Selected Lectures on Saṃyukta Āgama, Volume 1
Saṃyuktāgama Vol. 1 5
The World-Honored One addressed the bhikkhus: One who clings with desire to the aggregate of form is like one who delights in suffering; one who delights in suffering cannot be liberated from suffering, cannot eradicate ignorance, and cannot abandon craving. One who clings with desire to the aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness is one who clings to suffering. One who delights in suffering cannot attain liberation from suffering, cannot eradicate ignorance, and cannot abandon craving. Why is one who clings with desire and delight to the aggregates of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness said to be delighting in suffering? Because clinging with desire and delight is a defiled mind, impure. One who clings with delight to the five aggregates is bound by the five aggregates; the mind becomes attached and cannot attain liberation.
The minds of sentient beings possess the affliction of self-love; attached to their own five aggregates, they are unwilling to extinguish them. At the end of life, there will be an intermediate state. Within that intermediate state, because the mind is attached to the self and seeks a physical body in a future life, it will proceed to take rebirth. Thus, the five aggregates of the next life come into being. Where there are the five aggregates, there is suffering. Birth, aging, sickness, death, and immeasurable sorrow, lamentation, pain, and distress continuously arise. Therefore, clinging with desire and delight to the five aggregates is delighting in suffering. The World-Honored One further addressed the bhikkhus: One who does not cling with desire and delight to the aggregate of form is like one who does not delight in suffering; one who does not delight in suffering can attain liberation from suffering.
Similarly, one who does not cling with desire and delight to the aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness is one who does not delight in suffering; one who does not delight in suffering can be liberated from suffering. The World-Honored One addressed the bhikkhus: One who does not know, does not understand the aggregate of form cannot abandon craving. Not abandoning craving, the mind cannot attain liberation. If craving is not severed, if there is no liberation, one cannot sever suffering, cannot be liberated from suffering. Similarly, one who does not know, does not understand the aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness cannot abandon craving. Not abandoning craving, the mind cannot attain liberation. If the mind does not attain liberation, one cannot sever suffering.
The World-Honored One addressed the bhikkhus: Regarding the aggregate of form, if one can know it, can understand it, one can abandon craving. If one can abandon craving, the mind can attain liberation. One whose mind is liberated can sever suffering. Similarly, regarding the aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, if one can know them, can understand them, one can abandon craving. If one can abandon craving, the mind can attain liberation. One whose mind is liberated can extinguish suffering.