Can seeing the pure in another purify one still bound by attachments? A sage’s purity is not found through another, nor through what is seen, heard, or sensed. While the attached mind swings like a monkey from branch to branch, the wise one, having relinquished all grasping, abides unbound.
Passāmi suddhaṁ paramaṁ arogaṁ,
Diṭṭhena saṁsuddhi narassa hoti;
Evābhijānaṁ paramanti ñatvā,
Suddhānupassīti pacceti ñāṇaṁ.
[Some proclaim,] ‘I behold the pure, the |supreme::highest, ultimate, lit. furthest [parama]| health,
through seeing, a person gains |purification::holiness [saṁsuddhi]|;’
|Directly knowing::understanding experientially [abhijāna]| and having known this as the highest,
witnessing the pure, one falls back on knowledge.
Diṭṭhena ce suddhi narassa hoti,
Ñāṇena vā so pajahāti dukkhaṁ;
Aññena so sujjhati sopadhīko,
Diṭṭhī hi naṁ pāva tathā vadānaṁ.
If a person’s purity were to arise through what is seen,
or if through knowledge, they could abandon suffering;
Then one still bound by attachments would be purified by another;
for such is the view of those who speak in this way.
Na brāhmaṇo aññato suddhimāha,
Diṭṭhe sute sīlavate mute vā;
Puññe ca pāpe ca anūpalitto,
Attañjaho nayidha pakubbamāno.
A true Brahmin does not claim purity from another,
neither through what is seen, heard, sensed, or by |ethics and observances::precepts and practices, rites and rituals [sīlavata]|;
Unsullied by deeds regarded as meritorious or sinful,
he relinquishes what he had grasped, refraining from |concocting::constructing, creating, fashioning, making [pakubbamāna]| anew.
Purimaṁ pahāya aparaṁ sitāse,
Ejānugā te na taranti saṅgaṁ;
Te uggahāyanti nirassajanti,
Kapīva sākhaṁ pamuñcaṁ gahāyaṁ.
Letting go of the former while longing for the next,
driven by impulse, they fail to transcend attachment;
They repeatedly catch hold of and let go of,
like a monkey swinging from branch to branch.
Sayaṁ samādāya vatāni jantu,
Uccāvacaṁ gacchati saññasatto;
Vidvā ca vedehi samecca dhammaṁ,
Na uccāvacaṁ gacchati bhūripañño.
A person, adopting precepts by themselves,
experiences highs and lows, |attached to perception::stuck in concepts [saññasatta]|;
But having realized the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]| through insight,
the wise one of vast wisdom remains untouched by highs and lows.
Sa sabbadhammesu visenibhūto,
Yaṁ kiñci diṭṭhaṁ va sutaṁ mutaṁ vā;
Tameva dassiṁ vivaṭaṁ carantaṁ,
Kenīdha lokasmi vikappayeyya.
He is |disarmed with respect to::at peace with [visenibhūta]| |all states of mind::all mental phenomena, all things [sabbadhamma]|,
in whatever is seen, heard, or |sensed::smelled, tasted, felt, or thought [muta]|;
Naturally embodying this as he wanders openly,
who in this world could possibly define him?
Na kappayanti na purekkharonti,
Accantasuddhīti na te vadanti;
Ādānaganthaṁ gathitaṁ visajja,
Āsaṁ na kubbanti kuhiñci loke.
They do not |theorize::construct, formulate [kappayati]|, they do not |emphasize::put forward; lit. put in front [purekkharoti]|,
they do not assert: ‘[This is] |perfect purity::utmost perfection [accantasuddhi]|;’
Untying the knot of grasping that had been tied,
they harbor no |longing::wish, desire, hope, expectation [āsa]| anywhere in the world.
Sīmātigo brāhmaṇo tassa natthi,
Ñatvā va disvā va samuggahītaṁ;
Na rāgarāgī na virāgaratto,
Tassīdha natthi paramuggahītanti.
For a Brahmin who has transcended the boundary,
having known or seen, they |do not grasp::do not take up [samuggahīta]|;
Not infatuated with desires or attached to dispassion,
he does not grasp anything here as supreme.
