1At Sāvatthī.

“Ignorance is a condition for choices.

Choices are a condition for consciousness. … That is how this entire mass of suffering originates.”

When this was said, one of the mendicants asked the Buddha: “What are old age and death, sir, and who do they belong to?”

“That’s not a fitting question,” said the Buddha. “You might say, ‘What are old age and death, and who do they belong to?’ Or you might say, ‘Old age and death are one thing, who they belong to is another.’ But both of these mean the same thing, only the phrasing differs. Mendicant, if you have the view that the soul and the body are the same thing, there is no living of the spiritual life. If you have the view that the soul and the body are different things, there is no living of the spiritual life. Avoiding these two extremes, the Realized One teaches by the middle way: ‘Rebirth is a condition for old age and death.’”

2“What is rebirth, sir, and who does it belong to?”

“That’s not a fitting question,” said the Buddha. “You might say, ‘What is rebirth, and who does it belong to?’ Or you might say, ‘Rebirth is one thing, who it belongs to is another.’ But both of these mean the same thing, only the phrasing differs. Mendicant, if you have the view that the soul and the body are the same thing, there is no living of the spiritual life. If you have the view that the soul and the body are different things, there is no living of the spiritual life. Avoiding these two extremes, the Realized One teaches by the middle way: ‘Continued existence is a condition for rebirth.’”

3“What is continued existence, sir, and who is it for?”

“That’s not a fitting question,” said the Buddha. “You might say, ‘What is continued existence, and who does it belong to?’ Or you might say, ‘Continued existence is one thing, who it belongs to is another.’ But both of these mean the same thing, only the phrasing differs. Mendicant, if you have the view that the soul and the body are identical, there is no living of the spiritual life. If you have the view that the soul and the body are different things, there is no living of the spiritual life. Avoiding these two extremes, the Realized One teaches by the middle way: ‘Grasping is a condition for continued existence.’ … ‘Craving is a condition for grasping.’ … ‘Feeling is a condition for craving.’ … ‘Contact is a condition for feeling.’ … ‘The six sense fields are conditions for contact.’ … ‘Name and form are conditions for the six sense fields.’ … ‘Consciousness is a condition for name and form.’ … ‘Choices are a condition for consciousness.’”

4“What are choices, sir, and who do they belong to?”

“That’s not a fitting question,” said the Buddha. “You might say, ‘What are choices, and who do they belong to?’ Or you might say, ‘Choices are one thing, who they belong to is another.’ But both of these mean the same thing, only the phrasing differs. Mendicant, if you have the view that the soul and the body are the same thing, there is no living of the spiritual life. If you have the view that the soul and the body are different things, there is no living of the spiritual life. Avoiding these two extremes, the Realized One teaches by the middle way: ‘Ignorance is a condition for choices.’

5When ignorance fades away and ceases with nothing left over, then any tricks, dodges, and evasions are given up: ‘What are old age and death, and who do they belong to?’ or ‘old age and death are one thing, who they belong to is another’, or ‘the soul and the body are the same thing’, or ‘the soul and the body are different things.’ These are all cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future.

6When ignorance fades away and ceases with nothing left over, then any tricks, dodges, and evasions are given up: ‘What is rebirth, and who does it belong to?’ or ‘rebirth is one thing, who it belongs to is another’, or ‘the soul and the body are the same thing’, or ‘the soul and the body are different things.’ These are all cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future.

7When ignorance fades away and ceases with nothing left over, then any tricks, dodges, and evasions are given up: ‘What is continued existence …’ ‘What is grasping …’ ‘What is craving …’ ‘What is feeling …’ ‘What is contact …’ ‘What are the six sense fields …’ ‘What are name and form …’ ‘What is consciousness …’

8When ignorance fades away and ceases with nothing left over, then any tricks, dodges, and evasions are given up: ‘What are choices, and who do they belong to?’ or ‘choices are one thing, who they belong to is another’, or ‘the soul and the body are the same thing’, or ‘the soul and the body are different things.’ These are all cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future.”

1Sāvatthiyaṁ vihārati.

"Avijjāpaccayā, bhikkhave, saṅkhārā;

saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇaṁ … pe … evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hotī"ti.

Evaṁ vutte, aññataro bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "‘katamaṁ nu kho, bhante, jarāmaraṇaṁ, kassa ca panidaṁ jarāmaraṇan’ti?

‘No kallo pañho’ti bhagavā avoca, ‘katamaṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ, kassa ca panidaṁ jarāmaraṇan’ti iti vā, bhikkhu, yo vadeyya, ‘aññaṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ aññassa ca panidaṁ jarāmaraṇan’ti, iti vā, bhikkhu, yo vadeyya, ubhayametaṁ ekatthaṁ byañjanameva nānaṁ. Taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīranti vā, bhikkhu, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso na hoti. Aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīranti vā, bhikkhu, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso na hoti. Ete te, bhikkhu, ubho ante anupāgamma majjhena tathāgato dhammaṁ deseti: ‘jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇan’"ti.

