SN35.235 — The Fire Sermon
Disciples, I will teach you the Fire Sermon, a discourse on the Dhamma. Listen to it. And what is the Fire Sermon, the discourse on the Dhamma?
Disciples, it is better for the eye faculty to be pierced by a red-hot iron spike, blazing and glowing, than for one to grasp the signs and features in forms cognizable by the eye. If consciousness were to remain attached to the enjoyment of signs, and if at that time one were to die, there is the possibility of going to one of two destinations: hell or the animal realm. Seeing this danger I speak thus.
Disciples, it is better for the ear faculty to be pierced by a sharp, red-hot iron stake, blazing and glowing, than for one to grasp the signs and features in sounds cognizable by the ear. If consciousness were to remain attached to the enjoyment of signs, and if at that time one were to die, there is the possibility of going to one of two destinations: hell or the animal realm. Seeing this danger I speak thus.
Disciples, it is better for the nose faculty to be pierced by a sharp, red-hot nail, blazing and glowing, than for one to grasp the signs and features in smells cognizable by the nose. If consciousness were to remain attached to the enjoyment of signs, and if at that time one were to die, there is the possibility of going to one of two destinations: hell or the animal realm. Seeing this danger I speak thus.
Disciples, it is better for the tongue faculty to be pierced by a sharp, red-hot knife, blazing and glowing, than for one to grasp the signs and features in tastes cognizable by the tongue. If consciousness were to remain attached to the enjoyment of signs, and if at that time one were to die, there is the possibility of going to one of two destinations: hell or the animal realm. Seeing this danger I speak thus.
Disciples, it is better for the body faculty to be pierced by a sharp, red-hot spear, blazing and glowing, than for one to grasp the signs and features in tangibles cognizable by the body.
If consciousness were to remain attached to a sign or to a feature, and at that time one were to pass away, there is the possibility that one would go to one of two destinations: either to hell or to the animal realm. Seeing this danger I say thus. Better is the ear. However, I declare the ear to be barren of life, fruitless of life, deluded of life, but not to engage in such thoughts that, being led by them, one would break the community. Seeing this danger in the barren life I say thus.
There a learned noble disciple reflects thus: Let the eye faculty be scorched by a heated iron rod, burning, blazing, and glowing. I will focus my mind on this: the eye is impermanent, forms are impermanent, eye-consciousness is impermanent, eye-contact is impermanent, and whatever feeling arises with eye-contact as condition: be it pleasant, painful, or neither-painful-nor-pleasant: that too is impermanent.
Let the ear faculty be scorched by a sharp, heated, burning, blazing, and glowing iron spike. I will focus my mind on this: the ear is impermanent, sounds are impermanent, ear-consciousness is impermanent, ear-contact is impermanent, and whatever feeling arises with ear-contact as condition: be it pleasant, painful, or neither-painful-nor-pleasant: that too is impermanent.
Let the nose faculty be scorched by a sharp, heated, burning, blazing, and glowing nail cutter. I will focus my mind on this: the nose is impermanent, odors are impermanent, nose-consciousness is impermanent, nose-contact is impermanent, and whatever feeling arises with nose-contact as condition: be it pleasant, painful, or neither-painful-nor-pleasant: that too is impermanent.
Let the tongue faculty be scorched by a sharp, heated, burning, blazing, and glowing razor. I will focus my mind on this: the tongue is impermanent, tastes are impermanent, tongue-consciousness is impermanent, tongue-contact is impermanent, and whatever feeling arises with tongue-contact as condition: be it pleasant, painful, or neither-painful-nor-pleasant: that too is impermanent.
Let the body faculty be scorched by a sharp, heated, burning, blazing, and glowing spear. I will focus my mind on this: the body is impermanent, tangibles are impermanent, body-consciousness is impermanent, body-contact is impermanent, and whatever feeling arises with body-contact as condition: be it pleasant, painful, or neither-painful-nor-pleasant: that too is impermanent.
Let the ear be for now. I will focus on this: the mind is impermanent, phenomena are impermanent, mental consciousness is impermanent, mental contact is impermanent, and whatever feeling arises dependent on mental contact: whether pleasant, painful, or neither-painful-nor-pleasant: that too is impermanent.
Seeing thus a learned noble disciple becomes disenchanted with the eye, disenchanted with forms, disenchanted with eye-consciousness, disenchanted with eye-contact... and whatever feeling arises dependent on mental contact: whether pleasant, painful, or neither-painful-nor-pleasant: he becomes disenchanted with that too.
Becoming disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate; through dispassion, he is liberated; with liberation, there is the knowing: Liberated. He understands: Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more of this state of being.
This is the discourse on the fire, the discourse on the Dhamma.