Adittapariyaya Sutta
[The Buddha’s Fire Sermon]
I have heard that on one occasion the Buddha was staying in Gaya, at Gaya Head, with 1,000 fire-worshipping monks. There he addressed the fire worshippers:
“Monks, Everything is ablaze! What All is ablaze? The eye is ablaze. Forms are ablaze. Consciousness at the eye is ablaze. Contact at the eye is ablaze. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye — experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too is ablaze. Ablaze with what? Ablaze with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion. Ablaze, I tell you, with birth, aging & death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs.
“The ear is ablaze. Sounds are ablaze…
“The nose is ablaze. Aromas are ablaze…
“The tongue is ablaze. Flavors are ablaze…
“The body is ablaze. Tactile sensations are ablaze…
“The intellect is ablaze. Ideas are ablaze. Consciousness at the intellect is ablaze. Contact at the intellect is ablaze. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the intellect — experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too is ablaze. Ablaze with what? Ablaze with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion. Ablaze, I say, with birth, aging & death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs.
“Seeing thus, the experienced seeker grows disenchanted with the eye, disenchanted with forms, disenchanted with consciousness at the eye, disenchanted with contact at the eye. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye, experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain: With that, too, he grows disenchanted.
“He grows disenchanted with the ear…
“He grows disenchanted with the nose…
“He grows disenchanted with the tongue…
“He grows disenchanted with the body…
“He grows disenchanted with the intellect, disenchanted with ideas, disenchanted with consciousness at the intellect, disenchanted with contact at the intellect. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the intellect, experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain: He grows disenchanted with that too. Disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, he is fully released. With full release, there is the knowledge, ‘Fully released.’ He discerns that ‘Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.’”
That is what the Buddha said. Gratified, the monks delighted at his words. And as they listened, the hearts of the 1,000 fire worshippers opened, and they were fully released from turmoil and suffering.
