Saɱyutta Nikāya
II. Nidāna Vagga
12. Nidāna Saɱyutta
4. Kaḷara-Khattiya Vagga
The Book of the Kindred Sayings
Part II. The Book Called the Nidāna-Vagga
Containing Kindred sayings on Cause
and Other Subjects
12. The Kindred Sayings on Cause
4. Kaḷāra the Nobleman
Sutta 37
Na Tumha Suttaɱ
Not Yours
Translated by Mrs. Rhys Davids
Assisted by F. L. Woodward
Originally Published by
The Pali Text Society
Public Domain
The Exalted One was once staying near Sāvatthī
at the Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.
And there the Exalted One addressed the brethren, saying:
"Brethren!"
"Master!" responded those brethren.
The Exalted One said:
"This body, brethren, is not your own,
neither is it that of any others.[1]
It should be regarded
as brought about by action of the past,
by plans,[2]
by volitions,
by feelings.
[45] Now here, brethren, the well-taught Ariyan disciple
gives his mind thoroughly and systematically
to the causal law, to wit,
'This being,
that comes to be;
from the arising of this,
that arises;
this not being,
that ceases;
from the ceasing of this,
that ceases.'
To wit:
Conditioned by ignorance activities come to pass;
conditioned by activities consciousness,
conditioned by consciousness name-and-shape,
conditioned by name-and-shape six-fold-sense,
conditioned by six-fold-sense contact,
conditioned by contact feeling,
conditioned by feeling craving,
conditioned by craving grasping,
conditioned by grasping becoming,
conditioned by becoming birth,
conditioned by birth old age-and death,
grief,
lamenting,
suffering,
sorrow,
despair come to pass.
Such is the uprising of this entire mass of ill.
But from the utter fading away and ceasing of ignorance [comes] ceasing of activities;
from ceasing of activities ceasing of consciousness;
from ceasing of consciousness ceasing of name-and-shape;
from ceasing of name-and-shape ceasing of six-fold-sense;
from ceasing of six-fold-sense ceasing of contact;
from ceasing of contact ceasing of feeling;
from ceasing of feeling ceasing of craving;
from ceasing of craving ceasing of grasping;
from ceasing of grasping ceasing of becoming;
from ceasing of becoming ceasing of birth;
from ceasing of birth,
old age-and-death, grief, lamenting, suffering, sorrow, despair cease.
Such is the ceasing of this entire mass of ill.
Mrs. Rhys Davids tries to explain 'not-self' while retaining self here and ends up in a mess. The 'process' works by 'this resulting in that'. The idea of 'self' or 'soul' is based on speculative theories and needs to be let go to see the process without the distortion of 'self'-bias.
— p.p.
[1] This is to be understood as the same doctrine set out in Nos. 17, 18. Your present kāya (body, person) is not an entity always self-identical, nor is it different from an entity other than any past 'you.' It is the outcome of the kāyas in the past series of your lives. The Comy. bears out this interpretation.
[2] But Comy.: paccayehi kato.
