Majjhima Nikāya

  The Tathagata gives an exposition on the root of all suffering: the attachment to being and the self-views that arise from taking on a body as a being separate from the world. A liberated person, on the other hand, has destroyed the craving for being, let go of greed, aversion, delusion, and any sense of self, and has fully awakened to unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment.

  The Tathagata explains the different types of defilements and the seven methods that should be used to abandon them: seeing, restraining, using, avoiding, enduring, removing, and developing.

  The Blessed One, while at Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, instructed disciples on the importance of virtue and adherence to the monastic code. He emphasized the need for self-awareness in recognizing states of mind, whether tainted by lust, hatred, delusion, or distraction, and the importance of cultivating a mind that is concentrated, liberated, and tranquil. Disciples are urged to live virtuously, maintain internal tranquility, practice jhāna, develop insight, and seek solitude for deeper cultivation. The discourse highlights the significance of moral conduct, restraint, and continuous training in the monastic rules. The disciples received these teachings with delight and approval.

  The Vatthasutta recounts a teaching by the Blessed One at Sāvatthī, emphasizing the importance of mental purity. He compares the mind to a cloth, explaining that just as a clean cloth takes dye well, an undefiled mind leads to a good destination. He lists various mental defilements such as greed, ill will, and deceit, and stresses the importance of abandoning these to achieve purity. The sutta also describes the virtues of unwavering confidence in the Tathagata, Dhamma, and Sangha, and the practice of pervading the world with loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. The sutta concludes with the story of the Brahmin Sundarika Bharadvaja, who, inspired by the Tathagata's teachings on the futility of ritual bathing in rivers for purification, seeks refuge in the Tathagata, Dhamma, and Sangha, eventually attaining arahantship.

   Venerable Sāriputta gives a detailed explanation of right view, the first factor of the noble eightfold path. At the prompting of the other desciples, he approaches the topic from a wide range of perspectives.

  This sutta covers many practices found throughout the canon, especially mindfulness of the body, and is one of the most comprehensive discourses on practicing the gradual path.

  The Tathagata explains that to attain liberation, one has to fully understand clinging, its origin, and its cessation. He covers the four different types of clinging.

   A disrobed disciple, Sunakkhatta, attacks the Tathagata’s teaching because it merely leads to the end of suffering. The Tathagata counters that this is, in fact, praise, and goes on to enumerate his many profound and powerful achievements.

   Challenged to show the difference between his teaching and that of other ascetics, the Tathagata points out that they speak of letting go, but do not really understand why. He then explains in great detail the suffering that arises from attachment to sensual stimulation.

   A lay person is puzzled at how, despite their long practice, they still have greedy or hateful thoughts. The Tathagata explains the importance of Jhana for letting go such attachments. But he also criticizes self-mortification, and recounts a previous dialog with Jain ascetics.

  Venerable Moggallāna raises the topic of admonishment, without which healthy community is not possible. He lists a number of qualities that will encourage others to think it worthwhile to admonish you in a constructive way.

   Challenged by a brahmin, the Tathagata gives an enigmatic response on how conflict arises due to proliferation based on perceptions. Venerable Kaccāna draws out the detailed implications of this in one of the most insightful passages in the entire canon.

  The Tathagata explains how to develop Right Intention by dividing thoughts into two kinds, wholesome and unwholesome, and how single-minded intention leads to Jhana, Right Concentration and then ultimately to letting go of all intention.

  The Vitakkasaṇṭhānasutta, delivered by the Blessed One at Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, outlines methods for disciples to manage and overcome unwholesome thoughts related to desire, aversion, and delusion. The Tathagata advises shifting focus to wholesome thoughts, examining the dangers of negative thoughts, ignoring them, and calming thought formations. Techniques include comparing the aversion to carrying a carcass and physically restraining thoughts by clenching teeth. These practices help stabilize and concentrate the mind, leading to mastery over one's thoughts and ultimately ending suffering. The disciples received these teachings with satisfaction and delight.

