3.8.8

Lesson 3.8.8 Paṭhamaākāsasuttaṃ & Agārasuttaṃ - Realizing Vedanā and Going Beyond: Saṅkhyaṃ nopeti vedagū

The current lesson presents two renown similes. The Paṭhamaākāsasutta compares the multitude, variation and constant flow of vedanā that arise within the physical structure with all the winds that blow in the sky. The Agārasutta likens vedanā with visitors arriving at a guesthouse from all directions and staying for some time before they disappear again. The Buddha segments the multitude of vedanā into the three categories of sukhā vedanā, dukkhā vedanā and adukkhamasukhā vedanā. He also, at times, takes another approach: Depending on the specific situation, the background, circumstances and the listener, he subdivides vedanā into groups of two, five, six, eighteen, 36 and 108. At one occasion the Buddha explained to Ānanda why he split the multitude of vedanā into such groups and emphasized the necessity of the Saṅgha to comprehend such different approaches properly. Only on such a basis of harmony, unity and concord would the Saṅgha continue viewing each other agreeably.