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Thus have I heard. Once the
Lord was staying among the Kurus. There is a market town there
called Kammasadhamma. And the Venerable Ananda (The Buddha's
cousin, a devoted disciple) came to the Lord, saluted him, sat down to
one side, and said: "It is wonderful, Lord, it is
marvelous how profound this dependent origination is, and how profound
it appears! And yet it appears to me as clear as clear!"
"Do not say that, Ananda, do not say that! This dependent origination is profound and appears
profound. It is through not understanding, not penetrating this
doctrine that this generation has become like a tangled ball of string,
covered as with a blight, tangled like coarse grass, unable to pass
beyond states of woe, the ill destiny, ruin, and the round of
birth-and-death."
"If, Ananda, you are asked: 'Has aging-and-death a condition for its existence?' you should answer:
'Yes.' If asked: 'What conditions aging-and-death?' you should
answer 'Aging-and-death is conditioned by birth. What conditions
birth?' ... 'Becoming conditions birth. Clinging conditions
becoming.' ... 'Craving conditions clinging.' ... 'Feeling conditions
craving.' ... 'Contact conditions feeling.' ... 'Mind-and-body
conditions contact.' ... 'Consciousness conditions mind-and-body.' ...
If asked: 'Has consciousness a condition for its existence?' you should
answer: 'Yes.' If asked, 'What conditions consciousness?' you
should answer: 'Mind-and-body conditions consciousness.'"
"Thus, Ananda, mind-and-body conditions consciousness and consciousness conditions mind-and-body,
mind-and-body conditions contact, contact conditions feeling, feeling
conditions craving, craving conditions clinging, clinging conditions
becoming, becoming conditions birth, birth conditions aging-and-death,
sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and distress. Thus this whole
mass of suffering comes into existence."
"I have said: 'Birth conditions aging-and-death,' and this is the way that should be
understood. If, Ananda, there were no birth at all, anywhere, of
anybody or anything: of devas to the devastate, of gandhabbas ... or
yakkhas ... of ghosts ... of humans ... of quadrupeds ... of birds ...
of reptiles to the reptile state, if there were absolutely no birth at
all of all these beings, then, with the absence of all birth, the
cessation of birth, could aging-and-death appear?" "No, Lord." "Therefore,
Ananda, just this is the root, the cause, the origin, the condition for
aging-and-death - namely birth."
"I have said: 'Becoming conditions birth.' ... If there were absolutely no
becoming: in the World of Sense-Desires, of Form or the Formless World
... could birth appear?"
"No, Lord." "Therefore just this is the condition of birth - namely becoming."
"'Clinging conditions becoming.'. ... If there were absolutely no clinging: sensuous clinging, clinging to views,
to rite-and-ritual, to personality-belief ... could becoming appear?"
"'Craving conditions clinging.' If there were absolutely no craving: for
sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, mind-objects ... could clinging appear?"
"'Feeling conditions craving,' ... If there were absolutely no feeling: feeling
born of eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact,
body-contact, mind-contact - in the absence of all feeling, with the
cessation of feeling, could craving appear?"
"No, Lord." "Therefore, Ananda, just this is the root, the cause, the origin, the condition for
craving - namely feeling."
"And so, Ananda, feeling conditions craving, craving conditions seeking,
seeking conditions acquisition, acquisition conditions decision-making,
decision-making conditions lustful desire, lustful desire conditions
attachment, attachment conditions appropriation, appropriation
conditions avarice, avarice conditions guarding of possessions, and
because of the guarding of possessions there arise the taking up of
stick and sword, quarrels, disputes, arguments, strife, abuse, lying and
other evil unskilled states."
"I have said: 'All these evil unskilled states arise because of the guarding of
possessions.' For if there were absolutely no guarding of
possessions ... would there be the taking up of stick or sword ... ?" "No,
Lord." "Therefore, Ananda, the guarding of possessions is the root, the cause, the origin,
the condition for all these evil unskilled states."
"I have said: 'Avarice conditions the guarding of possessions...'"
"'Appropriation conditions avarice, ... attachment conditions appropriation ... lustful
desire conditions attachment, ... decision-making conditions lustful
desire, ... acquisition conditions decision-making, ... seeking
conditions acquisition ...'"
"I have said: 'Craving conditions seeking.' If there were no craving, ...
would there be any seeking?" "No, Lord." "Therefore,
Ananda, craving is the root, the cause, the origin, the condition for
all seeking. Thus these two things become united in one by
feeling."
"I have said: 'Contact conditions feeling.' Therefore contact is the root,
the cause, the origin, the condition for feeling."
"'Mind-and-body conditions contact.' By whatever properties, features, signs or
indications the mind-factor is conceived of, would there, in the absence
of such properties ... pertaining to the mind-factor, be manifest any
grasping at the idea of the body-factor?" "No, Lord."
