Mahāhatthipadopama Sutta | MN 28

Majjhima Nikāya
Sutta 28

28. Mahāhatthipadopama Sutta:

The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī in Jetas Grove, Anāthapiṇḍikas monastery.

There Ven. Sāriputta addressed the monks, Friend monks!

Yes, friend, the monks responded to him.

Ven. Sāriputta said,

Friends, just as the footprints of all legged animals are encompassed by the footprint of the elephant, and the elephant's footprint is reckoned the foremost among them in terms of size; in the same way, all skilful qualities are included in the Four Noble Truths.

In which 4?

And what is the Noble Truth of Suffering?

Birth is Suffering, aging is Suffering, death is Suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are Suffering; not getting what is wanted is Suffering.

In short, the 5 clinging-aggregates are Suffering.

And which are the 5 clinging-aggregates?

And what is the form clinging-aggregate?

The 4 great existents and the form derived from them.

And what are the 4 great elements?

The Earth Property

And what is the Earth property?
The Earth property may be either internal or external.

What is the internal Earth property?

Whatever internal, within oneself, is hard, solid, & sustained (by craving):

head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth,
skin, flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow,
kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs,
large intestines, small intestines, stomach, faeces,
or whatever else internal, within oneself, is hard, solid, & sustained:

This is called the internal Earth property.

Now both the internal Earth property and the external Earth property are simply Earth property.

And that should be seen as it has come to be with Right Discernment:
This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.

When one sees it thus as it has come to be with Right Discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the Earth property and makes the mind dispassionate toward the Earth property.

Now there comes a time, friends, when the external Liquid property is provoked, and at that time the external Earth property vanishes:

So when even in the external Earth property - so vast –

inconstancy will be discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be discerned, changeability will be discerned,

- then what of this short-lasting body, sustained by clinging, is I or mine or what I am?

 It has here only a no.

Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk (who has discerned this), he discerns that

A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has arisen within me.
And that is dependent, not independent.
Dependent on what?
Dependent on contact.

And he sees that

His mind, with the (Earth) property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & released.

And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing, & disagreeable - through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with sticks, or contact with knives

- the monk discerns that

This body is of such a nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with sticks come, & contacts with knives come.

Now the Blessed One has said, in his exhortation of the simile of the saw,

Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a 2-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding.

So my persistence will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body calm & unaroused, my mind centred & unified.

And now let contact with fists come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to this body, for this is how the Buddhas bidding is done.

And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established,

he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency:

It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established within me.

Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency (to please him),

in the same way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency:

It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established within me.

But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is established, then he is gratified at that.

And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.

The Liquid Property

And what is the Liquid property?
The Liquid property may be either internal or external.

What is the internal Liquid property?

Whatever internal, belonging to oneself, is Liquid, watery, & sustained:

bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat,
fat, tears, skin-oil, saliva, mucus,
fluid in the joints, urine,

or whatever else internal, within oneself, is Liquid, watery, & sustained:

This is called the internal Liquid property.

Now both the internal Liquid property and the external Liquid property are simply Liquid property.

And that should be seen as it has come to be with Right Discernment:
This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.

When one sees it thus as it has come to be with Right Discernment,

one becomes disenchanted with the Liquid property
and makes the Mind dispassionate toward the Liquid property.

Now there comes a time, friends, when the external Liquid property is provoked and washes away village, town, city, district, & country.

There comes a time when the water in the great ocean drops down 100 leagues, 200... 300... 400. 500. 600. 700 leagues.

There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands 7 palm-trees deep, 6. 5. 4. 3. two palm-trees deep, 1 palm-tree deep.

There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands 7 fathoms deep, 6. 5. 4. 3. 2 fathoms deep, 1 fathom deep.

There comes a time when the water in the great ocean stands half a fathom deep, hip-deep, knee-deep, ankle deep.

There comes a time when the water in the great ocean is not even the depth of the first joint of a finger.

So when even in the external Liquid property - so vast

- inconstancy will be discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be discerned, changeability will be discerned,

- then what of this short-lasting body, sustained by clinging, is I or mine or what I am?

It has here only a no.

Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk (who has discerned this), he discerns that

A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has arisen within me.
And that is dependent, not independent.
Dependent on what?
Dependent on contact.

And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant.

His Mind, with the (Liquid) property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & released.

And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing, & disagreeable - through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with sticks, or contact with knives

- the monk discerns that

This body is of such a nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with sticks come, & contacts with knives come.

Now the Blessed One has said, in his exhortation of the simile of the saw,

Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding.

So my persistence will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body calm & unaroused, my mind centred & unified.

And now let contact with fists come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to this body, for this is how the Buddhas bidding is done.

And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency:

It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established within me.

Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency (to please him),

in the same way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency:

It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established within me.

But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is established, then he is gratified at that.

And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.

The Fire Property

And what is the Fire property?
The Fire property may be either internal or external.

What is the internal Fire property?

Whatever internal, belonging to oneself, is Fire, fiery, & sustained:

that by which (the body) is warmed, aged, & consumed with fever;

and that by which what is eaten, drunk, chewed, & savoured gets properly digested, or whatever else internal, within oneself,

- is Fire, fiery, & sustained:

This is called the internal Fire property.

Now both the internal Fire property and the external Fire property are simply Fire property.

And that should be seen as it has come to be with Right Discernment:
This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.

When one sees it thus as it has come to be with right discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the Fire property and makes the Mind dispassionate toward the Fire property.

Now there comes a time, friends, when the external Fire property is provoked and consumes village, town, city, district, & country;

and then, coming to the edge of a green district, the edge of a road, the edge of a rocky district, to the waters edge, or to a lush, well-watered area, goes out from lack of sustenance.

There comes a time when people try to make Fire using a wing-bone & tendon parings.

So when even in the external Fire property - so vast

- inconstancy will be discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be discerned, changeability will be discerned,

- then what of this short-lasting body, sustained by clinging, is I or mine or what I am?

It has here only a no.

Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk (who has discerned this), he discerns that

A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has arisen within me.
And that is dependent, not independent.
Dependent on what?
Dependent on contact.

And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant.

His Mind, with the (Fire) property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & released.

And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing, & disagreeable - through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with sticks, or contact with knives

- the monk discerns that

This body is of such a nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with sticks come, & contacts with knives come.

Now the Blessed One has said, in his exhortation of the simile of the saw,

Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a 2-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding.

So my persistence will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body calm & unaroused, my mind centred & unified.

And now let contact with fists come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to this body, for this is how the Buddhas bidding is done.

And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency:

It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established within me.

Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency (to please him),

in the same way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency:

It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established within me.

But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is established, then he is gratified at that.

And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.

The Wind Property

And what is the Wind property?
The Wind property may be either internal or external.

What is the internal Wind property?

Whatever internal, belonging to oneself, is Wind, Windy, & sustained:

up-going Winds, down-going Winds, Winds in the stomach, Winds in the intestines, Winds that course through the body, in-&-out breathing,

- or whatever else internal, within oneself, is Wind, Windy, & sustained:

This is called the internal Wind property.

Now both the internal Wind property and the external Wind property are simply Wind property.

And that should be seen as it has come to be with Right Discernment:
This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self.

When one sees it thus as it has come to be with Right Discernment, one becomes disenchanted with the Wind property and makes the Mind dispassionate toward the Wind property.

Now there comes a time, friends, when the external Wind property is provoked and blows away village, town, city, district, & country.

There comes a time when, in the last month of the hot season, people try to start a breeze with a fan or bellows, and even the grass at the fringe of a thatch roof doesnt stir.

So when even in the external Fire property - so vast

- inconstancy will be discerned, destructibility will be discerned, a tendency to decay will be discerned, changeability will be discerned,

- then what of this short-lasting body, sustained by clinging, is I or mine or what I am?

- It has here only a no.

Now if other people insult, malign, exasperate, & harass a monk (who has discerned this), he discerns that

A painful feeling, born of ear-contact, has arisen within me.
And that is dependent, not independent.
Dependent on what?
Dependent on contact.

And he sees that contact is inconstant, feeling is inconstant, perception is inconstant, consciousness is inconstant.

His Mind, with the (Wind) property as its object/support, leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & released.

