subscribeI became first drawn to the the Fire Sermon (Adittapariyaya-sutta) when reading Aldous Huxley’s Perrenial Philosophy’s chapter on Good and Evil. I went looking to penetrate and quantify the nature of these moral opposites and found instead a rousing poetic call to action. The sensuality of the dialectic, the simple audacity of the conclusive “Birth is exhausted…” make this a powerful and seductive read.
The Fire Sermon
Adittapariyaya-sutta
Thus I have heard. The blessed One was once living at Gayasia in Gaya with a thousand bhikkhus. There he addressed the bhikkhus:
‘Bhikkhus, all is burning. And what is the all that is burning?
‘Bhikkhus, the eye is burning, visible forms are burning, visual conciousness is burning, visual impression is burning, also what ever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, arises on account of the visual impression, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion; I say it is burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despair.
‘The ear is burning, sounds are burning, auditory consciousness is burning, auditory impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, arises on account of the auditory impression, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust….
‘The nose is burning, odours are burning, olfactory consciousness is burning, olfactory impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, arises on account of the auditory impression, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust….
‘The tongue is burning, flavours are burning, gustative consciousness is burning, gustative impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, arises on account of the auditory impression, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust….
‘The body is burning, tangible things are burning, tactile consciousness is burning, tactile impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, arises on account of the auditory impression, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust….
‘The mind is burning, mental objects, (ideas, etc.) are burning, mental consciousness is burning, mental impression is burning, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, arises on account of the auditory impression, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the first of hate, with the fire of delusion; I say it is burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despairs.
‘Bhikkhus, a learned and noble disciple, who sees (things) thus, becomes dispassionate with regard to the eye, becomes dispassionate with regard to visible forms, becomes dispassionate with regard to the visual consciousness, becomes dispassionate with regard to visual impression, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, arises on account of the vusal impression, with regard to that too he becomes dispassionate. He becomes dispassionate with regard to the ear, with regard to sounds…He becomes dispassionate with regard to the nose…with regard to odours…He becomes dispassionate with regard to tongue…with regard to flavours…He becomes dispassionate with regard to mental objects, (ideas, etc.), becomes dispassionate with regard to mental consciousness, becomes dispassionate with regards to mental impression, also whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, arises on account of mental impressions, with regard to that too he becomes dispassionate.
‘Being dispassionate, he becomes detached; through detachment he is liberated. When liberated there is knowledge that he is liberated. And he knows: Birth is exhausted, the holy life has been lived, what has to be done is done, there is no more left to be done on this account.’
This the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were gald, and they rejoiced at his words.
While this expostion was being delivered, the minds of those thousand bikkhus were liberated from impurites, without attachment.
(Samyutta-nikaya, XXXV, 28)
Translated by Walpola Rahula for “What the Buddha Taught”, expanded 1974 editition, from the original Pali if the Samyutta-nikaya of the Sutta-pitaka.
