Ud 3.5 — With Mahāmoggallāna | Ru-Yi Meditation Center

Reading guide

The twin to the previous discourse

Ud 3.4 and Ud 3.5 share almost the same sentence structure: the Buddha notices a foremost disciple sitting nearby in meditation, and speaks without being asked anything. The difference is precise and worth noticing — where Sāriputta is described simply as having “mindfulness brought to the present,” Mahāmoggallāna is described more specifically as having “mindfulness of the body well-established in himself.” The verse that follows builds directly on that specific detail.

From the body to the six fields of contact

The verse moves in a clear sequence: mindfulness of the body established, then restraint “in the six fields of contact” — the six sense bases (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) together with what they meet. Bodily awareness, in other words, isn’t presented as an isolated technique but as the ground that makes restraint at every other sense door possible; the verse links the two explicitly rather than leaving the connection implicit.

“Would know extinguishment in themselves”

The verse’s closing claim is epistemological as much as it is meditative: such a mendicant “would know extinguishment in themselves” — not told about it, not inferring it from scripture, but verifying it directly and personally. That emphasis on immediate, individual knowing rather than secondhand belief runs through much of the canon’s language about awakening, and this four-line verse compresses the entire trajectory, body to sense-restraint to sustained samādhi to direct knowledge, into a single unbroken chain.

Key terms

kāyagatāsati — “mindfulness of the body” — the specific practice named in this discourse as “well-established” in Mahāmoggallāna, and the starting point of the verse’s causal chain.

saḷāyatana — the “six fields of contact” (or six sense bases) — eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind — where restraint is exercised, according to the verse’s second line.

samādhi — meditative absorption or unification of mind; the verse describes the ideal mendicant as “always immersed” in it, the third link in the chain.

nibbāna — “extinguishment,” Sujato’s consistent rendering of the term traditionally transliterated Nibbāna or Nirvana — what the verse says such a mendicant comes to know.

paccattaṃ — “in themselves” or “personally” — the verse’s closing emphasis that this knowledge is directly, individually verified rather than taken on another’s word.

The text

The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time Venerable Mahāmoggallāna was sitting not far from the Buddha, cross-legged, with his body straight and mindfulness of the body well-established in himself. The Buddha saw him meditating there.

§2Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:

§3“With mindfulness of the body established,
restrained in the six fields of contact,
a mendicant always immersed in samādhi
would know extinguishment in themselves.”

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Self-check quiz

Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 10

Where is this discourse set?

Correct: B. The same setting used for most of this chapter’s discourses.

Question 2 of 10

What specifically is Mahāmoggallāna’s meditation described as?

Correct: B. This specific detail is what the following verse builds directly on.

Question 3 of 10

What triggers the Buddha’s heartfelt saying?

Correct: B. As in Ud 3.4, nothing is asked; observation alone is the occasion.

Question 4 of 10

According to the verse, what is restrained once mindfulness of the body is established?

Correct: B. “Restrained in the six fields of contact” is the verse’s second line.

Question 5 of 10

What quality must be “always immersed” in the mendicant described by the verse?

Correct: A. The verse names a mendicant “always immersed in samādhi.”

Question 6 of 10

What would such a mendicant come to know, per the verse?

Correct: B. “Would know extinguishment in themselves” is the verse’s closing line.

Question 7 of 10

According to the reading guide, what does the phrase “in themselves” emphasize?

Correct: A. The reading guide draws out this epistemological point about direct, personal verification.

Question 8 of 10

How does this discourse compare structurally to Ud 3.4 (With Sāriputta)?

Correct: B. The two discourses form a clear matched pair in structure.

Question 9 of 10

What does the reading guide suggest as further reading connected to this discourse’s central theme?

Correct: A. MN 119 develops the same practice named here at much greater length.

Question 10 of 10

In general Buddhist doctrine, what do the “six fields of contact” refer to?

Correct: A. This is the standard meaning of saḷāyatana across the canon.

Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

With Mahāmoggallāna

Why this discourse, fifth of the Nandavagga