[Some proclaim,] ‘I behold the pure, the |supreme::highest, ultimate, lit. furthest [parama]| health,
through seeing, a person gains |purification::holiness [saṁsuddhi]|;’
|Directly knowing::understanding experientially [abhijāna]| and having known this as the highest,
witnessing the pure, one falls back on knowledge.
If a person’s purity were to arise through what is seen,
or if through knowledge, they could abandon suffering;
Then one still bound by attachments would be purified by another;
for such is the view of those who speak in this way.
A true Brahmin does not claim purity from another,
neither through what is seen, heard, sensed, or by |ethics and observances::precepts and practices, rites and rituals [sīlavata]|;
Unsullied by deeds regarded as meritorious or sinful,
he relinquishes what he had grasped, refraining from |concocting::constructing, creating, fashioning, making [pakubbamāna]| anew.
Letting go of the former while longing for the next,
driven by impulse, they fail to transcend attachment;
They repeatedly catch hold of and let go of,
like a monkey swinging from branch to branch.
A person, adopting precepts by themselves,
experiences highs and lows, |attached to perception::stuck in concepts [saññasatta]|;
But having realized the |Dhamma::teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth [dhamma]| through insight,
the wise one of vast wisdom remains untouched by highs and lows.
He is |disarmed with respect to::at peace with [visenibhūta]| |all states of mind::all mental phenomena, all things [sabbadhamma]|,
in whatever is seen, heard, or |sensed::smelled, tasted, felt, or thought [muta]|;
Naturally embodying this as he wanders openly,
who in this world could possibly define him?
They do not |theorize::construct, formulate [kappayati]|, they do not |emphasize::put forward; lit. put in front [purekkharoti]|,
they do not assert: ‘[This is] |perfect purity::utmost perfection [accantasuddhi]|;’
Untying the knot of grasping that had been tied,
they harbor no |longing::wish, desire, hope, expectation [āsa]| anywhere in the world.
For a Brahmin who has transcended the boundary,
having known or seen, they |do not grasp::do not take up [samuggahīta]|;
Not infatuated with desires or attached to dispassion,
he does not grasp anything here as supreme.
Passāmi suddhaṁ paramaṁ arogaṁ,
Diṭṭhena saṁsuddhi narassa hoti;
Evābhijānaṁ paramanti ñatvā,
Suddhānupassīti pacceti ñāṇaṁ.
Diṭṭhena ce suddhi narassa hoti,
Ñāṇena vā so pajahāti dukkhaṁ;
Aññena so sujjhati sopadhīko,
Diṭṭhī hi naṁ pāva tathā vadānaṁ.
Na brāhmaṇo aññato suddhimāha,
Diṭṭhe sute sīlavate mute vā;
Puññe ca pāpe ca anūpalitto,
Attañjaho nayidha pakubbamāno.
Purimaṁ pahāya aparaṁ sitāse,
Ejānugā te na taranti saṅgaṁ;
Te uggahāyanti nirassajanti,
Kapīva sākhaṁ pamuñcaṁ gahāyaṁ.
Sayaṁ samādāya vatāni jantu,
Uccāvacaṁ gacchati saññasatto;
Vidvā ca vedehi samecca dhammaṁ,
Na uccāvacaṁ gacchati bhūripañño.
Sa sabbadhammesu visenibhūto,
Yaṁ kiñci diṭṭhaṁ va sutaṁ mutaṁ vā;
Tameva dassiṁ vivaṭaṁ carantaṁ,
Kenīdha lokasmi vikappayeyya.
Na kappayanti na purekkharonti,
Accantasuddhīti na te vadanti;
Ādānaganthaṁ gathitaṁ visajja,
Āsaṁ na kubbanti kuhiñci loke.
Sīmātigo brāhmaṇo tassa natthi,
Ñatvā va disvā va samuggahītaṁ;
Na rāgarāgī na virāgaratto,
Tassīdha natthi paramuggahītanti.