{"id":"mn20","title":"How to Stop Thinking","languageCodes":["en","pi"],"languageNotes":{"en":"Bhikkhu Sujato · CC0","pi":"Mahāsaṅgīti edition · SuttaCentral"},"chapters":[{"id":"mn20","title":"How to Stop Thinking","units":[{"id":"mn20:0","sourceIds":["mn20:0.1","mn20:0.2"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Majjhima Nikāya 20\nVitakkasaṇṭhānasutta","en":"Middle Discourses 20\nHow to Stop Thinking"}},{"id":"mn20:1","sourceIds":["mn20:1.1","mn20:1.2","mn20:1.3","mn20:1.4","mn20:1.5","mn20:1.6"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Evaṁ me sutaṁ—\nekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.\nTatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi:\n“bhikkhavo”ti.\n“Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ.\nBhagavā etadavoca:","en":"So I have heard.\nAt one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.\nThere the Buddha addressed the mendicants,\n“Mendicants!”\n“Venerable sir,” they replied.\nThe Buddha said this:"}},{"id":"mn20:2","sourceIds":["mn20:2.1","mn20:2.2"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"“Adhicittamanuyuttena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā pañca nimittāni kālena kālaṁ manasi kātabbāni.\nKatamāni pañca?","en":"“Mendicants, a mendicant committed to the higher mind should focus on five subjects from time to time.\nWhat five?"}},{"id":"mn20:3","sourceIds":["mn20:3.1","mn20:3.2","mn20:3.3","mn20:3.4","mn20:3.5","mn20:3.6","mn20:3.7"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno yaṁ nimittaṁ āgamma yaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto uppajjanti pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tamhā nimittā aññaṁ nimittaṁ manasi kātabbaṁ kusalūpasaṁhitaṁ.\nTassa tamhā nimittā aññaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto kusalūpasaṁhitaṁ ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.\nSeyyathāpi, bhikkhave, dakkho palagaṇḍo vā palagaṇḍantevāsī vā sukhumāya āṇiyā oḷārikaṁ āṇiṁ abhinihaneyya abhinīhareyya abhinivatteyya;\nevameva kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno yaṁ nimittaṁ āgamma yaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto uppajjanti pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tamhā nimittā aññaṁ nimittaṁ manasi kātabbaṁ kusalūpasaṁhitaṁ.\nTassa tamhā nimittā aññaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto kusalūpasaṁhitaṁ ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.","en":"Take a mendicant who is focusing on some subject that gives rise to bad, unskillful thoughts connected with desire, hate, and delusion. That mendicant should focus on some other subject connected with the skillful.\nAs they do so, those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end.\nTheir mind becomes stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes immersed in samādhi.\nIt’s like a deft mason or their apprentice who’d knock out or extract a large peg with a finer peg.\nIn the same way, a mendicant … should focus on some other basis of meditation connected with the skillful …"}},{"id":"mn20:4","sourceIds":["mn20:4.1","mn20:4.2","mn20:4.3","mn20:4.4","mn20:4.5","mn20:4.6","mn20:4.7","mn20:4.8","mn20:4.9"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Tassa ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno tamhā nimittā aññaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto kusalūpasaṁhitaṁ uppajjanteva pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesaṁ vitakkānaṁ ādīnavo upaparikkhitabbo:\n‘itipime vitakkā akusalā, itipime vitakkā sāvajjā, itipime vitakkā dukkhavipākā’ti.\nTassa tesaṁ vitakkānaṁ ādīnavaṁ upaparikkhato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.\nSeyyathāpi, bhikkhave, itthī vā puriso vā daharo yuvā maṇḍanakajātiko ahikuṇapena vā kukkurakuṇapena vā manussakuṇapena vā kaṇṭhe āsattena aṭṭiyeyya harāyeyya jiguccheyya;\nevameva kho, bhikkhave, tassa ce bhikkhuno tamhāpi nimittā aññaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto kusalūpasaṁhitaṁ uppajjanteva pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesaṁ vitakkānaṁ ādīnavo upaparikkhitabbo:\n‘itipime vitakkā akusalā, itipime vitakkā sāvajjā, itipime vitakkā dukkhavipākā’ti.\nTassa tesaṁ vitakkānaṁ ādīnavaṁ upaparikkhato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.","en":"Now, suppose that mendicant is focusing on some other subject connected with the skillful, but bad, unskillful thoughts connected with desire, hate, and delusion keep coming up. They should examine the drawbacks of those thoughts:\n‘So these thoughts are unskillful, they’re blameworthy, and they result in suffering.’\nAs they do so, those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end.\nTheir mind becomes stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes immersed in samādhi.\nSuppose there was a woman or man who was young, youthful, and fond of adornments. If the carcass of a snake or a dog or a human were hung around their neck, they’d be horrified, repelled, and disgusted.