And if other people attack the monk in ways that are undesirable, displeasing, & disagreeable - through contact with fists, contact with stones, contact with sticks, or contact with knives

- the monk discerns that

This body is of such a nature that contacts with fists come, contacts with stones come, contacts with sticks come, & contacts with knives come.

Now the Blessed One has said, in his exhortation of the simile of the saw,

Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding.

So my persistence will be aroused & untiring, my mindfulness established & unconfused, my body calm & unaroused, my mind centred & unified.

And now let contact with fists come to this body, let contact with stones, with sticks, with knives come to this body, for this is how the Buddhas bidding is done.

And if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency:

It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established within me.

Just as when a daughter-in-law, on seeing her father-in-law, feels apprehensive and gives rise to a sense of urgency (to please him),

in the same way, if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established, he feels apprehensive at that and gives rise to a sense of urgency:

It is a loss for me, not a gain; ill-gotten for me, not well-gotten, that when I recollect the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is not established within me.

But if, in the monk recollecting the Buddha, Dhamma, & Saṅgha in this way, equanimity based on what is skilful is established, then he is gratified at that.

And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.

Dependent Co-arising

Friends, just as when - in dependence on timber, vines, grass, & clay - space is enclosed and is gathered under the term house,

 in the same way, when space is enclosed in dependence on bones, tendons, muscle, & skin, it is gathered under the term, form.

Now if internally the eye is intact but externally forms do not come into range, nor is there a corresponding engagement, then there is no appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness.

If internally the eye is intact and externally forms come into range, but there is no corresponding engagement, then there is no appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness.

But when internally the eye is intact and externally forms come into range, and there is a corresponding engagement, then there is the appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness.

The form of what has thus come into being is gathered under the form clinging- aggregate.

The feeling of what has thus come into being is gathered under the feeling clinging-aggregate.

The perception of what has thus come into being is gathered under the perception clinging-aggregate.

The fabrications of what has thus come into being are gathered under the fabrication clinging-aggregate.

The consciousness of what has thus come into being is gathered under the consciousness clinging-aggregate.

One discerns, This, it seems, is how there is the gathering, meeting, & convergence of these 5 clinging-aggregates.

Now, the Blessed One has said,

Whoever sees dependent co-arising sees the Dhamma;
whoever sees the Dhamma sees dependent co- arising.

And these things - the 5 clinging-aggregates - are dependently co-arisen.

Any desire, embracing, grasping, & holding-on to these 5 clinging-aggregates is the origination of Suffering.

Any subduing of desire & passion, any abandoning of desire & passion for these 5 clinging-aggregates is the cessation of Suffering.

And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.

Now if internally the ear is intact....

Now if internally the nose… the tongue… the body is intact..

Now if internally the intellect is intact but externally ideas do not come into range, nor is there a corresponding engagement, then there is no appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness.

If internally the intellect is intact and externally ideas come into range, but there is no corresponding engagement, then there is no appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness.

But when internally the intellect is intact and externally ideas come into range, and there is a corresponding engagement, then there is the appearing of the corresponding type of consciousness.

The form of what has thus come into being is gathered under the form clinging- aggregate.

The feeling of what has thus come into being is gathered under the feeling clinging-aggregate.

The perception of what has thus come into being is gathered under the perception clinging-aggregate.

The fabrications of what has thus come into being are gathered under the fabrication clinging-aggregate.

The consciousness of what has thus come into being is gathered under the consciousness clinging- aggregate.

One discerns, This, it seems, is how there is the gathering, meeting, & convergence of these 5 clinging-aggregates.

Now, the Blessed One has said,

Whoever sees dependent co-arising sees the Dhamma;
whoever sees the Dhamma sees dependent co-arising.

And these things - the 5 clinging-aggregates - are dependently co-arisen.

Any desire, embracing, grasping, & holding-on to these 5 clinging-aggregates is the origination of Suffering.

Any subduing of desire & passion, any abandoning of desire & passion for these 5 clinging-aggregates is the cessation of Suffering.

And even to this extent, friends, the monk has accomplished a great deal.

That is what Ven. Sāriputta said.

Gratified, the monks delighted in Ven. Sāriputtas words.