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Aṅguttara Nikāya - The Numerical Discourses

4: The Book of the Fours

XVII. Practice — AN 4.167: Moggallāna’s Practice

1Then Venerable Sāriputta went up to Venerable Mahāmoggallāna, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, Sāriputta sat down to one side and said to Mahāmoggallāna:

2“Reverend Moggallāna, there are four ways of practice. What four?

  1. Painful practice with slow insight,
  2. painful practice with swift insight,
  3. pleasant practice with slow insight, and
  4. pleasant practice with swift insight.

3These are the four ways of practice. Which one of these four ways of practice did you rely on to free your mind from defilements by not grasping?”

“Reverend Sāriputta … I relied on the painful practice with swift insight to free my mind from defilements by not grasping.”

1Atha kho āyasmā sāriputto yenāyasmā mahāmoggallāno tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmatā mahāmoggallānena saddhiṁ sammodi. Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā sāriputto āyasmantaṁ mahāmoggallānaṁ etadavoca: 

2"Catasso imā, āvuso moggallāna, paṭipadā. Katamā catasso? Dukkhā paṭipadā dandhābhiññā, dukkhā paṭipadā khippābhiññā, sukhā paṭipadā dandhābhiññā, sukhā paṭipadā khippābhiññā. Imā kho, āvuso, catasso paṭipadā. Imāsaṁ, āvuso, catunnaṁ paṭipadānaṁ katamaṁ te paṭipadaṁ āgamma anupādāya āsavehi cittaṁ vimuttan"ti?


3"Catasso imā, āvuso sāriputta, paṭipadā. Katamā catasso? Dukkhā paṭipadā dandhābhiññā, dukkhā paṭipadā khippābhiññā, sukhā paṭipadā dandhābhiññā, sukhā paṭipadā khippābhiññā. Imā kho, āvuso, catasso paṭipadā.

Imāsaṁ, āvuso, catunnaṁ paṭipadānaṁ yāyaṁ paṭipadā dukkhā khippābhiññā, imaṁ me paṭipadaṁ āgamma anupādāya āsavehi cittaṁ vimuttan"ti.

Sattamaṁ.