Dwelling in Heedlessness
Pamādavihārin Sutta (SN 35:97)
“Monks, I will teach you about one who dwells in heedlessness and one who dwells in heedfulness. Listen & pay careful attention, I will speak.”
“As you say, lord,” the monks responded to the Blessed One.
The Blessed One said: “And how does one dwell in heedlessness? When a monk dwells without restraint over the faculty of the eye, the mind is stained with forms cognizable via the eye. When the mind is stained, there is no joy. There being no joy, there is no rapture. There being no rapture, there is no calm. There being no calm, he dwells in pain. When pained, the mind does not become centered. When the mind is uncentered, phenomena don’t become manifest. When phenomena aren’t manifest, he is reckoned simply as one who dwells in heedlessness.
“When a monk dwells without restraint over the ear… nose… tongue… body…
“When a monk dwells without restraint over the faculty of the intellect, the mind is stained with ideas cognizable via the intellect. When the mind is stained, there is no joy. There being no joy, there is no rapture. There being no rapture, there is no calm. There being no calm, he dwells in pain. When pained, the mind does not become centered. When the mind is uncentered, phenomena don’t become manifest. When phenomena aren’t manifest, he is reckoned simply as one who dwells in heedlessness.
“This is how one dwells in heedlessness.
“And how does one dwell in heedfulness? When a monk dwells with restraint over the faculty of the eye, the mind is not stained with forms cognizable via the eye. When the mind is not stained, joy is born. In one who has joy, rapture is born. The body of one enraptured at heart grows calm. When the body is calm, one feels pleasure. Feeling pleasure, the mind becomes centered. When the mind is centered, phenomena become manifest. When phenomena are manifest, he is reckoned as one who dwells in heedfulness.
“When a monk dwells with restraint over the ear… nose… tongue… body…
“When a monk dwells with restraint over the faculty of the intellect, the mind is not stained with ideas cognizable via the intellect. When the mind is not stained, joy is born. In one who has joy, rapture is born. The body of one enraptured at heart grows calm. When the body is calm, one feels pleasure. Feeling pleasure, the mind becomes centered. When the mind is centered, phenomena become manifest. When phenomena are manifest, he is reckoned as one who dwells in heedfulness.
“This is how one dwells in heedfulness.”
