Aṅguttara Nikāya — Discursos Numerados — 4.200 — Fondness

1“Mendicants, these four things are born. What four?

2Fondness is born of fondness,

3hate is born of fondness,

4fondness is born of hate, and

5hate is born of hate.

6And how is fondness born of fondness? It’s when someone likes, loves, and cares for an individual. Others treat them with liking, love, and care. They think: ‘These others like the individual I like.’ And so fondness for them springs up. That’s how fondness is born of fondness.

7And how is hate born of fondness? It’s when someone likes, loves, and cares for an individual. Others treat them with disliking, loathing, and detestation. They think: ‘These others dislike the individual I like.’ And so hate for them springs up. That’s how hate is born of fondness.

8And how is fondness born of hate? It’s when someone dislikes, loathes, and detests an individual. Others treat them with disliking, loathing, and detestation. They think: ‘These others dislike the individual I dislike.’ And so fondness for them springs up. That’s how fondness is born of hate.

9And how is hate born of hate? It’s when someone dislikes, loathes, and detests an individual. Others treat them with liking, love, and care. They think: ‘These others like the individual I dislike.’ And so hate for them springs up. That’s how hate is born of hate.

10These are the four things that are born.

11A time comes when a mendicant … enters and remains in the first absorption. At that time they have no fondness born of fondness, hate born of fondness, fondness born of hate, or hate born of hate.

12A time comes when a mendicant … enters and remains in the second absorption … third absorption … fourth absorption. At that time they have no fondness born of fondness, hate born of fondness, fondness born of hate, or hate born of hate.

13A time comes when a mendicant realizes the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom. And they live having realized it with their own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements. At that time any fondness born of fondness, hate born of fondness, fondness born of hate, or hate born of hate is given up, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future. This is called a mendicant who doesn’t draw close or push back or fume or ignite or burn up.

14And how does a mendicant draw close? It’s when a mendicant regards form as self, self as having form, form in self, or self in form. They regard feeling as self, self as having feeling, feeling in self, or self in feeling. They regard perception as self, self as having perception, perception in self, or self in perception. They regard choices as self, self as having choices, choices in self, or self in choices. They regard consciousness as self, self as having consciousness, consciousness in self, or self in consciousness. That’s how a mendicant draws close.

15And how does a mendicant not draw close? It’s when a mendicant doesn’t regard form as self, self as having form, form in self, or self in form. They don’t regard feeling as self, self as having feeling, feeling in self, or self in feeling. They don’t regard perception as self, self as having perception, perception in self, or self in perception. They don’t regard choices as self, self as having choices, choices in self, or self in choices. They don’t regard consciousness as self, self as having consciousness, consciousness in self, or self in consciousness. That’s how a mendicant doesn’t draw close.

16And how does a mendicant push back? It’s when someone abuses, annoys, or argues with a mendicant, and the mendicant abuses, annoys, or argues back at them. That’s how a mendicant pushes back.

17And how does a mendicant not push back? It’s when someone abuses, annoys, or argues with a mendicant, and the mendicant doesn’t abuse, annoy, or argue back at them. That’s how a mendicant doesn’t push back.

18And how does a mendicant fume? When there is the concept ‘I am’, there are the concepts ‘I am such’, ‘I am thus’, ‘I am otherwise’; ‘I am fleeting’, ‘I am lasting’; ‘mine’, ‘such is mine’, ‘thus is mine’, ‘otherwise is mine’; ‘also mine’, ‘such is also mine’, ‘thus is also mine’, ‘otherwise is also mine’; ‘I will be’, ‘I will be such’, ‘I will be thus’, ‘I will be otherwise’. That’s how a mendicant fumes.

19And how does a mendicant not fume? When there is no concept ‘I am’, there are no concepts ‘I am such’, ‘I am thus’, ‘I am otherwise’; ‘I am fleeting’, ‘I am lasting’; ‘mine’, ‘such is mine’, ‘thus is mine’, ‘otherwise is mine’; ‘also mine’, ‘such is also mine’, ‘thus is also mine’, ‘otherwise is also mine’; ‘I will be’, ‘I will be such’, ‘I will be thus’, ‘I will be otherwise’. That’s how a mendicant doesn’t fume.

20And how is a mendicant ignited? When there is the concept ‘I am because of this’, there are the concepts ‘I am such because of this’, ‘I am thus because of this’, ‘I am otherwise because of this’; ‘I am fleeting because of this’, ‘I am lasting because of this’; ‘mine because of this’, ‘such is mine because of this’, ‘thus is mine because of this’, ‘otherwise is mine because of this’; ‘also mine because of this’, ‘such is also mine because of this’, ‘thus is also mine because of this’, ‘otherwise is also mine because of this’; ‘I will be because of this’, ‘I will be such because of this’, ‘I will be thus because of this’, ‘I will be otherwise because of this’. That’s how a mendicant is ignited.

21And how is a mendicant not ignited? When there is no concept ‘I am because of this’, there are no concepts ‘I am such because of this’, ‘I am thus because of this’, ‘I am otherwise because of this’; ‘I am fleeting because of this’, ‘I am lasting because of this’; ‘mine because of this’, ‘such is mine because of this’, ‘thus is mine because of this’, ‘otherwise is mine because of this’; ‘also mine because of this’, ‘such is also mine because of this’, ‘thus is also mine because of this’, ‘otherwise is also mine because of this’; ‘I will be because of this’, ‘I will be such because of this’, ‘I will be thus because of this’, ‘I will be otherwise because of this’. That’s how a mendicant is not ignited.

22And how does a mendicant burn up? It’s when a mendicant hasn’t given up the conceit ‘I am’, cut it off at the root, made it like a palm stump, obliterated it, so it’s unable to arise in the future. That’s how a mendicant is burned up.

23And how does a mendicant not burn up? It’s when a mendicant has given up the conceit ‘I am’, cut it off at the root, made it like a palm stump, obliterated it, so it’s unable to arise in the future. That’s how a mendicant is not burned up.”