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# SN 35:187 · The Ocean (1) (Samudda Sutta)
- URL: https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-35-187/
- Published: 2026-06-01T04:49:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-13T17:02:18.000Z
- Description: Saṁyutta Nikāya · SN 35:187. Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.
- Author: Ninth Heaven Literature & Arts Association (NHLAA)
- Tags: Buddhism, Sutta Piṭaka, Text, Indian, The Buddha, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Saṁyutta Nikāya, Verse, Pali, Early Buddhist, Library

“‘The ocean, the ocean,’ says the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person. But that’s not the ocean in the discipline of the noble ones. It’s a great mass of water, a great body of water.

“The eye is a person’s ocean, and its current consists of forms. Whoever resists that current consisting of forms is said to have crossed over the ocean of the eye with its waves, whirlpools, sharks, & demons. Crossed over, gone beyond, one stands on high ground, a brahman.

“The ear is a person’s ocean…

“The nose is a person’s ocean…

“The tongue is a person’s ocean…

“The body is a person’s ocean…

“The intellect is a person’s ocean, and its current consists of ideas. Whoever resists that current consisting of ideas is said to have crossed over the ocean of the intellect with its waves, whirlpools, sharks, & demons. Crossed over, gone beyond, one stands on firm ground, a brahman.”

That is what the Blessed One said. When the One Well-gone had said that, he—the Teacher—said further:

Whoever crosses over this ocean,

with its danger of sharks, demons, waves,

so very hard to cross

is called:

an attainer of wisdom

who has lived the holy life,

one who’s attained the end of the cosmos,

one gone beyond.

See also: [MN 67](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/mn-67/); [SN 15:3](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-15-3/); [SN 35:197](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-35-197/); [AN 4:5](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/an-4-5/)

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*Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) licence, for free distribution only. Source: [dhammatalks.org](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN35%5F187.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) (Metta Forest Monastery).*