{"collection":"Samyutta Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_sn35.96/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_sn35.96","id":"suttacentral_sn35.96","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/sn35.96/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Samyutta Nikaya"],"text":"\u201cMendicants, I will teach you who is liable to decline, who is not liable to decline, and the six fields of mastery. Listen \u2026 And how is someone liable to decline? When a mendicant sees a sight with their eyes, bad, unskillful phenomena arise: memories and thoughts that tighten the fetters. Suppose that mendicant tolerates them and doesn\u2019t give them up, dispel them, eliminate them, and obliterate them. They should understand: \u2018My skillful qualities are declining. For this is what the Buddha calls decline.\u2019 Furthermore, when a mendicant hears a sound \u2026 smells an odor \u2026 tastes a flavor \u2026 encounters a touch \u2026 knows an idea with their mind, bad, unskillful phenomena arise: memories and thoughts that tighten the fetters. If that mendicant tolerates them and doesn\u2019t give them up, dispel them, eliminate them, and obliterate them, they should understand: \u2018My skillful qualities are declining. For this is what the Buddha calls decline.\u2019 That\u2019s how someone is liable to decline. And how is someone not liable to decline? When a mendicant sees a sight with their eyes, bad, unskillful phenomena arise: memories and thoughts that tighten the fetters. Suppose that mendicant doesn\u2019t tolerate them but gives them up, dispels them, eliminates them, and obliterates them. They should understand: \u2018My skillful qualities are not declining. For this is what the Buddha calls non-decline.\u2019 Furthermore, when a mendicant hears a sound \u2026 smells an odor \u2026 tastes a flavor \u2026 encounters a touch \u2026 knows an idea with their mind, bad, unskillful phenomena arise: memories and thoughts that tighten the fetters. Suppose that mendicant doesn\u2019t tolerate them but gives them up, dispels them, eliminates them, and obliterates them. They should understand: \u2018My skillful qualities are not declining. For this is what the Buddha calls non-decline.\u2019 That\u2019s how someone is not liable to decline. And what are the six fields of mastery? When a mendicant sees a sight with their eyes, bad, unskillful phenomena don\u2019t arise: memories and thoughts that tighten the fetters. They should understand: \u2018This sense field has been mastered. For this is what the Buddha calls a field of mastery.\u2019 \u2026 Furthermore, when a mendicant knows an idea with their mind, bad, unskillful phenomena don\u2019t arise: memories and thoughts that tighten the fetters. They should understand: \u2018This sense field has been mastered. For this is what the Buddha calls a field of mastery.\u2019 These are the six fields of mastery.\u201d","title":"Liable to Decline","tradition":"Samyutta Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":401}