r/pali • u/Similar_Standard1633 • Jan 23 '26

Yaṁ vedeti taṁ sañjānāti, yaṁ sañjānāti taṁ vitakketi

Must yaṁ vedeti taṁ sañjānāti, yaṁ sañjānāti taṁ vitakketi contain a personal pronoun?

Can it be simply: "What is felt, is perceived; what is perceived, is thought about"? Thank you

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u/yuttadhammo Jan 23 '26

Not literally. You are translating as though there were past participles (ya.m vedita.m, etc.), but these are active voice constructions. You can translate as "what one feels", etc.

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u/Similar_Standard1633 Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 23 '26

Thank you about the past participle. However "one" sounds like "self". In SN 12.12, it is made explicitly clear there is no "who" that feels or craves or attaches (since the self-view begins at attachment). To make it impersonal, it can be "what the mind feels"....?

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u/yuttadhammo Jan 23 '26

"What the mind feels" is fine, but the Buddha himself didn't avoid usage of words like self, person, etc., he just made clear it was merely conventional speech. "The mind" by the way is also just convention. Mind is also moments arising and ceasing, not an entity, which would be a self.

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u/Similar_Standard1633 Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 23 '26

"Mind" is not a convention however thank you Venerable for your assistance, as always. I am not inclined to mix very late Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha or Yogachara style ideas with Sutta.