{"collection":"Anguttara Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_an7.61/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_an7.61","id":"suttacentral_an7.61","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/an7.61/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Anguttara Nikaya","Early Buddhist Texts"],"text":"So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Bhaggas at Crocodile\u2019s Bellow, in the deer park at Bhesaka\u1e37\u0101\u2019s Wood. Now at that time, in the land of the Magadhans near Kallav\u0101\u1e37amutta Village, Venerable Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na was nodding off while meditating. The Buddha saw him with his clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman. Then, as easily as a strong person would extend or contract their arm, he vanished from the deer park at Bhesaka\u1e37\u0101\u2019s Wood in the land of the Bhaggas and reappeared in front of Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na near Kallav\u0101\u1e37amutta Village in the land of the Magadhans. He sat down on the seat spread out and said to Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na, \u201cAre you nodding off, Moggall\u0101na? Are you nodding off?\u201d \u201cYes, sir.\u201d \u201cSo, Moggall\u0101na, don\u2019t focus on or cultivate the perception that you were meditating on when you fell drowsy. It\u2019s possible that you\u2019ll give up drowsiness in this way. But what if that doesn\u2019t work? Then think about and consider the teaching as you\u2019ve learned and memorized it, examining it with your mind. It\u2019s possible that you\u2019ll give up drowsiness in this way. But what if that doesn\u2019t work? Then rehearse in detail the teaching as you\u2019ve learned and memorized it. It\u2019s possible that you\u2019ll give up drowsiness in this way. But what if that doesn\u2019t work? Then pinch your ears and rub your limbs. It\u2019s possible that you\u2019ll give up drowsiness in this way. But what if that doesn\u2019t work? Then get up from your seat, flush your eyes with water, look around in every direction, and look up at the stars and constellations. It\u2019s possible that you\u2019ll give up drowsiness in this way. But what if that doesn\u2019t work? Then apply your mind to the perception of light, focusing on the perception of day: as by day, so by night; as by night, so by day. And so, with an open and unenveloped heart, develop a mind that\u2019s full of radiance. It\u2019s possible that you\u2019ll give up drowsiness in this way. But what if that doesn\u2019t work? Then walk mindfully, focusing on the perception of before and behind, your faculties directed inwards and your mind not scattered outside. It\u2019s possible that you\u2019ll give up drowsiness in this way. But what if that doesn\u2019t work? Then lie down in the lion\u2019s posture\u2014on the right side, placing one foot on top of the other\u2014mindful and aware, and focused on the time of getting up. When you wake, you should get up quickly, thinking: \u2018I will not live indulging in the pleasures of sleeping, lying down, and drowsing.\u2019 That\u2019s how you should train. So you should train like this: \u2018I will not approach families with my head swollen with vanity.\u2019 That\u2019s how you should train. What happens if a mendicant approaches families with a head swollen with vanity? Well, families have business to attend to, so people might not notice when a mendicant arrives. In that case the mendicant thinks: \u2018Who on earth has turned this family against me? It seems they don\u2019t like me any more.\u2019 And so, because they don\u2019t get anything they feel dismayed. Being dismayed, they become restless. Being restless, they lose restraint. And without restraint the mind is far from immersion. So you should train like this: \u2018I won\u2019t get into arguments.\u2019 That\u2019s how you should train. When there\u2019s an argument, you can expect there\u2019ll be lots of talking. When there\u2019s lots of talking, people become restless. Being restless, they lose restraint. And without restraint the mind is far from immersion. Moggall\u0101na, I don\u2019t praise all kinds of closeness. Nor do I criticize all kinds of closeness. I don\u2019t praise closeness with laypeople and renunciates. I do praise closeness with those lodgings that are quiet and still, far from the madding crowd, remote from human settlements, and fit for retreat.\u201d When he said this, Venerable Moggall\u0101na asked the Buddha, \u201cSir, how do you briefly define a mendicant who is freed through the ending of craving, who has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal, and is best among gods and humans?\u201d \u201cTake a mendicant who has heard: \u2018Nothing is worth insisting on.\u2019 When a mendicant has heard that nothing is worth insisting on, they directly know all things. Directly knowing all things, they completely understand all things. Completely understanding all things, when they experience any kind of feeling\u2014pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral\u2014 they meditate observing impermanence, dispassion, cessation, and letting go in those feelings. Meditating in this way, they don\u2019t grasp at anything in the world. Not grasping, they\u2019re not anxious. Not being anxious, they personally become extinguished. They understand: \u2018Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.\u2019 That\u2019s how I briefly define a mendicant who is freed through the ending of craving, who has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal, and is best among gods and humans.\u201d","title":"Nodding Off","tradition":"Anguttara Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":842}