   A discourse full of vibrant and memorable similes, on the importance of patience and love even when faced with abuse and criticism. The Tathagata finishes with the simile of the saw, one of the most memorable similes found in the discourses.

   One of the disciples denies that prohibited conduct is really a problem. The disciples and then the Tathagata subject him to an impressive dressing down. The Tathagata compares someone who understands only the letter of the teachings to someone who grabs a snake by the tail, and also invokes the famous simile of the raft.

   Venerable Sāriputta seeks a dialog with an esteemed disciple, Venerable Puṇṇa Mantāniputta, and they discuss the stages of purification.

   This is one of the most important biographical discourses, telling the Tathagata’s experiences from leaving home to realizing awakening. Throughout, he was driven by the imperative to fully escape from rebirth and suffering.

   The Tathagata cautions against swift conclusions about a teacher’s spiritual accomplishments, comparing it to the care a tracker would use when tracking elephants. He presents the full training of a monastic.

  In this sutta, Venerable Sāriputta, the Tathagata’s chief disciple in wisdom, explains how the entire teaching can be understood through the Five Aggregates, the elements, and dependent origination. It uses the famous simile of the elephant’s footprint, illustrating how all teachings fit within the Four Noble Truths. It provides a profound analysis of the five aggregates and their impermanence. Furthermore, it explains how wisdom leads to detachment and liberation.

   In a less confrontational meeting, the Tathagata and Saccaka discuss the difference between physical and mental development. The Tathagata gives a long account of the various practices he did before awakening, detailing the astonishing lengths he took to mortify the body.

  The great discourse on the destruction of craving starts out describing how consciousness is dependently originated and how to bring about the cessation of craving. It then describes in detail the gradual path.

  The Greater Discourse at Assapura is a comprehensive discourse on the true meaning of being a renunciant. The Tathagata explains that being a true renunciant is not about outward appearance, but about internal transformation—developing virtue, restraint, mental training, and wisdom until one attains full liberation. This sutta provides a step-by-step guide on how to move from superficial renunciation to true spiritual progress, leading to Arahantship.

   A series of questions and answers between Sāriputta and Mahākoṭṭhita, examining various subtle and abstruse aspects of the teachings.

   The layman Visākha asks the nun Dhammadinnā about various difficult matters, including some of the highest Jhana attainments. The Tathagata fully endorses her answers.

  In the Aṭṭhakanāgara Sutta, the householder Dasama from Aṭṭhakanagara seeks out Venerable Ānanda in Vesālī to learn about a single Dhamma taught by the Tathagata that can liberate an unliberated mind and destroy taints. Ānanda explains that through practices like entering various jhānas and developing boundless loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, a disciple can achieve liberation or reach higher realms. Dasama, inspired by the teachings, honors Ānanda and supports the monastic community, expressing gratitude for discovering multiple paths to enlightenment.

  The Tathagata is invited by his family, the Sakyans of Kapilavatthu, to inaugurate a new community hall. He invites Venerable Ānanda to explain in detail the stages of spiritual practice for a lay trainee.

   When Potaliya got upset at being referred to as “householder”, the Tathagata quizzed him as to the true nature of attachment and renunciation.

   The Tathagata resolves a disagreement on the number of kinds of feelings that he taught, pointing out that different ways of teaching are appropriate in different contexts, and should not be a cause of disputes. He goes on to show the importance of pleasure in developing higher levels of abiding.

  The Mahārāhulovāda Sutta is a powerful discourse given by the Tathagata to his son, Venerable Rāhula. In this sutta, the Tathagata teaches various practices to develop detachment, wisdom, and concentration. This discourse is significant because it provides structured training suitable for both beginners and advanced practitioners. It teaches non-self, mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati), and the four elements. It emphasizes detachment from the body and mind, leading to liberation.

   A little baby has no wrong views or intentions, but the underlying tendency for these things is still there. Without practicing, they will inevitably recur.

