[540] "Venerable sirs, suppose a black ox and a white ox were joined together by a single tether or yoke-rope. Would one speaking thus be speaking rightly, if he said: 'The black ox is the fetter (saṃyojana) of the white ox; the white ox is the fetter of the black ox'?"
"No indeed, householder. The black ox is not the fetter of the white ox, nor is the white ox the fetter of the black ox; but the single tether or yoke-rope by which the two are joined together — that is the fetter there."
"Even so, venerable sirs, the eye is not the fetter of forms, nor are forms the fetter of the eye; but the desire and lust (chandarāga) that arises there in dependence on both — that is the fetter there. The ear is not [the fetter] of sounds… The nose is not [the fetter] of odours… The tongue is not [the fetter] of tastes… The body is not the fetter of tangibles, nor are tangibles the fetter of the body; but the desire and lust that arises there in dependence on both — that is the fetter there. The mind is not the fetter of mental phenomena (dhammā), nor are mental phenomena the fetter of the mind; but the desire and lust that arises there in dependence on both — that is the fetter there."
"It is a gain for you, householder! It is well gained by you, householder, in that your eye of wisdom ranges over the deep word of the Buddha."
The first [sutta].
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.