欲爲衆苦本 無欲則無苦 見此苦之源 應觀察欲樂 衆生常執取 執取故有苦 捨棄諸執取 安住寂靜樂 不爭論不諍 通達諸見已 心不動如山 無執取最上 見諸法如實 不取不捨離 此世彼世中 寂靜無所著
yù wèi zhòng kǔ běn wú yù zé wú kǔ jiàn cǐ kǔ zhī yuán yīng guān chá yù lè zhòng shēng cháng zhí qǔ zhí qǔ gù yǒu kǔ shě qì zhū zhí qǔ ān zhù jì jìng lè bù zhēng lùn bù zhēng tōng dá zhū jiàn yǐ xīn bù dòng rú shān wú zhí qǔ zuì shàng jiàn zhū fǎ rú shí bù qǔ bù shě lí cǐ shì bǐ shì zhōng jì jìng wú suǒ zhuó
Key Message
Attachment to desire and views is the root of suffering. When nothing is absolutized and everything is seen as it truly is, the mind becomes still and unmoving like a mountain.
▸The fourth chapter of the Sutta Nipāta, 'The Chapter of Eight Verses' (八頌品, Aṭṭhaka-vagga), consists of sixteen suttas, each primarily composed of eight verses (八頌), which gives the chapter its name.
The fourth chapter of the Sutta Nipāta, 'The Chapter of Eight Verses' (八頌品, Aṭṭhaka-vagga), consists of sixteen suttas, each primarily composed of eight verses (八頌), which gives the chapter its name. This is the most philosophically profound chapter in the entire Sutta Nipāta, and some scholars consider it to belong to the oldest stratum of the Sutta Nipāta. The core theme of the Chapter of Eight Verses is the problem of clinging (執取, upādāna) and freedom from it. The Buddha declares that desire (欲) is the root of all suffering, and teaches that no view or theory should be absolutized. Even attachment to one's own views becomes the seed of conflict and suffering. The highest attainment is to neither take up nor cling to anything, seeing all dharmas as they truly are (見法如實). The true practitioner is one whose mind does not waver like a mountain, one who is not pulled about by any view.