Reading guide
A brahmin's practical question
Saṅgārava asks why sometimes even long-rehearsed hymns won't come to mind, while other times even unrehearsed material spontaneously surfaces — a question about memory and mental clarity, not doctrine, put to the Buddha by someone from an entirely different religious tradition.
Five hindrances, five clouded reflections
The Buddha's answer names the five hindrances (nīvaraṇa): sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt. Each is pictured as a bowl of water in a specific, vivid state — mixed with dye, boiling, covered in moss, stirred by wind, or murky and hidden in darkness — in which even a clear-eyed person checking their own reflection couldn't truly see it.
Freed from the hindrances, five clear reflections
The mirror image for each: undyed water, unboiled water, moss-free water, undisturbed water, and water that's transparent and brought into the light — in each case, a clear-eyed person's reflection is immediately, effortlessly visible.
Memory as a symptom, not the real subject
Though framed around a scholar's concern with hymn recitation, this discourse's real subject is broader: the five hindrances don't only block memory, but block seeing ‘what is good for yourself, good for another, or good for both’ — clarity in general, of which memory is simply one visible symptom.
A teaching translated for its audience
This is a genuinely cross-traditional move: rather than framing the five hindrances doctrinally, the Buddha meets Saṅgārava's own concern — Vedic hymn recitation — directly, using it as the entry point for a teaching that applies far beyond memorization.
A convert, like the brahmins before him
As with Doṇa at AN 5.192 and Kāraṇapālī later in this chapter, Saṅgārava closes by taking lifelong refuge — another instance of this chapter's recurring pattern: a brahmin, approaching with a genuine question, leaving as a lay follower.
Key terms
The text
Five hindrances, five clouded reflections
§1“Brahmin, there’s a time when your heart is overcome and mired in sensual desire and you don’t truly understand the escape from sensual desire that has arisen. At that time you don’t truly know or see what is good for yourself, good for another, or good for both. Even hymns that are long-rehearsed don’t spring to mind, let alone those that are not rehearsed. Suppose there was a bowl of water that was mixed with dye such as red lac, turmeric, indigo, or rose madder. Even a person with clear eyes checking their own reflection wouldn’t truly know it or see it. In the same way, when your heart is overcome and mired in sensual desire … Even hymns that are long-rehearsed don’t spring to mind, let alone those that are not rehearsed. Furthermore, when your heart is overcome and mired in ill will … Even hymns that are long-rehearsed don’t spring to mind, let alone those that are not rehearsed. Suppose there was a bowl of water that was heated by fire, boiling and bubbling. Even a person with clear eyes checking their own reflection wouldn’t truly know it or see it. In the same way, when your heart is overcome and mired in ill will … Even hymns that are long-rehearsed don’t spring to mind, let alone those that are not rehearsed. Furthermore, when your heart is overcome and mired in dullness and drowsiness … Even hymns that are long-rehearsed don’t spring to mind, let alone those that are not rehearsed. Suppose there was a bowl of water overgrown with moss and aquatic plants. Even a person with clear eyes checking their own reflection wouldn’t truly know it or see it. In the same way, when your heart is overcome and mired in dullness and drowsiness … Even hymns that are long-rehearsed don’t spring to mind, let alone those that are not rehearsed. Furthermore, when your heart is overcome and mired in restlessness and remorse … Even hymns that are long-rehearsed don’t spring to mind, let alone those that are not rehearsed. Suppose there was a bowl of water stirred by the wind, churning, swirling, and rippling. Even a person with clear eyes checking their own reflection wouldn’t truly know it or see it. In the same way, when your heart is overcome and mired in restlessness and remorse … Even hymns that are long-rehearsed don’t spring to mind, let alone those that are not rehearsed. Furthermore, when your heart is overcome and mired in doubt … Even hymns that are long-rehearsed don’t spring to mind, let alone those that are not rehearsed. Suppose there was a bowl of water that was cloudy, murky, and muddy, hidden in the darkness. Even a person with clear eyes checking their own reflection wouldn’t truly know it or see it. In the same way, there’s a time when your heart is overcome and mired in doubt and you don’t truly understand the escape from doubt that has arisen. At that time you don’t truly know or see what is good for yourself, good for another, or good for both. Even hymns that are long-rehearsed don’t spring to mind, let alone those that are not rehearsed.
Freed from the hindrances, five clear reflections
§2There’s a time when your heart is not overcome and mired in sensual desire and you truly understand the escape from sensual desire that has arisen. At that time you truly know and see what is good for yourself, good for another, and good for both. Even hymns that are long-unrehearsed spring to mind, let alone those that are rehearsed. Suppose there was a bowl of water that was not mixed with dye such as red lac, turmeric, indigo, or rose madder. A person with clear eyes checking their own reflection would truly know it and see it. In the same way, when your heart is not overcome and mired in sensual desire … Even hymns that are long-unpracticed spring to mind, let alone those that are practiced. Furthermore, when your heart is not overcome and mired in ill will … Even hymns that are long-unpracticed spring to mind, let alone those that are practiced. Suppose there was a bowl of water that’s not heated by a fire, boiling and bubbling. A person with clear eyes checking their own reflection would truly know it and see it. In the same way, when your heart is not overcome and mired in ill will … Even hymns that are long-unpracticed spring to mind, let alone those that are practiced. Furthermore, when your heart is not overcome and mired in dullness and drowsiness … Even hymns that are long-unpracticed spring to mind, let alone those that are practiced. Suppose there was a bowl of water that’s not overgrown with moss and aquatic plants. A person with clear eyes checking their own reflection would truly know it and see it. In the same way, when your heart is not overcome and mired in dullness and drowsiness … Even hymns that are long-unpracticed spring to mind, let alone those that are practiced. Furthermore, when your heart is not overcome and mired in restlessness and remorse … Even hymns that are long-unpracticed spring to mind, let alone those that are practiced. Suppose there was a bowl of water that’s not stirred by the wind, churning, swirling, and rippling. A person with clear eyes checking their own reflection would truly know it and see it. In the same way, when your heart is not overcome and mired in restlessness and remorse … Even hymns that are long-unpracticed spring to mind, let alone those that are practiced. Furthermore, when your heart is not overcome and mired in doubt … Even hymns that are long-unrehearsed spring to mind, let alone those that are rehearsed. Suppose there was a bowl of water that’s transparent, clear, and unclouded, brought into the light. A person with clear eyes checking their own reflection would truly know it and see it. In the same way, there’s a time when your heart is not overcome and mired in doubt and you truly understand the escape from doubt that has arisen. At that time you truly know and see what is good for yourself, good for another, and good for both. Even hymns that are long-unrehearsed spring to mind, let alone those that are rehearsed.
Conclusion
§3This is the cause, brahmin, this is the reason why sometimes even hymns that are long-rehearsed don’t spring to mind, let alone those that are not rehearsed. And this is why sometimes even hymns that are long-unrehearsed spring to mind, let alone those that are rehearsed.”
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