Vimuttāyatana Sutta
“Monks,
There are five occasions for liberation,
and any of these monks [or nuns] who live
attentive,
intent
and steady;
Their unliberated mind
comes to be liberated;
Their incompletely cleansed mind from distractions
comes to be cleansed
And their yet unattained,
unequalled freedom from the shackles
comes to be attained. [1]
What five?
[1. Teaching]
It may be monks, that,
Some monks [or nuns] who are teachers,
or in the position of teachers,
teach Dhamma to their fellow brothers
and sisters in the spiritual life. [2]
Whenever they do so,
they directly experience the meaning of those teachings,
they directly experience the Dhamma.[3]
[Dhamma Samādhi]
When one directly experiences the meaning,
One directly experiences the Dhamma,
gladness arises.[4]
With this gladness comes joy.
With that joyful mind, the body calms down,
With a calm body one knows contentment.
One’s content mind becomes collected.[5]
Monks, this is the first occasion for liberation,
and any of these monks [or nuns] who live
attentive,
intent
and steady;
Their unliberated mind
comes to be liberated;
Their incompletely cleansed mind from distractions
comes to be cleansed
And their yet unattained,
unequalled freedom from the shackles
comes to be attained.
[2. Explaining to Others]
It may be monks, that,
Some monks [or nuns] might not be teachers,
nor in the position of teachers,
and they might not teach Dhamma
to their fellow brothers
and sisters in the spiritual life,
But they teach others and explain at length
the Dhamma they have heard and understood. [6]
Whenever they do so,
they directly experience the meaning of those teachings,
they directly experience the Dhamma.
[Dhamma Samādhi]
When one directly experiences the meaning,
One directly experiences the Dhamma,
gladness arises.
With this gladness comes joy.
With that joyful mind, the body calms down,
With a calm body one knows contentment.
One’s content mind becomes collected.
Monks this is the second occasion for liberation,
and any of these monks [or nuns] who live
attentive,
intent
and steady;
Their unliberated mind
comes to be liberated;
Their incompletely cleansed mind from distractions
comes to be cleansed
And their yet unattained,
unequalled freedom from the shackles
comes to be attained.
[3. Study]
It may be monks, that,
Some monks [or nuns] might not be teachers,
nor in the position of a teacher,
and they might not teach Dhamma
to their fellow brothers
and sisters in the spiritual life,
they might not teach and explain others at length
the Dhamma they have heard and understood,
But they rehearse and study at length
the teachings they have heard and understood.[7]
Whenever they do so,
they directly experience the meaning of those teachings,
they directly experience the Dhamma.
[Dhamma Samādhi]
When one directly experiences the meaning,
One directly experiences the Dhamma,
gladness arises.
With this gladness comes joy.
With that joyful mind, the body calms down,
With a calm body one knows contentment.
One’s content mind becomes collected.
Monks this is the third occasion for liberation,
and any of these monks [or nuns] who live
attentive,
intent
and steady;
Their unliberated mind
comes to be liberated;
Their incompletely cleansed mind from distractions
comes to be cleansed
And their yet unattained,
unequalled freedom from the shackles
comes to be attained.
[4. Bringing to Mind]
It may be monks, that,
Some monks [or nuns] might not be teachers,
nor in the position of a teacher,
and they might not teach Dhamma
to their fellow brothers
and sisters in the spiritual life,
They might not teach and explain others at length
the Dhamma they have heard and understood,
They might not rehearse nor study at length
the teachings they have heard and understood.[8]
But they continually call to mind,
think,
reflect
and steady their minds
upon the teachings they have heard
and understood.[9]
Whenever they do so,
they directly experience the meaning of those teachings,
they directly experience the Dhamma
[Dhamma Samādhi]
When one directly experiences the meaning,
One directly experiences the Dhamma,
gladness arises.
With this gladness comes joy.
With that joyful mind, the body calms down,
With a calm body one knows contentment.
One’s content mind becomes collected.
Monks this is the fourth occasion for liberation,
and any of these monks [or nuns] who live
attentive,
intent
and steady;
Their unliberated mind
comes to be liberated;
Their incompletely cleansed mind from distractions
comes to be cleansed
And their yet unattained,
unequalled freedom from the shackles
comes to be attained.