   Again raising the rule regarding eating, but this time as a reflection of gratitude for the Tathagata in eliminating things that cause complexity and stress. The Tathagata emphasizes how attachment even to little things can be dangerous.

   A third discourse that presents the health benefits of eating in one part of the day, and the reluctance of some deciples to follow this.

   Unlike many teachers, the Tathagata’s followers treat him with genuine love and respect, since they see the sincerity of his teaching and practice.

   A wanderer teaches that a person has reached the highest attainment when they keep four basic ethical precepts. The Tathagata’s standards are considerably higher.

  A wealthy young man, Raṭṭhapāla, has a strong aspiration to go forth, but has to prevail against the reluctance of his parents. Even after he became a disciple, his parents tried to persuade him to disrobe. The discourse ends with a moving series of teachings on the fragility of the world.

   The reputed brahmin Caṅkī goes with a large group to visit the Tathagata, despite the reservations of other brahmins. A precocious student challenges the Tathagata, affirming the validity of the Vedic scriptures. The Tathagata gives a detailed explanation of how true understanding gradually emerges through spiritual education.

   Not all of those who claim to be awakened are genuine. The Tathagata teaches how true spiritual progress depends on an irreversible letting go of the forces that lead to suffering.

  The Blessed One taught disciples at Kammāsadhamma about transcending sensual pleasures, which are impermanent and deceptive, belonging to Māra. He outlined paths leading to the Imperturbable and the Dimension of Nothingness, emphasizing the importance of overcoming attachments to achieve serenity and potentially rebirth in higher realms or final Nibbāna. The discourse concludes with the reminder to meditate diligently to avoid future regrets, highlighting the teachings on liberation through non-clinging to perceptions and identity views.

   The Tathagata compares the training of an accountant with the step by step spiritual path of his followers. But even with such a well explained path, the Tathagata can only show the way, and it is up to us to walk it.

  Amid rising military tensions after the Tathagata’s death, Venerable Ānanda is questioned about how the Saṅgha planned to continue in their teacher’s absence. As the Tathagata refused to appoint a successor, the teaching and practice that he laid down become the teacher, and the Saṅgha resolves issues by consensus.

  The Tathagata describes the process of insight as practiced by Venerable Sāriputta, detailing in great detail the different phenomena as they arise and pass away.

   A discourse on the prerequisites of right concentration that emphasizes the interrelationship and mutual support of all the factors of the eightfold path. It covers both the mundane and super mundane versions of the path.

   Surrounded by many well-practiced desciples, the Tathagata teaches mindfulness of breathing in detail, showing how it relates to the four kinds of mindfulness practice.

  This covers the first foundation of mindfulness, mindfulness of the body and all the different practices.

   The Tathagata describes his own practice of dwelling in emptiness.

  The Tathagata teaches on the importance of seclusion in order to enter fully into emptiness.

   A young disciple is unable to persuade a prince of the blessings of peace of mind. The Tathagata offers similes based on training an elephant that would have been successful, as this was a field the prince was familiar with.

   A lay person becomes confused when encouraged to develop the “limitless” and “expansive” liberations, and asks Venerable Anuruddha to explain whether they are the same or different.

   A second discourse set at the quarrel of Kosambi, this depicts the Tathagata, having failed to achieve reconciliation between the disputing desciples, leaving the monastery. He spends time in the wilderness before encountering an inspiring community of practicing disciples. There he discusses in detail obstacles to practice that he encountered before awakening.

  The Bhaddekarattasutta recounts a teaching by the Blessed One at Sāvatthī, where he instructs disciples on the importance of living in the present. He advises against dwelling on the past or longing for the future, emphasizing that what is past is gone and the future is uncertain. Instead, one should focus on the present moment, observing it clearly without attachment. This mindfulness and detachment help develop the mind. The Tathagata stresses the urgency of practicing diligently, as death could come at any moment, and there is no negotiating with mortality. Living ardently and mindfully each day and night is deemed having an excellent night, according to the peaceful sage. The disciples express their appreciation for this teaching.

