Thāna Sutta
(On the Five Bases No One Should Seek — sutta [48])
[48] — Opening
“Monks, there are five bases (thāna — positions / states sought as bases) which neither a recluse nor a brahmin, neither a deva nor a māra nor a brahmā, nor anyone in the world should obtain. What are the five?
One declares: ‘May what is liable to age (jarā) on my behalf not age.’ (jarā — aging; the natural process of decline) — this is one. ‘May what is liable to disease (roga) on my behalf not fall ill.’ (roga — sickness) — this is one. ‘May what is liable to death (maraṇa) on my behalf not die.’ (maraṇa — death) — this is one. ‘May what is liable to cessation (bhaya/nyūna?) on my behalf not cease.’ (here: loss, cessation, or going out of existence) — this is one. ‘May what is liable to ruin / destruction (khaṇa / saṅkhaya) on my behalf not be ruined.’ (saṅkhaya — destruction/ruin) — this is one. These five bases, monks, are things no one in the world should expect to obtain.”
The ordinary person’s (puthujjana) reaction
“Now, monks, for an ordinary person (puthujjana — the unawakened, ordinary person) who has not listened to the Dhamma, things that are by nature liable to age will age. When what is liable to age actually ages, that person does not reflect: ‘This is not only what is liable to age for me alone; in reality that which is liable to age ages for all beings that come and go, are born and perish.’ Instead, on seeing the aging of that thing, he grieves, he is distressed, he laments, he beats his breast, he wails and bewails, falls into confusion and delusion; even food becomes unpalatable, the body grows despondent and thin, work falters, enemies rejoice, friends grieve — such is his condition. When what is liable to age ages, he grieves and suffers; this is called a person who has not heard the Dhamma being struck by the arrow — the poisonous arrow — namely grief that pierces and causes him to suffer.”
“Likewise, monks, for that same ordinary person, things by nature liable to disease fall ill; things liable to death die; things liable to cessation cease; things liable to ruin are ruined. When such a ruin occurs, he fails to see: ‘This is not only my ruin; in truth the ruination of things occurs for all beings who are born, go, die, and come to be.’ He grieves, laments, beats his breast, wails, becomes deluded; food becomes unpalatable, the body emaciates, work halts, enemies rejoice, friends grieve — thus the unawakened person, struck by the arrow of poignant grief, brings suffering upon himself.”
The noble disciple’s (ariyasāvaka) response
“But, monks, when an ariyasāvaka (ariyasāvaka — a noble disciple who has heard and begun to understand the path) sees that what is liable to age is indeed aging, he sees clearly: ‘This is not merely what is liable to age for me alone that is aging; in truth what is liable to age ages for all beings that are born and pass away, that come and go.’ When that aging takes place, he does not grieve, he is not distressed, he does not wail or beat his breast, nor fall into delusion. This is called the noble disciple who has heard — he withdraws the arrow; the poisoned sorrow that pierces ordinary folk and causes them suffering is removed. The noble disciple, being free of that sorrow — free of the arrow — is able to still suffering for himself.”
“Similarly, monks, an ariyasāvaka sees that things liable to disease fall ill, things liable to death die, things liable to cessation cease, and things liable to ruin are ruined; and in seeing this, he does not grieve, he is not distressed, he does not fall into lamentation or confusion. Thus he withdraws the arrow — the poisonous grief — that afflicts ordinary people. The noble disciple stands free of that arrow and by his own understanding is able to make an end to suffering.”
Concluding admonition and reflection
“Therefore, monks, these five bases — the hopes that what will age should not age, that what will be sick should not be sick, that what will die should not die, that what will cease should not cease, or that what will be ruined should not be ruined — these five things no recluse, no brahmin, no deva, no māra, no brahmā, no one in the world should suppose to acquire.
Even the smallest advantage in this world is not gained by lamentation and weeping. When friends and enemies see someone grieving and in torment, enemies rejoice and friends feel sorrow; but when the wise one who has seen the truth remains unmoved in the face of danger, friends and foes see his composed countenance and smile as before. The wise person gains benefit through praise, knowledge, good counsel, generosity, or custom by striving appropriately; and if one understands that such demands — ‘let my aging not age, my sickness not be sick, my death not die’ — are impossible for oneself or others to obtain, one should refrain from grief and instead set about one’s duties decisively: ‘Now I will do what I must do.’”
Thus ends the Thāna Sutta (sutta 8 in this collection).
Short Pāli glossary (concise, intensive)
- thāna (thāna) — base / position / state one seeks as a support (here: a wished-for guarantee against aging, sickness, death, cessation, ruin).
- jarā (jarā) — aging; natural bodily/phenomenal decline.
- roga (roga) — disease / illness.
- maraṇa (maraṇa) — death.
- saṅkhaya / saṅkhaya-like term — destruction / ruination (text uses a term for “perishing” / “ruin” — rendered here as ruin/destruction).
- puthujjana (puthujjana) — ordinary person / unawakened person (one who hasn’t heard and practiced the Dhamma).
- ariyasāvaka (ariyasāvaka) — noble disciple (one who has heard the Dhamma and taken its training to heart).
- sāra-luk (arrow metaphor) — “struck by the arrow” — the image of being pierced by poisoned sorrow (killing pain of attachment).
- kilesa — defilements (greed, hatred, delusion) underlying the grief and grasping.
- nibbāna (nibbāna) — the unbinding; the ultimate release from being “struck” by such arrows (implied by the noble disciple’s freedom).