Skip to main content

SN 36.31 three kinds of liberations (vimokkha), unclear in all existing translations

Most of this sutta is straightforward and clear in meaning, 

fitting cleanly into the matrix.

but the last part on vimokkha breaks the pattern of having 3 types corresponding exactly to:

1) carnal (sa-misa) = ignorant worldling indulges in 5 cords of sensual pleasure

2) non-carnal (nira-misa) = a disciple of Buddha  practicing one of the 4 jhānas

3) even better than non-carnal = an arahant reviewing their mind free of defilements.


I post the translations of Thanissaro, Bodhi, and Sujato here for reference, as I set to make a translation of SN 36.31 that's completely clear and explicit in meaning.

None of these existing translations make sense to me, aside from the 3rd category of an arahant.

The first two types don't follow the matrix from the rest of the sutta, and Tv commentary adds nothing of note to help make sense of it.


B. Thanissaro has

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN36_31.html

“And what is liberation of the flesh? Liberation associated with form is of the flesh. What is liberation not of the flesh? Liberation associated with the formless is not of the flesh.

“And what is the liberation more not-of-the-flesh than that not of the flesh? Whatever liberation arises in an effluent-ended monk as he is reflecting on his mind released from passion, reflecting on his mind released from aversion, reflecting on his mind released from delusion, that is called liberation more not-of-the-flesh than that not of the flesh.”



B. Bodhi has


“And what, bhikkhus, is carnal deliverance?
Deliverance connected with the form sphere is carnal deliverance.

“And what, bhikkhus, is spiritual deliverance?
Deliverance connected with the formless sphere is spiritual deliverance.
261 “And what, bhikkhus, is deliverance more spiritual than the spiritual?
When a bhikkhu whose taints are destroyed reviews his mind liberated from lust, liberated from hatred, liberated from delusion, there arises deliverance.
This is called deliverance more spiritual than the spiritual.”


footnote 261:

261 Having called the rapture, etc.
, of the jhānas spiritual (lit.
“noncarnal”) rapture, etc.
, it seems contradictory for the text to say that the form-sphere deliverance is carnal.
Spk explains that form-sphere deliverance is called carnal because its object is a carnal form (rūpāmisavasen’eva sāmiso nāma).


SN 36.31: Nirāmisasutta—Bhikkhu Sujato (suttacentral.net)


And what is liberation of the flesh?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, sāmiso vimokkho?Liberation connected with form is liberation of the flesh.Rūpappaṭisaṁyutto vimokkho sāmiso vimokkho.

And what is liberation not of the flesh?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, nirāmiso vimokkho?Liberation connected with the formless is liberation not of the flesh.Arūpappaṭisaṁyutto vimokkho nirāmiso vimokkho.

And what is liberation even more spiritual than that not of the flesh?Katamo ca, bhikkhave, nirāmisā nirāmisataro vimokkho?When a mendicant who has ended the defilements reviews their mind free from greed, hate, and delusion, liberation arises. This is called liberation even more spiritual than that not of the flesh.”Yo kho, bhikkhave, khīṇāsavassa bhikkhuno rāgā cittaṁ vimuttaṁ paccavekkhato, dosā cittaṁ vimuttaṁ paccavekkhato, mohā cittaṁ vimuttaṁ paccavekkhato uppajjati vimokkho, ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, nirāmisā nirāmisataro vimokkho”ti.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Advice to younger meditators on jhāna, sex, porn, masturbation

Someone asked: Is porn considered harmful sexual.activity? I don't have a sex life because I don't have a partner and I don't wish to engage in casual sex so I use porn to quench the biological urge to orgasm. I can't see that's it's harmful because nobody is being forced into it. The actors are all paid well and claim to enjoy it etc. The only harm I can see is that it's so accessible these days on smart devices and so children may access it but I believe that this is the parents responsibility to not allow unsupervised use of devices etc. Views? Frankk response: In another thread, you asked about pleasant sensations and jhāna.  I'm guessing you're young, so here's some important advice you won't get from suttas   if you're serious about jhāna.  (since monastics are already celibate by rule)   If you want to attain stable and higher jhānas,   celibacy and noble silence to the best of your ability are the feedstock and prerequiste to tha...
Post a Comment
Read more

SN 48.40 Ven. Thanissaro comments on Ven. Sunyo's analysis

This was Ven. Sunyo's analysis of SN 48.40: https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2024/05/exciting-news-honest-ebt-scholars-like.html And here is Ven. Thanissaro's response to that analysis: I think there’s a better way to tackle the issue of SN 48:40 than by appealing to the oldest layers of commentarial literature. That way is to point out that SN 48:40, as we have it, doesn’t pass the test in DN 16 for determining what’s genuine Dhamma and what’s not. There the standard is, not the authority of the person who’s claiming to report the Buddha’s teachings, but whether the teachings he’s reporting are actually in accordance with the principles of the Dhamma that you know. So the simple fact that those who have passed the Buddha’s teachings down to us say that a particular passage is what the Buddha actually taught is not sufficient grounds for accepting it. In the case of the jhānas—the point at issue here— we have to take as our guide the standard formula for the jhānas, a...
Post a Comment
Read more

1min. video: Dalai Lama kissing boy and asking him to suck his tongue

To give more context, this is a public event,  * everyone knows cameras are rolling  *  it's a room full of children * the boy's mom is standing off camera a few feet away watching all of this * the boy initiated contact, he had already had a hug with Dalai Lama earlier and then asked Dalai Lama for another hug which triggered this segment  17 min. video showing what happened before that 1 min. clip and after, with some explanation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT0qey5Ts78 16min talk from Ajahn Acalo with his thoughts on Dalai Lama kissing boy, relevance to Bhikkhu monastic code, sexual predators in religion in general, and how celibate monastics deal with sexual energy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK2m0TcUib0 The child's comments about the incident in a filmed interview later https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/world-news/2023/04/18/643eba5d46163ffc078b457c.html The child: It's a great experience It was amazing to meet His Holiness and I think it's a great ex...
Post a Comment
Read more