MN 13: Mahādukkhakkhandha Sutta, the danger in form
Attested in the Tipiṭaka: Majjhima Nikāya 13.
Ko ca, bhikkhave, rūpānaṁ assādo?
And what is the gratification of forms?
mn13:18.1
Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, khattiyakaññā vā brāhmaṇakaññā vā gahapatikaññā vā pannarasavassuddesikā vā soḷasavassuddesikā vā, nātidīghā nātirassā nātikisā nātithūlā nātikāḷī nāccodātā paramā sā, bhikkhave, tasmiṁ samaye subhā vaṇṇanibhāti?
Suppose there was a girl of the brahmins, aristocrats, or householders in her fifteenth or sixteenth year, neither too tall nor too short, neither too thin nor too fat, neither too dark nor too fair. Is she not at the height of her beauty and prettiness?”
mn13:18.2
‘Evaṁ, bhante’.
“Yes, sir.”
mn13:18.3
Yaṁ kho, bhikkhave, subhaṁ vaṇṇanibhaṁ paṭicca uppajjati sukhaṁ somanassaṁ—
“The pleasure and happiness that arise from this beauty and prettiness
mn13:18.4
ayaṁ rūpānaṁ assādo.
is the gratification of forms.
mn13:18.5
Ko ca, bhikkhave, rūpānaṁ ādīnavo?
And what is the drawback of forms?
mn13:19.1
Idha, bhikkhave, tameva bhaginiṁ passeyya aparena samayena āsītikaṁ vā nāvutikaṁ vā vassasatikaṁ vā jātiyā, jiṇṇaṁ gopānasivaṅkaṁ bhoggaṁ daṇḍaparāyanaṁ pavedhamānaṁ gacchantiṁ āturaṁ gatayobbanaṁ khaṇḍadantaṁ palitakesaṁ, vilūnaṁ khalitasiraṁ valinaṁ tilakāhatagattaṁ.
Suppose that some time later you were to see that same sister—eighty, ninety, or a hundred years old—bent double, crooked, leaning on a staff, trembling as they walk, ailing, past their prime, with teeth broken, hair grey and scanty or bald, skin wrinkled, and limbs blotchy.
mn13:19.2
Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave,
What do you think, mendicants?
mn13:19.3
yā purimā subhā vaṇṇanibhā sā antarahitā, ādīnavo pātubhūtoti?
Has not that former beauty vanished and the drawback become clear?”
mn13:19.4
‘Evaṁ, bhante’.
“Yes, sir.”
mn13:19.5
Ayampi, bhikkhave, rūpānaṁ ādīnavo.
“This is the drawback of forms.
mn13:19.6
Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, tameva bhaginiṁ passeyya ābādhikaṁ dukkhitaṁ bāḷhagilānaṁ, sake muttakarīse palipannaṁ semānaṁ, aññehi vuṭṭhāpiyamānaṁ, aññehi saṁvesiyamānaṁ.
Furthermore, suppose that you were to see that same sister sick, suffering, gravely ill, collapsed in her own urine and feces, being picked up by some and put down by others.
mn13:20.1
Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave,
What do you think, mendicants?
mn13:20.2
yā purimā subhā vaṇṇanibhā sā antarahitā, ādīnavo pātubhūtoti?
Has not that former beauty vanished and the drawback become clear?”
mn13:20.3
‘Evaṁ, bhante’.
“Yes, sir.”
mn13:20.4
Ayampi, bhikkhave, rūpānaṁ ādīnavo.
“This too is the drawback of forms.
mn13:20.5
Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, tameva bhaginiṁ passeyya sarīraṁ sivathikāya chaḍḍitaṁ—
Furthermore, suppose that you were to see that same sister as a corpse discarded in a charnel ground. And it had been dead for one, two, or three days, bloated, livid, and festering.
mn13:21.1
ekāhamataṁ vā dvīhamataṁ vā tīhamataṁ vā, uddhumātakaṁ vinīlakaṁ vipubbakajātaṁ.
mn13:21.2
Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave,
What do you think, mendicants?
mn13:21.3
yā purimā subhā vaṇṇanibhā sā antarahitā, ādīnavo pātubhūtoti?
Has not that former beauty vanished and the drawback become clear?”
mn13:21.4
‘Evaṁ, bhante’.
“Yes, sir.”
mn13:21.5
Ayampi, bhikkhave, rūpānaṁ ādīnavo.
“This too is the drawback of forms.
mn13:21.6
Sinhala: pending (release 2, translated by Tilanka, CC0)