AN5.23 — Impurities Sutta
Disciples, these five impurities of gold, which when present in gold, make it neither pliable, workable, nor radiant, and it does not properly come to fulfillment in any craftsmanship. What are the five?
Iron, copper, tin, lead, and silver: these are the five impurities of gold, which when present in gold, make it neither pliable, workable, nor radiant, and it does not properly come to fulfillment in any craftsmanship.
But when gold is freed from these five impurities, it becomes pliable, workable, and radiant; it is not brittle and properly comes to fulfillment in any craftsmanship. Whatever ornament one wishes to make from it: whether a ring, earrings, a necklace, or a golden chain: it serves that purpose.
Similarly these are the five impurities of the mind, which when present in the mind, make it neither pliable, workable, nor radiant, and it does not properly attain concentration for the destruction of the taints. What are the five?
Sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and doubt: these are the five impurities of the mind, which when present in the mind, make it neither pliable, workable, nor radiant, and it does not properly attain concentration for the destruction of the taints.
But when the mind is freed from these five impurities, it becomes pliable, workable, and radiant; it is not brittle and properly attains concentration for the destruction of the taints.
For whatever higher knowing one wishes to direct the mind towards: whether it be various kinds of psychic powers, such as being one and becoming many, becoming many and being one; appearing and disappearing; going through walls, ramparts, and mountains unobstructed as if through space; diving in and out of the earth as if it were water; walking on water as if it were earth; flying through the air like a bird; touching and stroking the sun and moon, mighty and powerful as they are, with ones hand; exercising mastery with the body as far as the Brahma world: one is able to witness this in each and every case.
If one wishes to hear both divine and human sounds, far and near, with the divine ear element, purified and surpassing the human, one is able to witness this in each and every case.
If one wishes to understand the minds of other beings, other persons, having encompassed them with ones own mind: to know a mind with lust as with lust, a mind without lust as without lust; a mind with hatred as with hatred, a mind without hatred as without hatred; a mind with delusion as with delusion, a mind without delusion as without delusion; a contracted mind as contracted, a distracted mind as distracted; an exalted mind as exalted, an unexalted mind as unexalted; a surpassable mind as surpassable, an unsurpassable mind as unsurpassable; a concentrated mind as concentrated, an unconcentrated mind as unconcentrated; a liberated mind as liberated, an unliberated mind as unliberated: one is able to witness this in each and every case.
If one wishes to recollect ones manifold past lives, that is, one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many eons of world-contraction, many eons of world-expansion, many eons of world-contraction and expansion: remembering, There I was named so-and-so, had such a clan, such a color, such food, experienced such happiness and suffering, and had such a lifespan.
Passing away from there, I reappeared elsewhere; and there too I was named so-and-so, had such a clan, such a color, such food, experienced such happiness and suffering, and had such a lifespan.
Passing away from there, I reappeared here,: recalling ones manifold past lives in their aspects and details, one is able to witness this in each and every case.
When he achieves the base consisting of boundless space, he can, if he wishes, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, see beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and understand how beings pass on according to their actions, thinking:
These beings who were endowed with bad conduct of body, speech, and mind, who reviled the noble ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views, with the breakup of the body, after death, have reappeared in a state of deprivation, in a bad destination, in perdition, even in hell; but these beings who were endowed with good conduct of body, speech, and mind, who did not revile the noble ones, who held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views, with the breakup of the body, after death, have reappeared in a good destination, even in the heavenly world.
Thus, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, he can see beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and understand how beings pass on according to their actions.
There and then he achieves the ability to witness this at that base consisting of boundless space. If he wishes: May I realize for myself, with direct knowing, here and now, the deliverance of mind, the deliverance by wisdom that is taintless, having realized it for myself with direct knowing, may I dwell in it, there and then he achieves the ability to witness this at that base consisting of boundless space.