འཕགས་པ་ཆས་ཀྱ་ཕང་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 2

2

“Blessed One, you have spoken of ‘sections of the Dharma.’ But what is the extent of those sections of the Dharma to which the Thus-Gone One refers using that expression? How many such sections are there? What are the sections of the Dharma?”

The Blessed One replied to venerable Śāriputra, “Śāriputra, the Thus-Gone One has taught that there are eighty-four thousand sections of the Dharma. Śāriputra, in this regard, the birthlessness of all phenomena is the primary sense of a section of the Dharma. Śāriputra, I do not claim that there is something called phenomena, or that anything whatsoever is born or ceases. Why is that? Śāriputra, it is because all phenomena are characterized as being unborn and unceasing. For example, Śāriputra, paṇḍakas¹⁴ are not called men or women, and should indeed not be said to be men or women. Why is that? Śāriputra, it is because they cannot be designated as men or women. Likewise, Śāriputra, the Thus-Gone One has attained unsurpassed awakening with respect to all phenomena, but one cannot say that he therefore knows phenomena on account of phenomena.

“As an analogy, Śāriputra, neither paṇḍakas nor ṣaṇḍhas¹⁵ have abandoned passion, but they cannot act on that passion. Śāriputra, when they see a beautiful woman, and desire is aroused, most paṇḍakas and ṣaṇḍhas suffer pain in their ducts.¹⁶ Their ducts drip, their ducts become like metal,¹⁷ and their faces become red. Śāriputra, why do you think this is? These paṇḍakas and ṣaṇḍhas have not fainted to the floor; their bodies have not been struck by weapons. Why do you think their ducts are so painful?”

Venerable Śāriputra replied to the Blessed One’s question,