Withdrawn (Patilīnasutta)
First published: February 28, 2026
What you learn
This sutta teaches the Buddha's definition of a "withdrawn" monk through three specific qualities: discarding personal truths, ceasing searchings, and calming bodily formations. Here the Buddha explains how spiritual monks must abandon attachment to metaphysical views about the nature of existence, the afterlife, and the relationship between soul and body. The teaching emphasizes giving up the search for sensual pleasures, continued existence, and even the spiritual life itself. The sutta provides a clear framework for understanding what constitutes genuine spiritual withdrawal from worldly entanglements.
Where it sits
This sutta appears in the Anguttara Nikaya's "Book of Fours" within the chapter on wheels, focusing on the systematic analysis of spiritual development. The metaphysical questions mentioned here directly relate to the ten undeclared questions that the Buddha consistently refused to answer throughout the canon, as they do not lead to liberation. The three types of searching described connect to the broader Buddhist teaching on the three types of craving found elsewhere in the canon. This teaching complements other Anguttara Nikaya passages that define the qualities of advanced monks.
Suggested use
Use this teaching to examine your own attachment to philosophical positions and metaphysical beliefs that may hinder spiritual progress. When you notice yourself getting caught up in debates about ultimate reality or afterlife questions, remember this framework for letting go of such speculations. Apply the three-fold analysis during meditation by observing when you're searching for pleasant experiences, trying to maintain certain states, or even grasping at spiritual attainments.
Guidance
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AN 4.38 — Withdrawn (Patilīnasutta)
an4.38:gu:0001Guidance (not part of the sutta)
an4.38:gu:0002What this discourse is really about
an4.38:gu:0003When the mind finally stops its relentless searching—for pleasure, for meaning, for the "right" philosophical position—what remains? This sutta offers a rare glimpse into the profound stillness that emerges when a monk has truly let go, not just of obvious attachments, but of the very need to hold any fixed views about existence itself.
an4.38:gu:0004This discourse presents a portrait of complete withdrawal from the endless debates that consumed ancient India's spiritual seekers: Is the world eternal? Does the soul survive death? Rather than taking sides, this teaching reveals how true peace comes from abandoning the very impulse to grasp at metaphysical certainties. The "withdrawn" monk described here has moved beyond even the subtle conceit of "I am"—a letting go so complete that the usual mental formations that drive our seeking simply calm down.
an4.38:gu:0005What makes this teaching particularly valuable is its practical roadmap from philosophical entanglement to genuine freedom, showing how the deepest meditative states naturally support this release from mental proliferation.
an4.38:gu:0006Key teachings
an4.38:gu:0007- A withdrawn monk has three specific qualities: discarding personal truths about metaphysical questions, ceasing all forms of searching, and calming bodily formations through deep meditation
- Personal truths include philosophical positions about whether the world is eternal, finite, or infinite, and whether enlightened beings continue after death - all such speculative views are abandoned
- The three types of searching that cease are: seeking sensual pleasures, seeking continued existence, and seeking spiritual attainments
- Bodily formations are calmed through reaching the fourth jhana, which has pure equanimity and mindfulness without pleasure or pain
- True withdrawal involves eliminating the conceit "I am" completely, cutting it off at the root so it cannot arise again
Common misunderstandings
an4.38:gu:0009- People think "discarding personal truths" means abandoning the Four Noble Truths or other core Buddhist teachings, when it specifically refers to metaphysical speculation that this discourse declares unhelpful for liberation
- Many believe that ceasing the search for the spiritual life means stopping practice entirely, rather than understanding this as letting go of grasping and striving even within spiritual development
- Monks often confuse withdrawal with physical isolation or social avoidance, missing that this teaching describes an internal state of non-attachment to views and cravings
Try this today
an4.38:gu:0011- When philosophical or religious debates arise, notice your attachment to particular positions about ultimate reality and practice letting go of the need to hold fixed views on unanswerable questions
- During meditation, observe when you are searching for pleasant states, trying to avoid unpleasant experiences, or grasping at spiritual achievements, then return attention to present-moment awareness without seeking anything
- Examine daily activities for the three types of craving: wanting sensual satisfaction, wanting experiences to continue, or wanting to attain special spiritual states, then practice engaging without these underlying motivations
If this landed, read next
an4.38:gu:0013- mn63 - This discourse shows the refusal to answer Malunkyaputta's metaphysical questions, explaining that such speculation does not lead to liberation, directly connecting to the "personal truths" mentioned in this teaching
- sn45.2 - Describes the search for the deathless and finding the noble eightfold path, providing context for understanding what constitutes beneficial versus harmful spiritual seeking
- mn121 - Details the fourth jhana and the calming of bodily formations, explaining the meditative state that characterizes the withdrawn monk described in this sutta