\nIn the same way, a mendicant … should examine the drawbacks of those thoughts …"}},{"id":"mn20:5","sourceIds":["mn20:5.1","mn20:5.2","mn20:5.3","mn20:5.4","mn20:5.5","mn20:5.6","mn20:5.7"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Tassa ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno tesampi vitakkānaṁ ādīnavaṁ upaparikkhato uppajjanteva pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesaṁ vitakkānaṁ asatiamanasikāro āpajjitabbo.\nTassa tesaṁ vitakkānaṁ asatiamanasikāraṁ āpajjato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.\nSeyyathāpi, bhikkhave, cakkhumā puriso āpāthagatānaṁ rūpānaṁ adassanakāmo assa;\nso nimīleyya vā aññena vā apalokeyya;\nevameva kho, bhikkhave, tassa ce bhikkhuno tesampi vitakkānaṁ ādīnavaṁ upaparikkhato uppajjanteva pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi, te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.","en":"Now, suppose that mendicant is examining the drawbacks of those thoughts, but bad, unskillful thoughts connected with desire, hate, and delusion keep coming up. They should try to forget and ignore them.\nAs they do so, those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end.\nTheir mind becomes stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes immersed in samādhi.\nSuppose there was a person with clear eyes, and some undesirable sights came into their range of vision.\nThey’d just close their eyes or look away.\nIn the same way, a mendicant … those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end …"}},{"id":"mn20:6","sourceIds":["mn20:6.1","mn20:6.2","mn20:6.3","mn20:6.4","mn20:6.5","mn20:6.6","mn20:6.7","mn20:6.8","mn20:6.9","mn20:6.10","mn20:6.11","mn20:6.12","mn20:6.13","mn20:6.14","mn20:6.15","mn20:6.16","mn20:6.17","mn20:6.18","mn20:6.19","mn20:6.20","mn20:6.21","mn20:6.22","mn20:6.23"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Tassa ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno tesampi vitakkānaṁ asatiamanasikāraṁ āpajjato uppajjanteva pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi, tena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā tesaṁ vitakkānaṁ vitakkasaṅkhārasaṇṭhānaṁ manasikātabbaṁ.\nTassa tesaṁ vitakkānaṁ vitakkasaṅkhārasaṇṭhānaṁ manasikaroto ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.\nSeyyathāpi, bhikkhave, puriso sīghaṁ gaccheyya.\nTassa evamassa:\n‘kiṁ nu kho ahaṁ sīghaṁ gacchāmi?\nYannūnāhaṁ saṇikaṁ gaccheyyan’ti.\nSo saṇikaṁ gaccheyya.\nTassa evamassa:\n‘kiṁ nu kho ahaṁ saṇikaṁ gacchāmi?\nYannūnāhaṁ tiṭṭheyyan’ti.\nSo tiṭṭheyya.\nTassa evamassa:\n‘kiṁ nu kho ahaṁ ṭhito?\nYannūnāhaṁ nisīdeyyan’ti.\nSo nisīdeyya.\nTassa evamassa:\n‘kiṁ nu kho ahaṁ nisinno?\nYannūnāhaṁ nipajjeyyan’ti.\nSo nipajjeyya.\nEvañhi so, bhikkhave, puriso oḷārikaṁ oḷārikaṁ iriyāpathaṁ abhinivajjetvā sukhumaṁ sukhumaṁ iriyāpathaṁ kappeyya.\nEvameva kho, bhikkhave, tassa ce bhikkhuno tesampi vitakkānaṁ asatiamanasikāraṁ āpajjato uppajjanteva pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.","en":"Now, suppose that mendicant is ignoring and forgetting about those thoughts, but bad, unskillful thoughts connected with desire, hate, and delusion keep coming up. They should focus on stopping the formation of those thoughts.\nAs they do so, those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end.\nTheir mind becomes stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes immersed in samādhi.\nSuppose there was a person walking quickly.\nThey’d think:\n‘Why am I walking so quickly?\nWhy don’t I slow down?’\nSo they’d slow down.\nThey’d think:\n‘Why am I walking slowly?\nWhy don’t I stand still?’\nSo they’d stand still.\nThey’d think:\n‘Why am I standing still?\nWhy don’t I sit down?’\nSo they’d sit down.\nThey’d think:\n‘Why am I sitting?\nWhy don’t I lie down?’\nSo they’d lie down.\nAnd so that person would shun successively coarser postures and adopt more subtle ones.\nIn the same way, a mendicant … those thoughts are given up and come to an end …"}},{"id":"mn20:7","sourceIds":["mn20:7.1","mn20:7.2","mn20:7.3","mn20:7.4","mn20:7.5","mn20:7.6","mn20:7.7","mn20:7.8","mn20:7.9"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Tassa ce, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno tesampi vitakkānaṁ vitakkasaṅkhārasaṇṭhānaṁ manasikaroto uppajjanteva pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi.\nTena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā dantebhidantamādhāya jivhāya tāluṁ āhacca cetasā cittaṁ abhiniggaṇhitabbaṁ abhinippīḷetabbaṁ abhisantāpetabbaṁ.\nTassa dantebhidantamādhāya jivhāya tāluṁ āhacca cetasā cittaṁ abhiniggaṇhato abhinippīḷayato abhisantāpayato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.\nSeyyathāpi, bhikkhave, balavā puriso dubbalataraṁ purisaṁ sīse vā gale vā khandhe vā gahetvā abhiniggaṇheyya abhinippīḷeyya abhisantāpeyya;\nevameva kho, bhikkhave, tassa ce bhikkhuno tesampi vitakkānaṁ vitakkasaṅkhārasaṇṭhānaṁ manasikaroto uppajjanteva pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi.