Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The difference between a learned noble disciple and an unlearned ordinary person facing the same eight worldly conditions is not whether they encounter gain, loss, fame, disgrace, blame, praise, pleasure, and pain — both do — but whether they reflect on each as impermanent, suffering, and perishable when it arises.
A question the mendicants themselves ask
Unusually for this chapter, the discourse opens with the Buddha posing a question directly to the mendicants — both kinds of person encounter the same eight conditions, so what distinguishes them? — and the mendicants formally request him to explain, invoking their own teachings as rooted in the Buddha.
The unlearned response: no reflection, and its cost
The ordinary person encounters each of the eight without reflecting: “I've encountered this gain (or pain); it's impermanent, suffering, and perishable.” Left unreflected on, the eight conditions occupy their mind, and they favor the desirable half of each pair while opposing its undesirable counterpart — leaving them, the discourse says, unfree from suffering.
The learned response: the identical formula, reflected on
The learned noble disciple meets the same eight conditions with exactly the same reflection each time it arises. Because the conditions no longer occupy an unreflective mind, favoring and opposing don't take hold, and the discourse says such a person is freed from suffering. The closing verses are word-for-word identical to AN 8.5's.
Key terms
The text
The question, and the request to explain it
§1“Mendicants, the eight worldly conditions revolve around the world, and the world revolves around the eight worldly conditions. What eight? Gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, pleasure and pain. These eight worldly conditions revolve around the world, and the world revolves around these eight worldly conditions. An unlearned ordinary person encounters gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, and pleasure and pain. And so does a learned noble disciple. What, then, is the difference between a learned noble disciple and an ordinary unlearned person?” “Our teachings are rooted in the Buddha. He is our guide and our refuge. Sir, may the Buddha himself please clarify the meaning of this. The mendicants will listen and remember it.” “Well then, mendicants, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:
The unlearned ordinary person
§2“Mendicants, an unlearned ordinary person encounters gain. They don’t reflect: ‘I’ve encountered this gain. It’s impermanent, suffering, and perishable.’ They don’t truly understand it. They encounter loss … fame … disgrace … blame … praise … pleasure … pain. They don’t reflect: ‘I’ve encountered this pain. It’s impermanent, suffering, and perishable.’ They don’t truly understand it. So gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, and pleasure and pain occupy their mind. They favor gain and oppose loss. They favor fame and oppose disgrace. They favor praise and oppose blame. They favor pleasure and oppose pain. Being so full of favoring and opposing, they’re not freed from rebirth, old age, and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. They’re not freed from suffering, I say.
The learned noble disciple
§3A learned noble disciple encounters gain. They reflect: ‘I’ve encountered this gain. It’s impermanent, suffering, and perishable.’ They truly understand it. They encounter loss … fame … disgrace … blame … praise … pleasure … pain. They reflect: ‘I’ve encountered this pain. It’s impermanent, suffering, and perishable.’ They truly understand it. So gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, and pleasure and pain don’t occupy their mind. They don’t favor gain or oppose loss. They don’t favor fame or oppose disgrace. They don’t favor praise or oppose blame. They don’t favor pleasure or oppose pain. Having given up favoring and opposing, they’re freed from rebirth, old age, and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. They’re freed from suffering, I say. This is the difference between a learned noble disciple and an unlearned ordinary person.
Verses: impermanent, and met by the wise
§4Gain and loss, fame and disgrace, blame and praise, and pleasure and pain. These qualities among mankind are impermanent, transient, and perishable.
§5An intelligent and mindful person knows these things, seeing that they’re perishable. Desirable things don’t disturb their mind, nor are they repelled by the undesirable.
§6Both favoring and opposing are cleared and disappeared, they are no more. Knowing the stainless, sorrowless state, they who have gone beyond rebirth understand rightly.”
Self-check quiz
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