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# SN 5.13 · Udaya's Questions (Udaya-manava-puccha)
- URL: https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-5-13/
- Published: 2026-06-20T00:36:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-13T16:57:11.000Z
- Description: Saṁyutta Nikāya · SN 5.13. Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
- Author: Ninth Heaven Literature & Arts Association (NHLAA)
- Tags: Buddhism, Sutta Piṭaka, Text, Indian, The Buddha, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Saṁyutta Nikāya, Discourse, English, Early Buddhist, Library, #Import 2026-07-06 06:23

\[Udaya:\]

To the one in jhana seated dustless, passionless, his task done, effluent-free, gone to the beyond of all phenomena, I've come with a question. Tell me the gnosis of emancipation, the breaking open of ignorance. 

\[The Buddha:\]

The abandoning both of sensual desires, & of unhappiness, the dispelling of sloth, the warding off of anxieties, equanimity-&-mindfulness purified, with inspection of mental qualities swift in the forefront: That I call the gnosis of emancipation, \[1\] the breaking open of ignorance. \[2\] 

\[Udaya:\]

With what is the world fettered? With what is it examined? Through the abandoning of what is there said to be Unbinding? 

\[The Buddha:\]

With delight the world's fettered. With directed thought it's examined. Through the abandoning of craving is there said to be Unbinding. 

\[Udaya:\]

Living mindful in what way does one bring consciousness to a halt? We've come questioning to the Blessed One. Let us hear your words. 

\[The Buddha:\]

Not relishing feeling, inside or out: One living mindful in this way brings consciousness to a halt. \[3\] 

# Notes

1.

For a discussion of the "gnosis of emancipation" — the state of knowledge consisting of mental absorption coupled with an analysis of mental states, see [AN 9.36](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/an-9-36/) and Section III.F in *The Wings to Awakening*.

2.

[AN 3.32](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/an-3-32/) contains a discussion of this verse. The Buddha tells Ven. Sariputta that one should train oneself such that "with regard to this conscious body, there will be no 'I'-making or 'mine'-making or obsession of conceit, such that with regard to all external themes \[topics of concentration\] there will be no 'I'-making or 'mine'-making or obsession of conceit, and that we will enter & remain in the awareness-release & discernment-release in which there is no 'I'-making or 'mine'-making or obsession of conceit." When one has trained in this way, he says, one is called a person who has cut through craving, unraveled the fetter, who has, through the right penetration of conceit, put an end to suffering & stress. He then states that it was in connection to this state that he uttered this verse.

3.

For a discussion of "bringing consciousness to a halt" — showing that it is not an annihilation of consciousness, but rather the ending of its proliferating activity — see [SN 22.53](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-22-53/).

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*Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.* From [Access to Insight](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.5.13.than.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) (BCBS Edition). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) — for free distribution only. Never sold.