1At Sāvatthī.

Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:

“Sir, they speak of this thing called ‘ignorance’. What is ignorance? And how is an ignorant person defined?”

2“Mendicant, it’s when an uneducated ordinary person doesn’t truly understand form, which is liable to originate, as form which is liable to originate. They don’t truly understand form, which is liable to vanish, as form which is liable to vanish. They don’t truly understand form, which is liable to originate and vanish, as form which is liable to originate and vanish.

They don’t truly understand feeling … perception … choices … consciousness, which is liable to originate, as consciousness which is liable to originate. They don’t truly understand consciousness, which is liable to vanish, as consciousness which is liable to vanish. They don’t truly understand consciousness, which is liable to originate and vanish, as consciousness which is liable to originate and vanish.

This is called ignorance. And this is how an ignorant person is defined.”

3When he said this, the mendicant said to the Buddha:

“Sir, they speak of this thing called ‘knowledge’. What is knowledge? And how is a knowledgeable person defined?”

4“Mendicant, it’s when an educated noble disciple truly understands form, which is liable to originate, as form which is liable to originate. They truly understand form, which is liable to vanish, as form which is liable to vanish. They truly understand form, which is liable to originate and vanish, as form which is liable to originate and vanish.

They truly understand feeling … perception … choices … consciousness, which is liable to originate, as consciousness which is liable to originate. They truly understand consciousness, which is liable to vanish, as consciousness which is liable to vanish. They truly understand consciousness, which is liable to originate and vanish, as consciousness which is liable to originate and vanish.

This is called knowledge. And this is how a knowledgeable person is defined.”

1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

Atha kho aññataro bhikkhu yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā … pe … ekamantaṁ nisinno kho so bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

"‘avijjā, avijjā’ti, bhante, vuccati. Katamā nu kho, bhante, avijjā; kittāvatā ca avijjāgato hotī"ti?

2"Idha, bhikkhu, assutavā puthujjano samudayadhammaṁ rūpaṁ ‘samudayadhammaṁ rūpan’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti; vayadhammaṁ rūpaṁ ‘vayadhammaṁ rūpan’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti; samudayavayadhammaṁ rūpaṁ ‘samudayavayadhammaṁ rūpan’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti.

Samudayadhammaṁ vedanāṁ ‘samudayadhammā vedanā’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti; vayadhammaṁ vedanāṁ ‘vayadhammā vedanā’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti; samudayavayadhammaṁ vedanāṁ ‘samudayavayadhammā vedanā’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti. Samudayadhammaṁ saññaṁ … pe … samudayadhamme saṅkhāre ‘samudayadhammā saṅkhārā’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti; vayadhamme saṅkhāre ‘vayadhammā saṅkhārā’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti; samudayavayadhamme saṅkhāre ‘samudayavayadhammā saṅkhārā’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti. Samudayadhammaṁ viññāṇaṁ ‘samudayadhammaṁ viññāṇan’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti; vayadhammaṁ viññāṇaṁ ‘vayadhammaṁ viññāṇan’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti; samudayavayadhammaṁ viññāṇaṁ ‘samudayavayadhammaṁ viññāṇan’ti yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhu, avijjā; ettāvatā ca avijjāgato hotī"ti.

3Evaṁ vutte, so bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

"‘vijjā, vijjā’ti, bhante, vuccati. Katamā nu kho, bhante, vijjā; kittāvatā ca vijjāgato hotī"ti?

4"Idha, bhikkhu, sutavā ariyasāvako samudayadhammaṁ rūpaṁ ‘samudayadhammaṁ rūpan’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti; vayadhammaṁ rūpaṁ ‘vayadhammaṁ rūpan’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti; samudayavayadhammaṁ rūpaṁ ‘samudayavayadhammaṁ rūpan’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti. Samudayadhammaṁ vedanāṁ ‘samudayadhammā vedanā’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti; vayadhammaṁ vedanāṁ ‘vayadhammā vedanā’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti;

samudayavayadhammaṁ vedanāṁ ‘samudayavayadhammā vedanā’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti. Samudayadhammaṁ saññaṁ … samudayadhamme saṅkhāre ‘samudayadhammā saṅkhārā’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti; vayadhamme saṅkhāre ‘vayadhammā saṅkhārā’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti; samudayavayadhamme saṅkhāre ‘samudayavayadhammā saṅkhārā’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti. Samudayadhammaṁ viññāṇaṁ ‘samudayadhammaṁ viññāṇan’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti; vayadhammaṁ viññāṇaṁ ‘vayadhammaṁ viññāṇan’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti; samudayavayadhammaṁ viññāṇaṁ ‘samudayavayadhammaṁ viññāṇan’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhu, vijjā; ettāvatā ca vijjāgato hotī"ti.

Paṭhamaṁ.