“Well then, reverends, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, reverend,” they replied. Venerable Mahākaccāna said this:

“Reverends, the Buddha gave this brief summary recital, then entered his dwelling without explaining the meaning in detail: ‘Don’t run back to the past … that’s who has one fine night—so declares the peaceful sage.’ And this is how I understand the detailed meaning of this summary recital.

And how do you run back to the past? Consciousness gets tied up there with desire and lust, thinking: ‘In the past I had such eyes and such sights.’ So you take pleasure in that, and that’s when you run back to the past. Consciousness gets tied up there with desire and lust, thinking: ‘In the past I had such ears and such sounds … such a nose and such smells … such a tongue and such tastes … such a body and such touches … such a mind and such ideas.’ So you take pleasure in that, and that’s when you run back to the past. That’s how you run back to the past.