Quarrels and Disputes

"Where do quarrels and disputes come from?"

*(asks the inquirer,)*

"Mourning and sorrow, possessiveness,

conceit, arrogance, and slander —

tell me, where do they come from?"

"From what we hold dear come quarrels and disputes,"

*(the Buddha replies,)*

"mourning and sorrow, possessiveness,

conceit, arrogance, and slander.

Quarrels and disputes are tied to possessiveness;

from disputes, slander follows."

"And what we hold dear in the world — where does that come from?

And the greedy ones who wander it?

Where do hopes and their fulfillments come from —

the future a person reaches for?"

"From desire, in the world, what we hold dear arises —

and the greedy ones who wander it.

Hopes and their fulfillments come from here —

the future a person reaches for."

"And desire in the world — where does it come from?

And judgments — where do they arise?

Anger, lying, doubt —

these things the ascetic spoke of?"

"What people in the world call pleasant or unpleasant —

leaning on that, desire arises.

Seeing forms come and go,

a person makes judgments in the world.

Anger, lying, doubt —

these arise when that pair is in play.

The doubter should train toward knowledge.

The ascetic spoke from knowing."

"And pleasant and unpleasant — where do they come from?

When what is absent, do they not arise?

And this matter of forms coming and going —

tell me, where does that come from?"

"Pleasant and unpleasant come from contact.

Without contact, they don't arise.

And this matter of forms coming and going —

I tell you, it comes from here."

"And contact in the world — where does it come from?

Where do possessions arise?

Absent what, is there no 'mine'?

When what is gone, do contacts not land?"

"Contact comes through name and form.

Possessions come from wanting.

When wanting is absent, no 'mine.'

When form is gone, no contact lands."

"How must one stand for form to vanish?

How for pleasure and pain to vanish?

Tell me how they vanish —

this we want to know."

"Not in normal perception, not in distorted perception,

not without perception, not in perception that's gone —

like this, form vanishes for them.

All this proliferating talk comes from perception."

"What we asked, you've explained.

We have one more question — please tell us:

do some wise here call this the highest —

the purity of the spirit?

Or do they say something else?"

"Some wise here do call this the highest —

the purity of the spirit.

But some among them, claiming expertise,

speak of the moment when nothing's left.

Knowing both views rest on supports,

knowing those supports — the searching sage,

knowing, freed, enters no dispute.

The wise one doesn't reach for more existence."