   The Tathagata explains to a brahmin how your deeds in past lives affect you in this life.

   A detailed analysis of the six senses and the relation to emotional and cognitive processes.

   The Tathagata gives a brief and enigmatic statement on the ways consciousness may become attached. Venerable Mahākaccāna is invited by the deciples to draw out the implications.

   While staying overnight in a potter’s workshop, the Tathagata has a chance encounter with a disciple who does not recognize him. They have a long and profound discussion based on the four elements. This is one of the most insightful and moving discourses in the canon.

  The Tathāgata delivers a brief statement of the Four Noble Truths. Then Venerable Sāriputta expands upon it in detail, making this sutta one of the most complete teachings on the Four Noble Truths. Venerable Sāriputta shows how everything tied to the five aggregates is dukkha: The body is subject to birth, aging, and death. Pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feelings are all impermanent. What we perceive changes over time. Awareness depends on external conditions and is not permanent. Venerable Sāriputta explains that The Root of Suffering is craving, the fuel for rebirth. The mind constantly grasps at things, creating attachment and suffering. Craving arises from ignorance—not understanding that everything is impermanent. Venerable Sāriputta describes Nibbāna as the complete cessation of craving. It is not a state of nothingness, but the freedom from all suffering and attachment. It is beyond birth and death—a state of peace and liberation. Nibbāna is not something one “attains” but the realization of the cessation of craving. Venerable Sāriputta breaks down each factor of the Eightfold Path, explaining how they work together. Right View: Understanding suffering, impermanence, and non-self. Right Intention: Developing renunciation, goodwill, and compassion. Right Speech, Action, and Livelihood: Establishing ethical conduct. Right Effort, Mindfulness, and Concentration: Training the mind to let go of craving.

  The Channovādasutta recounts an episode where the Tathagata's disciples, Sāriputta and Mahācunda, visit the gravely ill Channa at Vulture’s Peak. Channa expresses his intense suffering and contemplation of suicide. Sāriputta and Mahācunda offer help and encourage him to live, emphasizing the availability of necessities like food, medicine, and care. They engage Channa in a discussion about non-attachment to the physical senses and consciousness, highlighting the teaching on impermanence and non-self. Despite their counsel, Channa later takes his own life. The Tathagata later declares Channa blameless for his actions, emphasizing his spiritual understanding and liberation from physical suffering.

  The Cūḷarāhulovādasutta recounts a teaching given by the Tathagata to his son Rahula at Sāvatthī in the Jeta Grove. The Tathagata, after his morning alms, instructs Rahula on the impermanence and suffering associated with the eye, forms, consciousness, and other sensory experiences. He emphasizes that these transient and painful elements should not be identified as 'self'. Through a series of questions, the Tathagata guides Rahula to see that all components of sensory experience are impermanent, lead to suffering, and are not self. This realization leads Rahula to become disenchanted and dispassionate, ultimately liberating his mind from defilements. The discourse concludes with Rahula's enlightenment, marked by the arising of the Dhamma-eye, recognizing the transient nature of all phenomena.

   The Tathagata teaches how to contemplate the six senses from six perspectives, and discern the unsubstantial nature of all of them.

   Explains how insight into the six senses is integrated with the eightfold path and leads to liberation.

   In discussion with a group of householders, the Tathagata helps them to distinguish those spiritual practitioners who are truly worthy of respect.

  The Blessed One, while at Suveḷuvana in Gajaṅgala, engaged in a dialogue with Uttara, a student of the brahmin Pārāsiviya. Uttara explained that Pārāsiviya taught the development of faculties by not perceiving forms or sounds, which the Blessed One critiqued as equivalent to being blind or deaf. The Blessed One then taught the unsurpassed development of faculties in the discipline of the Noble One, emphasizing equanimity in response to sensory experiences. This involves recognizing the transient, conditioned nature of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral sensations and maintaining equanimity. The discourse concludes with the Blessed One instructing on the importance of meditation and vigilance.