impressions of smell burn. Any sensation coming from sense impressions of smell—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral—also burns. They burn with what? They burn with the fire of desire, the fire of anger, and the fire of delusion. They burn with birth, old age and death, and sorrow, grief, pain, sadness, and distress, I say.

The sense of taste burns. Flavors burn. Taste-consciousness burns. Sense impressions of taste burn. Any sensation coming from sense impressions of taste—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral—also burns. They burn with what? They burn with the fire of desire, the fire of anger, and the fire of delusion. They burn with birth, old age and death, and sorrow, grief, pain, sadness, and distress, I say.

The sense of touch burns. Tangibles burn. Touch-consciousness burns. Sense impressions of touch burn. Any sensation coming from sense impressions of touch—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral—also burns. They burn with what? They burn with the fire of desire, the fire of anger, and the fire of delusion. They burn with birth, old age and death, and sorrow, grief, pain, sadness, and distress, I say.

The mind burns. Mental phenomena burn. Mind-consciousness burns. Sense impressions of the mind burn. Any sensation coming from sense impressions of the mind—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral—also burns. They burn with what? They burn with the fire of desire, the fire of anger, and the fire of delusion. They burn with birth, old age and death, and sorrow, grief, pain, sadness, and distress, I say.

Mendicants, as a learned noble disciple, when you see this, you get disillusioned with the sense of sight, with sights, with sight-consciousness, with sense impressions of sight, and with any sensation coming from sense impressions of sight—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral. You get disillusioned with the sense of hearing, with sounds, with hearing-consciousness, with sense impressions of hearing, and with any sensation coming from sense impressions of hearing—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral. You get disillusioned with the sense of smell, with smells, with smell-consciousness, with sense impressions of smell, and with any sensation coming from sense impressions of smell—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral. You get disillusioned with the sense of taste, with flavors, with taste-consciousness, with sense impressions of taste, and with any sensation coming from sense impressions of taste—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral. You get disillusioned with the sense of touch, with tangibles, with touch-consciousness, with sense impressions of touch, and with any sensation coming from sense impressions of touch—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral. You get disillusioned with the mind, with mental phenomena, with mind-consciousness, with sense impressions of the mind, and with any sensation coming from sense impressions of the mind—whether pleasant, painful, or neutral.

Being disillusioned, you lose desire. By losing desire, the mind gets liberated. When it is liberated, you will know it. You will understand that the holy life is finished, that the work is done, that rebirth has ended, so there won’t be another life.”

That is what the Buddha said. The mendicants were pleased and enjoyed his words. And while this talk was given, by no longer taking anything up, the minds of those thousand mendicants were liberated from their defilements.