"Or in the absence of any such properties pertaining to the body-factor, would
there be any grasping at sensory reaction on the part of the
mind-factor?" "No, Lord."
"By whatever properties the mind-factor and the body-factor are designated -
in their absence is there manifested any grasping at the idea, or at
sensory reaction?" "No, Lord."
"By whatever properties, features, signs or indications the mind-factor is
conceived of, in the absence of these is there any contact to be found?" "No, Lord."
"Then, Ananda, just this, namely mind-and-body, is the root, the cause, the
origin, the condition for all contact."
"I have said: 'Consciousness conditions mind-and-body.' ... If consciousness
were not to come into the mother's womb, were to be deflected, would
mind-and-body come to birth in this life?" "No, Lord." "And if
the consciousness of a tender young being, boy or girl, were thus cut
off, would mind-and-body grow, develop and mature?" "No,
Lord." "Therefore, Ananda, just this, namely consciousness, is the root, the cause, the
origin, the condition of mind-and-body."
"I have said: 'Mind-and-body conditions consciousness.' ... If consciousness did
not find a resting-place in mind-an-dbody, would there subsequently be
an arising and coming-to-be of birth, aging, death and suffering?" "No,
Lord." "Therefore, Ananda, just this, namely mind-and-body, is the root, the cause, the
origin, the condition of consciousness. Thus far then, Ananda, we
can trace birth and decay, death and falling into other states and being
reborn, thus far extends the way of designation, of concepts, thus far
is the sphere of understanding, thus far the round goes as far as can be
discerned in this life, namely to mind-and-body together with
consciousness."
"In what ways, Ananda, do people explain the nature of the self? Some
declare the self to be material and limited, saying 'My self is material
and limited'; some declare it to be material and unlimited ... ; some
declare it to be immaterial and unlimited, saying: 'My self is
immaterial and unlimited.'"
"Whoever declares the self to be material and limited, considers it to be so
either now, or in the next world, thinking: 'Though it is not so now, I
shall acquire it there.' That being so, that is all we need to say
about the view that the self is material and limited, and the same
applies to the other theories. So much, Ananda, for those who
proffer an explanation of the self."
"How is it with those who do not explain the nature of the self? ..."
"In what ways, Ananda, do people regard the self? They equate the self
with feeling: 'Feeling is my self,' or: 'Feeling is not my self, my self
is impercipient,' or: 'Feeling is not my self, but my self is not
impercipient, it is of a nature to feel.'"
"Now, Ananda, one who says: 'Feeling is my self' should be told: 'There
are three kinds of feeling, friend: pleasant, painful, and neutral.
Which of the three do you consider your self?' When a pleasant
feeling is felt, no painful or neutral feeling is felt, but only
pleasant feeling. When a painful feeling is felt, no pleasant or
neutral feeling is felt, but only painful feeling. And when a
neutral feeling is felt, no pleasant or painful feeling is felt, but
only neutral feeling."
"Pleasant feeling is impermanent, conditioned, dependently-arisen, bound to decay,
to vanish, to fade away, to cease - and so too are painful feeling and
neutral feeling. So anyone who, on experiencing a pleasant
feeling, thinks: 'This is my self,' must, at the cessation of that
pleasant feeling, think: 'My self has gone!' and the same with painful
and neutral feelings. Thus whoever thinks: 'Feeling is my self' is
contemplating something in this present life that is impermanent, a
mixture of happiness and unhappiness, subject to arising and passing
away. Therefore it is not fitting to maintain: 'Feeling is my
self.'"
"But anyone who says: 'Feeling is not my self, my self is impercipient'
should be asked: 'If, friend, no feelings at all were to be experienced,
would there be the thought: "I am"?' (to which he would have to reply:) 'No, Lord.' Therefore it is not
fitting to maintain: 'Feeling is not my self, my self is impercipient.'"
"Any anyone who says: 'Feeling is not my self, but my self is not impercipient, my self is of
a nature to feel' should be asked: 'Well, friend, if all feelings
absolutely and totally ceased, could there be the thought: "I
am this"?' (to which he would have to reply:) 'No, Lord.' "Therefore it is not fitting
to maintain: 'Feeling is not my self, but my self is not impercipient,
my self is of a nature to feel.'"
"From the time, Ananda, when a monk no longer regards feeling as the self, or the self as being
impercipient, or as being percipient and of a nature to feel, by not so
regarding, he clings to nothing in the world; not clinging, he is not
excited by anything, and not being excited he gains personal liberation,
and he knows: 'Birth is finished, the holy life has been led, done was
what had to be done, there is nothing more here.'"
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