Skip to reading
← Saṃyutta Nikāya

Overcome

SN 35.29 · Addhabhūtasutta

A windswept pine growing from a crevice in weathered granite.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants:

“Mendicants, all is overcome. And what is the all that is overcome?

The eye is overcome. Sights are overcome. Eye consciousness is overcome. Eye contact is overcome. The painful, pleasant, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on eye contact is also overcome. Overcome by what? Overcome by the fires of greed, hate, and delusion. Overcome by rebirth, old age, and death, by sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress, I say.

The ear … nose … tongue … body … mind is overcome. Ideas are overcome. Mind consciousness is overcome. Mind contact is overcome. The painful, pleasant, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on mind contact is also overcome. Overcome by what? Overcome by greed, hate, and delusion. Overcome by rebirth, old age, and death, by sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress, I say.

Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with the eye, sights, eye consciousness, and eye contact. And they grow disillusioned with the painful, pleasant, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on eye contact.

They grow disillusioned with the ear … nose … tongue … body … mind … painful, pleasant, or neutral feeling that arises dependent on mind contact. Being disillusioned, desire fades away. When desire fades away they’re freed. When they’re freed, they know they’re freed.

They understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.’”

Connections

Collection & context

Books

About this edition

Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0

This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.