The six sense bases
Friend, there are these six elements rightly proclaimed by the Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully enlightened. What six? They are the earth element, the water element, the fire element, the air element, the space element, and the consciousness element.
“What taints, bhikkhus, should be abandoned by restraining?43 Here a bhikkhu, reflecting wisely, abides with the eye faculty restrained. While taints, vexation, and fever might arise in one who abides with the eye faculty unrestrained, there are no taints, vexation, or fever in one who abides with the eye faculty restrained.44 Reflecting wisely, he abides with the ear faculty restrained… with the nose faculty restrained… with the tongue faculty restrained… with the body faculty restrained… with the mind faculty restrained… While taints, vexation, and fever might arise in one who abides with the faculties unrestrained, [10] there are no taints, vexation, or fever in one who abides with the faculties restrained. These are called the taints that should be abandoned by restraining.
“Now, Udāyin, the pleasure and joy that arise dependent on these five cords of sensual pleasure are called sensual pleasure — a filthy pleasure, a coarse pleasure, an ignoble pleasure. I say of this kind of pleasure that it should not be pursued, that it should not be developed, that it should not be cultivated, that it should be feared...
“Here, Udāyin, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhāna… With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, he enters upon and abides in the second jhāna… With the fading away as well of rapture… he enters upon and abides in the third jhāna… With the abandoning of pleasure and pain… he enters upon and abides in the fourth jhāna… 21. “This is called the bliss of renunciation, the bliss of seclusion, the bliss of peace, the bliss of enlightenment.678 I say of this kind of pleasure that it should be pursued, that it should be developed, that it should be cultivated, that it should not be feared.
“On seeing a form with the eye, he does not lust after it if it is pleasing; he does not dislike it if it is unpleasing. He abides with mindfulness of the body established, with an immeasurable mind, and he understands as it actually is the deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom wherein those evil unwholesome states cease without remainder.413 Having thus abandoned favouring and opposing, whatever feeling he feels, whether pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant, he does not delight in that feeling, welcome it, or remain holding to it.414 As he does not do so, delight in feelings ceases in him. With the cessation of his delight comes cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of being; with the cessation of being, cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. “On hearing a sound with the ear… On smelling an odour with the nose… On tasting a flavour with the tongue… On touching a tangible with the body… On cognizing a mind-object with the mind, he does not lust after it if it is pleasing; he does not dislike it if it is unpleasing… With the cessation of his delight comes cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of being; with the cessation of being, cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.
“Dependent on the eye and forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition there is feeling. What one feels, that one perceives. [112] What one perceives, that one thinks about. What one thinks about, that one mentally proliferates. With what one has mentally proliferated as the source, perceptions and notions [born of] mental proliferation beset a man with respect to past, future, and present forms cognizable through the eye.232 “Dependent on the ear and sounds… Dependent on the nose and odours… Dependent on the tongue and flavours… Dependent on the body and tangibles… Dependent on the mind and mind-objects, mind-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition there is feeling. What one feels, that one perceives. What one perceives, that one thinks about. What one thinks about, that one mentally proliferates. With what one has mentally proliferated as the source, perceptions and notions [born of] mental proliferation beset a man with respect to past, future, and present mind-objects cognizable through the mind. 17. “When there is the eye, a form, and eye-consciousness, it is possible to point out the manifestation of contact.233 When there is the manifestation of contact, it is possible to point out the manifestation of feeling. When there is the manifestation of feeling, it is possible to point out the manifestation of perception. When there is the manifestation of perception, it is possible to point out the manifestation of thinking. When there is the manifestation of thinking, it is possible to point out the manifestation of besetment by perceptions and notions [born of] mental proliferation. “When there is the ear, a sound, and ear-consciousness… When there is the nose, an odour, and nose-consciousness… When there is the tongue, a flavour, and tongue-consciousness… When there is the body, a tangible, and body-consciousness… When there is the mind, a mind-object, and mind-consciousness… it is possible to point out the manifestation of besetment by perceptions and notions [born of] mental proliferation. 18. “When there is no eye, no form, and no eye-consciousness, it is impossible to point out the manifestation of contact. When there is no manifestation of contact, it is impossible to point out the manifestation of feeling. When there is no manifestation of feeling, it is impossible to point out the manifestation of perception. When there is no manifestation of perception, it is impossible to point out the manifestation of thinking. When there is no manifestation of thinking, it is impossible to point out the manifestation of besetment by perceptions and notions [born of] mental proliferation. “When there is no ear, no sound, and no ear-consciousness… When there is no nose, no odour, and no nose-consciousness… When there is no tongue, no flavour, and no tongueconsciousness… When there is no body, no tangible, and no body-consciousness… When there is no mind, no mind-object, and no mind-consciousness… it is impossible to point out the manifestation of besetment by perceptions and notions [born of] mental proliferation.
“As to those recluses and brahmins who are tied to these five cords of sensual pleasure, infatuated with them and utterly committed to them, and who use them without seeing the danger in them or understanding the escape from them, it may be understood of them: ‘They have met with calamity, met with disaster, the Evil One may do with them as he likes.’