IF HE SHOULD DESIRE– ÂKANKHEYYA-SUTTA
10. ‘If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to reach with his body and remain in those stages of deliverance which are incorporeal, and pass beyond
phenomena[1], let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!’
11. ‘If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, by the complete destruction of the three Bonds to become converted, to be no longer liable to be reborn in a state of suffering, and to be assured of final salvation[2], let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!’
12. ‘If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, by the complete destruction of the three Bonds, and by the reduction to a minimum of lust, hatred, and delusion, to become a Sakadâgâmin, and (thus) on his first return to this world to make an end of sorrow, let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!’
[1. Aratiratisaho. Arati is the disinclination to fulfil the duties of a Samana, discontent with the restrictions of the Order.
2. The bliss here referred to, and described in detail below, Mahâ-Sudassana Sutta, Chap. III, is the ‘ecstasy of contemplation’ referred to in the refrain.]
Buddhist Suttas – Âkankheyya Sutta: If He Should Desire
Translated from Pâli by T. W. Rhys Davids [1881]
Âkankheyya Sutta: If He Should Desire