[5. Subject for Collectedness]
It may be monks, that,
Some monks [or nuns] might not be teachers,
nor in the position of a teacher,
and they might not teach Dhamma
to their fellow brothers
and sisters in the spiritual life,
They might not teach and explain others at length
the Dhamma they have heard and understood,
They might not rehearse nor study at length
the teachings they have heard and understood.[10]
They might not continually call to mind,
think,
reflect
and steady their minds
upon the teachings they have heard
and understood.[11]
But they properly undertake
a subject for mental collectedness,
They properly attend to it,
properly understand it,[12]
and master[13] it by discernment.[14]
Whenever they do so,
they directly experience the meaning of those teachings,
they directly experience the Dhamma
[Dhamma Samādhi]
When one directly experiences the meaning,
One directly experiences the Dhamma,
gladness arises.
With this gladness comes joy.
With that joyful mind, the body calms down,
With a calm body one knows contentment.
One’s content mind becomes collected.
Monks, this is the fifth occasion for liberation,
and any of these monks [or nuns] who live
attentive,
intent
and steady;
Their unliberated mind
comes to be liberated;
Their incompletely cleansed mind from distractions
comes to be cleansed
And their yet unattained,
unequalled freedom from the shackles
comes to be attained.
☙
Monks,
these are the five occasions for liberation,
and any of these monks [or nuns] who live
attentive,
intent
and steady;
Their unliberated mind
comes to be liberated;
Their incompletely cleansed mind from distractions
comes to be cleansed
And their yet unattained,
unequalled freedom from the shackles
comes to be attained.
[1] “Pañcimāni, bhikkhave, vimuttāyatanāni yattha bhikkhuno appamattassa ātāpino pahitattassa viharato avimuttaṃ vā cittaṃ vimuccati, aparikkhīṇā vā āsavā parikkhayaṃ gacchanti, ananuppattaṃ vā anuttaraṃyogakkhemaṃ anupāpuṇāti.
[2] bhikkhuno satthā dhammaṃ deseti aññataro vā garuṭṭhāniyo sabrahmacārī.
[3] tathā tathā so tasmiṃ dhamme atthapaṭisaṃvedī ca hoti dhammapaṭisaṃvedī ca.
[4] Tassa atthap* dhammap* pāmojjaṃ jāyati.
[5] Pamuditassa pīti jāyati. Pītimanassa kāyo passambhati. Passaddhakāyo sukhaṃ vedeti. Sukhino cittaṃ samādhiyati.
[6] api ca kho yathāsutaṃ yathāpariyattaṃ dhammaṃ vitthārena paresaṃ deseti. This is a wonderful example of the uplifting power of Dhamma. Though, it should be said that teaching others should be done carefully and skilfully. One should first contemplate the driving force behind their intention to teach. Did it come from a request? Teaching the Dhamma is a delicate thing. Too often, people feel uncomfortable within themselves, they then feel impelled to ‘change others’ but this does not accord with the true Dhamma. This sutta is a very inspiring model that many may feel compelled to follow, and they should. But it is good to remember all the other suttas where the Buddha explains at length the danger of inflating one’s own pride and ego through the teaching process and to use it as a leverage for wrong understanding to arise. Fame and popularity are slippery grounds. One should always question oneself in regards to their driving motives behind ‘teaching others.’ Those who truly know the Dhamma also truly know the great value of meditation, solitude and the bliss that arises from few interactions.
[7] api ca kho yathāsutaṃ yathāpariyattaṃ dhammaṃ vitthārena sajjhāyaṃ karoti.
[8] api ca kho yathāsutaṃ yathāpariyattaṃ dhammaṃ vitthārena sajjhāyaṃ karoti.
[9] api ca kho yathāsutaṃ yathāpariyattaṃ dhammaṃ cetasā anuvitakketi anuvicāreti manasānupekkhati.
[10] api ca kho yathāsutaṃ yathāpariyattaṃ dhammaṃ vitthārena sajjhāyaṃ karoti.
[11] api ca kho yathāsutaṃ yathāpariyattaṃ dhammaṃ cetasā anuvitakketi anuvicāreti manasānupekkhati.
[12] Sūpadhārita=su+upadhārita well — known. Upadhārita [pp. of upadhāreti] considered, reflected upon.
[13] Paṭivijjhati [paṭi+vijjhati of vyadh] to pierce through, penetrate, intuit, to acquire, master, comprehend
[14] khvassa aññataraṃ samādhinimittaṃ suggahitaṃ hoti sumanasikataṃ sūpadhāritaṃ suppaṭividdhaṃ paññāya.