\nTena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā dantebhidantamādhāya jivhāya tāluṁ āhacca cetasā cittaṁ abhiniggaṇhitabbaṁ abhinippīḷetabbaṁ abhisantāpetabbaṁ.\nTassa dantebhidantamādhāya jivhāya tāluṁ āhacca cetasā cittaṁ abhiniggaṇhato abhinippīḷayato abhisantāpayato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.","en":"Now, suppose that mendicant is focusing on stopping the formation of those thoughts, but bad, unskillful thoughts connected with desire, hate, and delusion keep coming up.\nWith teeth clenched and tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth, they should squeeze, squash, and crush mind with mind.\nAs they do so, those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end.\nTheir mind becomes stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes immersed in samādhi.\nIt’s like a strong man who grabs a weaker man by the head or throat or shoulder and squeezes, squashes, and crushes them.\nIn the same way, a mendicant …\nwith teeth clenched and tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth, should squeeze, squash, and crush mind with mind.\nAs they do so, those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end.\nTheir mind becomes stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes immersed in samādhi."}},{"id":"mn20:8","sourceIds":["mn20:8.1","mn20:8.2","mn20:8.3","mn20:8.4","mn20:8.5","mn20:8.6","mn20:8.7","mn20:8.8","mn20:8.9","mn20:8.10","mn20:8.11","mn20:8.12","mn20:8.13","mn20:8.14","mn20:8.15","mn20:8.16","mn20:8.17"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Yato kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno yaṁ nimittaṁ āgamma yaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto uppajjanti pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi, tassa tamhā nimittā aññaṁ nimittaṁ manasikaroto kusalūpasaṁhitaṁ ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.\nTesampi vitakkānaṁ ādīnavaṁ upaparikkhato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.\nTesampi vitakkānaṁ asatiamanasikāraṁ āpajjato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.\nTesampi vitakkānaṁ vitakkasaṅkhārasaṇṭhānaṁ manasikaroto ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.\nDantebhidantamādhāya jivhāya tāluṁ āhacca cetasā cittaṁ abhiniggaṇhato abhinippīḷayato abhisantāpayato ye pāpakā akusalā vitakkā chandūpasaṁhitāpi dosūpasaṁhitāpi mohūpasaṁhitāpi te pahīyanti te abbhatthaṁ gacchanti.\nTesaṁ pahānā ajjhattameva cittaṁ santiṭṭhati sannisīdati ekodi hoti samādhiyati.\nAyaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu vasī vitakkapariyāyapathesu.\nYaṁ vitakkaṁ ākaṅkhissati taṁ vitakkaṁ vitakkessati, yaṁ vitakkaṁ nākaṅkhissati na taṁ vitakkaṁ vitakkessati.\nAcchecchi taṇhaṁ, vivattayi saṁyojanaṁ, sammā mānābhisamayā antamakāsi dukkhassā”ti.\nIdamavoca bhagavā.\nAttamanā te bhikkhū bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinandunti.\nVitakkasaṇṭhānasuttaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ dasamaṁ.\nSīhanādavaggo niṭṭhito dutiyo.","en":"Now, take the mendicant who is focusing on some subject that gives rise to bad, unskillful thoughts connected with desire, hate, and delusion. They focus on some other subject connected with the skillful …\nThey examine the drawbacks of those thoughts …\nThey try to forget and ignore about those thoughts …\nThey focus on stopping the formation of those thoughts …\nWith teeth clenched and tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth, they squeeze, squash, and crush mind with mind. When they succeed in each of these things, those bad thoughts are given up and come to an end.\nTheir mind becomes stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes immersed in samādhi.\nThis is called a mendicant who is a master of the ways of thought.\nThey will think what they want to think, and they won’t think what they don’t want to think.\nThey’ve cut off craving, cast off the fetters, and by rightly comprehending conceit have made an end of suffering.”\nThat is what the Buddha said.\nSatisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said."}},{"id":"mn20:9","sourceIds":["mn20:9.0","mn20:9.1","mn20:9.2","mn20:9.3","mn20:9.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Tassuddānaṁ\nCūḷasīhanādalomahaṁsavaro,\nMahācūḷadukkhakkhandhaanumānikasuttaṁ;\nKhilapatthamadhupiṇḍikadvidhāvitakka,\nPañcanimittakathā puna vaggo."}}]}],"sourceRevision":"afdafa92450cfe7573b280da50382888323666d2","sourceUrl":"https://suttacentral.net/mn20/en/sujato","licence":"CC0 1.0","licenceUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/","editionNote":"Full supplied source file; inherited abbreviations are preserved. Not a reconstructed expansion of every repetition. No Malay or Mandarin translation is implied."}