2"Katamā nu kho, bhante, jāti, kassa ca panāyaṁ jātī"ti?

"No kallo pañho"ti bhagavā avoca, "‘katamā jāti, kassa ca panāyaṁ jātī’ti iti vā, bhikkhu, yo vadeyya, ‘aññā jāti aññassa ca panāyaṁ jātī’ti iti vā, bhikkhu, yo vadeyya, ubhayametaṁ ekatthaṁ byañjanameva nānaṁ. Taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīranti vā, bhikkhu, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso na hoti. Aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīranti vā, bhikkhu, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso na hoti. Ete te, bhikkhu, ubho ante anupāgamma majjhena tathāgato dhammaṁ deseti: ‘bhavapaccayā jātī’"ti.

3"Katamo nu kho, bhante, bhavo, kassa ca panāyaṁ bhavo"ti?

"No kallo pañho"ti bhagavā avoca, "‘katamo bhavo, kassa ca panāyaṁ bhavo’ti iti vā, bhikkhu, yo vadeyya, ‘añño bhavo aññassa ca panāyaṁ bhavo’ti iti vā, bhikkhu, yo vadeyya, ubhayametaṁ ekatthaṁ byañjanameva nānaṁ. Taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīranti vā, bhikkhu, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso na hoti; aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīranti vā, bhikkhu, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso na hoti. Ete te, bhikkhu, ubho ante anupāgamma majjhena tathāgato dhammaṁ deseti: ‘upādānapaccayā bhavo’ti … pe … ‘taṇhāpaccayā upādānanti … vedanāpaccayā taṇhāti … phassapaccayā vedanāti … saḷāyatanapaccayā phassoti … nāmarūpapaccayā saḷāyatananti … viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpanti … saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇan’"ti.

4"Katame nu kho, bhante, saṅkhārā, kassa ca panime saṅkhārā"ti?

"No kallo pañho"ti bhagavā avoca, "‘katame saṅkhārā kassa ca panime saṅkhārā’ti iti vā, bhikkhu, yo vadeyya, ‘aññe saṅkhārā aññassa ca panime saṅkhārā’ti iti vā, bhikkhu, yo vadeyya, ubhayametaṁ ekatthaṁ byañjanameva nānaṁ. Taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīranti vā, bhikkhu, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso na hoti; aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīranti vā, bhikkhu, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso na hoti. Ete te, bhikkhu, ubho ante anupāgamma majjhena tathāgato dhammaṁ deseti: ‘avijjāpaccayā saṅkhārā’"ti.

5"Avijjāya tveva, bhikkhu, asesavirāganirodhā yānissa tāni visūkāyikāni visevitāni vipphanditāni kānici kānici. ‘Katamaṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ, kassa ca panidaṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ’ iti vā, ‘aññaṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ, aññassa ca panidaṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ’ iti vā, ‘taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīraṁ’ iti vā, ‘aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīraṁ’ iti vā. Sabbānissa tāni pahīnāni bhavanti ucchinnamūlāni tālāvatthukatāni anabhāvaṅkatāni āyatiṁ anup pāda dhammāni.

6Avijjāya tveva, bhikkhu, asesavirāganirodhā yānissa tāni visūkāyikāni visevitāni vipphanditāni kānici kānici. ‘Katamā jāti, kassa ca panāyaṁ jāti’ iti vā, ‘aññā jāti, aññassa ca panāyaṁ jāti’ iti vā, ‘taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīraṁ’ iti vā, ‘aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīraṁ’ iti vā. Sabbānissa tāni pahīnāni bhavanti ucchinnamūlāni tālāvatthukatāni anabhāvaṅkatāni āyatiṁ anup pāda dhammāni.

7Avijjāya tveva, bhikkhu, asesavirāganirodhā yānissa tāni visūkāyikāni visevitāni vipphanditāni kānici kānici. Katamo bhavo … pe … katamaṁ upādānaṁ … katamā taṇhā … katamā vedanā … katamo phasso … katamaṁ saḷāyatanaṁ … katamaṁ nāmarūpaṁ … katamaṁ viññāṇaṁ … pe … .

8Avijjāya tveva, bhikkhu, asesavirāganirodhā yānissa tāni visūkāyikāni visevitāni vipphanditāni kānici kānici. ‘Katame saṅkhārā, kassa ca panime saṅkhārā’ iti vā, ‘aññe saṅkhārā, aññassa ca panime saṅkhārā’ iti vā, ‘taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīraṁ’ iti vā, ‘aññaṁ jīvaṁ, aññaṁ sarīraṁ’ iti vā. Sabbānissa tāni pahīnāni bhavanti ucchinnamūlāni tālāvatthukatāni anabhāvaṅkatāni āyatiṁ anup pāda dhammānī"ti.

Pañcamaṁ.