Saṃyuktāgama, Volume One (31)

Original text:舍利弗告输屡那。若沙门婆罗门于色不如实知。色集不如实知。色灭不如实知。色味不如实知。色患不如实知。色离不如实知故。不堪能超越色。若沙门婆罗门于受想行识不如实知。识集不如实知。识灭不如实知。识味不如实知。识患不如实知。识离不如实知故。此沙门婆罗门不堪能超越识。

若沙门婆罗门于色。色集色灭。色味色患。色离如实知。此沙门婆罗门堪能超越色。若沙门婆罗门于受想行识。识集识灭。识味识患。识离如实知。此沙门婆罗门堪能超越识。

Explanation: Śāriputra addressed Śoṇa, saying that if śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas do not truly and as-it-really-is know the aggregate of form, do not know the arising of the aggregate of form, do not know the cessation of the aggregate of form, do not know the gratification of the aggregate of form, do not know the danger of the aggregate of form, and do not know the escape from the aggregate of form, they are incapable of transcending the aggregate of form. If śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas do not truly and as-it-really-is know feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, do not know the arising of consciousness, do not know the cessation of consciousness, do not know the gratification of consciousness, do not know the danger of consciousness, and do not know the escape from consciousness, then these śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas are incapable of transcending consciousness.

If śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas do not truly and as-it-really-is know feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, not knowing that feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness are suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self; do not truly know the arising of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, not knowing that they arise from karmic conditions and are produced by causes and conditions; do not truly know the cessation of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, not knowing that they can be extinguished through cultivating the truth of suffering, its arising, its cessation, and the path; do not truly know the gratification in feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, not knowing that craving for and savoring them cannot liberate one from birth and death; do not truly know that craving for and attachment to feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness carries various sufferings and dangers, not knowing that attachment to them involves the various sufferings of birth and death and one cannot be liberated from the suffering of saṃsāra; and do not truly know that feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness can be abandoned, not knowing that through cultivating the Four Noble Truths one can leave them behind—because of all these failures to know as-it-really-is, one cannot transcend feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness; being beset and entangled by them, one cannot attain liberation and suffers immeasurably.

If śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas truly and as-it-really-is know the aggregate of form, truly know the arising of the aggregate of form, and truly know the gratification of the aggregate of form, the danger of the aggregate of form, and the escape from the aggregate of form, they can transcend the aggregate of form. If śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas truly and as-it-really-is know feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, truly know the arising of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, and truly know the gratification, the danger, and the escape from feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, they can transcend feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness, and attain liberation.

The "knowing as-it-really-is" here is not the ordinary kind of knowing, but the knowing that comes after realization. The two words "as-it-really-is" mean "the same as the actual situation," and to know the actual situation, one must personally realize and see it before one can know it. Only personal proof enables one to know as-it-really-is; otherwise it would be like groundless speculation, imagination, or conjecture without evidence. Therefore, for a practitioner of the path to achieve knowing as-it-really-is is extremely difficult; one must go through a long and arduous process of investigation before one can attain realization and know as-it-really-is. Only by personally realizing the arising, gratification, danger, and escape of the five aggregates can one transcend the birth and death of the five aggregates and attain liberation.