[193] Then Saṅgārava the brahmin approached the Blessed One; having approached, he exchanged greetings with the Blessed One, and when the courteous and memorable talk was concluded, he sat down at one side. Sitting at one side, Saṅgārava the brahmin said this to the Blessed One: "What, Master Gotama, is the cause, what is the condition, why at times even hymns (mantā) that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited? And what, Master Gotama, is the cause, what is the condition, why at times even hymns that have not been recited for a long time do recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited?"
"Brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind obsessed by sensual lust (kāmarāga), overwhelmed by sensual lust, and one does not understand as it really is the escape (nissaraṇa) from arisen sensual lust — on that occasion one neither knows nor sees as it really is even one's own good; on that occasion one neither knows nor sees as it really is even the good of others; on that occasion one neither knows nor sees as it really is even the good of both. Then even hymns that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. Suppose, brahmin, a bowl of water mixed with lac, turmeric, blue dye, or madder: a man with good eyesight, examining there the reflection of his own face, would neither know nor see it as it really is. Just so, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind obsessed by sensual lust, overwhelmed by sensual lust, and one does not understand as it really is the escape from arisen sensual lust — on that occasion one neither knows nor sees as it really is even one's own good; on that occasion one neither knows nor sees as it really is even the good of others; on that occasion one neither knows nor sees as it really is even the good of both. Then even hymns that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited.
"Again, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind obsessed by ill will (byāpāda), overwhelmed by ill will, and one does not understand as it really is the escape from arisen ill will … then even hymns that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. Suppose, brahmin, a bowl of water heated by fire, boiling, bubbling up: a man with good eyesight, examining there the reflection of his own face, would neither know nor see it as it really is. Just so, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind obsessed by ill will, overwhelmed by ill will, and one does not understand as it really is the escape from arisen ill will … then even hymns that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited.
"Again, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind obsessed by dullness and drowsiness (thīna-middha), overwhelmed by dullness and drowsiness, and one does not understand as it really is the escape from arisen dullness and drowsiness … then even hymns that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. Suppose, brahmin, a bowl of water covered over with algae and water-plants: a man with good eyesight, examining there the reflection of his own face, would neither know nor see it as it really is. Just so, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind obsessed by dullness and drowsiness, overwhelmed by dullness and drowsiness, and one does not understand as it really is the escape from arisen dullness and drowsiness … then even hymns that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited.
"Again, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind obsessed by restlessness and remorse (uddhacca-kukkucca), overwhelmed by restlessness and remorse, and one does not understand as it really is the escape from arisen restlessness and remorse … then even hymns that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. Suppose, brahmin, a bowl of water stirred by the wind, shaken, swirling, churned into waves: a man with good eyesight, examining there the reflection of his own face, would neither know nor see it as it really is. Just so, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind obsessed by restlessness and remorse, overwhelmed by restlessness and remorse, and one does not understand as it really is the escape from arisen restlessness and remorse … then even hymns that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited.
"Again, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind obsessed by doubt (vicikicchā), overwhelmed by doubt, and one does not understand as it really is the escape from arisen doubt … then even hymns that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. Suppose, brahmin, a bowl of water turbid, stirred up, muddy, set in the dark: a man with good eyesight, examining there the reflection of his own face, would neither know nor see it as it really is. Just so, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind obsessed by doubt, overwhelmed by doubt, and one does not understand as it really is the escape from arisen doubt … then even hymns that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited.
"But, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind not obsessed by sensual lust, not overwhelmed by sensual lust, and one understands as it really is the escape from arisen sensual lust — on that occasion one knows and sees as it really is even one's own good; on that occasion one knows and sees as it really is even the good of others; on that occasion one knows and sees as it really is even the good of both. Then even hymns that have not been recited for a long time recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited. Suppose, brahmin, a bowl of water not mixed with lac, turmeric, blue dye, or madder: a man with good eyesight, examining there the reflection of his own face, would know and see it as it really is. Just so, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind not obsessed by sensual lust, not overwhelmed by sensual lust, and one understands as it really is the escape from arisen sensual lust — on that occasion one knows and sees as it really is even one's own good; on that occasion one knows and sees as it really is even the good of others; on that occasion one knows and sees as it really is even the good of both. Then even hymns that have not been recited for a long time recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited.
"Again, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind not obsessed by ill will, not overwhelmed by ill will, and one understands as it really is the escape from arisen ill will … then even hymns that have not been recited for a long time recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited. Suppose, brahmin, a bowl of water not heated by fire, not boiling, not bubbling up: a man with good eyesight, examining there the reflection of his own face, would know and see it as it really is. Just so, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind not obsessed by ill will, not overwhelmed by ill will, and one understands as it really is the escape from arisen ill will … then even hymns that have not been recited for a long time recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited.
"Again, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind not obsessed by dullness and drowsiness, not overwhelmed by dullness and drowsiness, and one understands as it really is the escape from arisen dullness and drowsiness … then even hymns that have not been recited for a long time recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited. Suppose, brahmin, a bowl of water not covered over with algae and water-plants: a man with good eyesight, examining there the reflection of his own face, would know and see it as it really is. Just so, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind not obsessed by dullness and drowsiness, not overwhelmed by dullness and drowsiness, and one understands as it really is the escape from arisen dullness and drowsiness … then even hymns that have not been recited for a long time recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited.
"Again, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind not obsessed by restlessness and remorse, not overwhelmed by restlessness and remorse, and one understands as it really is the escape from arisen restlessness and remorse … then even hymns that have not been recited for a long time recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited. Suppose, brahmin, a bowl of water not stirred by the wind, not shaken, not swirling, not churned into waves: a man with good eyesight, examining there the reflection of his own face, would know and see it as it really is. Just so, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind not obsessed by restlessness and remorse, not overwhelmed by restlessness and remorse, and one understands as it really is the escape from arisen restlessness and remorse … then even hymns that have not been recited for a long time recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited.
"Again, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind not obsessed by doubt, not overwhelmed by doubt, and one understands as it really is the escape from arisen doubt … then even hymns that have not been recited for a long time recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited. Suppose, brahmin, a bowl of water clear, limpid, unturbid, set in the light: a man with good eyesight, examining there the reflection of his own face, would know and see it as it really is. Just so, brahmin, at whatever time one dwells with a mind not obsessed by doubt, not overwhelmed by doubt, and one understands as it really is the escape from arisen doubt … then even hymns that have not been recited for a long time recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited.
"This, brahmin, is the cause, this is the condition, why at times even hymns that have long been recited do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. And this, brahmin, is the cause, this is the condition, why at times even hymns that have not been recited for a long time do recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited."
"Excellent, Master Gotama! … Let Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who, from this day forth, has gone for refuge for as long as life lasts."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.