Dialogues of the Buddha, Part II — trans. T. W. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids (1910)

Birth is painful, old age is painful 2, death is painful, grief, lamentation, suffering, misery and despair are painful, painful is it not to get what is wished for, in

1 What follows (down to the line and space on p. 345) is not found in the Majjhima recension of the Satipa/Mana (M. I, 55 ff.). Except for this the two recensions agree, and ours here is doubtless called the Maha-satipa//Mna, precisely because, to that extent, it is longer. That would show that when that title was first used the Majjhima recension was already known. It would not follow that the Digha is younger than the Majjhima; they may have been edited at the same time from older material.

The Digha addition is interesting as containing a fragment of Old Commentary (as old as the texts) of which other fragments are found in the Nikayas, and also in the Vinaya.

The Vibhanga (99-106) quotes this Digha addition verbatim.

2 Many MSS. and the Colombo edition of 1876 add 'disease is painful.' But this is not mentioned in the word-for-word commentary that follows. It is probably transferred as a gloss from the Sawvutta recension of the Four Truths (S. V, 421) which differs slightly from that of the repeaters of the Digha (the Dighabhawaka).

III. Z33& XXII. MAHA SATIPATTtfANA SUTTANTA. D. ii. 305. a word, the Five Groups that arise from Grasping are connected with pain l.

And what, bhikkhus, is birth ? Birth is the production, the outcome 2, the rising up in a new form, the appearance of the Groups, the acquisition of sensespheres, by this or that being in this or that class of beings. This is what is called birth.

And what, bhikkhus, is growing old3? Growing old is the decay, the decrepitude, the breaking-up, the hoariness, the wrinkled state, the shrinkage of life's span, the collapse 4 of the sense-faculties of this or that being in this or that class of beings. This is what is called growing old.

And what, bhikkhus, is dying ?

Dying is the fall (out of any state), the dropping out of it, the dissolution, the disappearance, the death, the dying, the accomplishment of the life-term, the breaking up of the Groups, the laying down of the body of this or that being in this or that class of beings. This is called dying.

And what, bhikkhus, is grief?

Grieving is the state of woe, heart ache, and affliction. The inward grief, the hidden wretchedness, of one who is visited by some calamity or other, of one who is smitten by some kind of ill. [306] This is what is called grief.

And what, bhikkhus, is lamenting ?

1 Pane' upadanakkhandha. The Groups are the five groups of material and mental qualities that form, in combination brought about by grasping, an individual. One might, therefore, express this central thought of the first Aryan truth in modern Western language by saying that pain is involved in individuality — a most pregnant and far reaching suggestion. The rest o/ the Truth is merely a statement of facts universally admitted.

2 Saiijati only found elsewhere as yet Digha I, 227, where it means the produce arising out of an estate and accruing to the landlord.

3 Cf. Dh. S. and Bud. Psy. on rupassa jarata. (§ 644).

* Paripaka, which in all other passages means maturity, must here mean over-ripeness, loss of power through having reached their full vigour and begun to give out.

p. 339

Lamenting is the act and the state of mourning, lamentation, deploring, of one who is visited by some calamity or other, of one who is smitten by some kind of ill. This is what is called lamenting.

And what, bhikkhus, is suffering ?

Suffering is bodily ill, bodily pain, ill that is born of bodily contact, the being bodily affected by what is painful. This is what is called suffering.

And what, bhikkhus, is misery ?

Misery is mental ill, mental pain, ill that is born of mental contact, the being mentally affected by what is painful. This is what is called misery.

And what, bhikkhus, is despair ?