Saṃyutta Nikāya
II. Nidāna Vagga
12. Nidāna-Saṃyutta
1. Buddha Vagga
Namo tassa Bhagavato arahato sammā-sambuddhassa
Sutta 1
Desanā Suttaṃ
Position
Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds
Imasmiṃ sati, idaṃ hoti,
imass'uppādā, idaṃ uppajjati;
imasmiṃ asati, idaṃ na hoti;
imassa nirodhā, idaṃ nirujjhati.
This being, that becomes;
this arising, that arises;
this not being, that does not become:
by ending this, that ends.
Introduction
This formula has nothing to do with 'causation'. Blindness does not cause consciousness. Consciousness, in this case consciousnes of identification with named forms, is one of any number of things that might result from blindness. To understand the point, you need to start at the other end: "How does one get rid of grief and lamentation, pain and misery, and despair?" That is accomplished by no longer identifying with the individuality that is the result of blindness as to where it always ends. This is the story of how that identification occurs and how it can be made not to recur. That it can be brought to an end is the position taken by the Buddha that is being explained in the yarns of this chapter of the Saṃutta Nikāya. I believe the suttas of this chapter should be read together.
Once upon a time, The Lucky man,
Sāvatthi-town revisiting,
Jeta Grove,
Anathapiṇḍika's Sporting Grounds.
There then The Lucky Man addressed the beggars, saying:
"Beggars!"
And the beggars responding
"Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said this to them:
"I will teach you
rebounding[1] self-arising.[2][3]
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man then said:
"And what, Beggars,
is rebounding self-arising?
Rebounding off blindness, beggars,
own-making[4]
rebounding off own-making,
consciousness[5]
rebounding off consciousness,
named-form[6]
rebounding off named-form,
the six-realms[7]
rebounding off the six-realms,
touch[8]
rebounding off touch,
sensation[9]
rebounding off sensation,
thirst[10]
rebounding off thirst,
bind-ups[11]
rebounding off bind-ups,
existence[12]
rebounding off existence,
birth
rebounding off birth,
aging and death
grief and lamentation
pain and misery
and despair
become one's own.
Even thus
is the self-arising
of this pile of pain
made to be.
Thus told, beggars,
is self-arising.
■
But if you
utterly-dispassionately-end blindness,
own-making is ended
own-making ended,
consciousness is ended
consciousness ended,
named-form is ended
named-form ended,
the six-realms are ended
the six-realms ended,
touch is ended
touch ended,
sensation is ended
sensation ended,
thirst is ended
thirst ended,
bind-ups are ended
bind-ups ended,
existence is ended
existence ended,
birth is ended
birth ended,
aging and death
grief and lamentation
pain and misery
and despair
are ended.
Even so
is this pile of pain
made to not be."
That is what The Lucky Man said.
And, the Beggars, High-in-Mind at The Lucky Man's exposition,
were exceeding-pleased.
[1] Paṭicca. PED: "gerund of Pacceti [paṭi + i] to come onto, come back to, figurative fall back on." Paṭi: PED: "directional prefix in well-defined meaning of "back (to), against, towards, in opposition to, opposite." The idea is rebounding, percussing, bouncing off. If tied to this, that rebounds off it.
[2] Samuppāda. Sam + uppāda. Self arising. Taken as having the double meaning of "arising by itself" and "arising as the self".
[3] PED: The paṭicca-samuppāda is also called the Nidāna paccayākāra. Nidāna Paccaya Saṇkhāra Tied down Rebounding Own-making. PED: The oldest account is found in the Mahāpadāna Suttanta of the Dīgha Nikāya. (Also see: Mahā-Nidāna Suttanta)
Nidāna PED: (neuter) [Sanskrit nidāna, ni + dāna Ni = down; dāna = bound. The name given to the first knot in the weaving of a rug. PED: dā, dyati to bind, cf. Greek δέσμα, δῆμα (fetter) ... (a) (noun) tying down to.
[4] Saṇkhāra. San = 0wn, or self; khāra = make. Identification with the intent to create personal experience by way of thoughts, words, or deeds, and the identification with the resultant thing made. The difference between this and kamma is in the intent to create experience for the self. The whole point of this formula is the explanation of how the identification of self comes to be attached to sense experience. It happens because that thing there that is currently identified with as self intends to extend that life through its actions.
[5] Viññāṇa. Re-knowing-knowing-knowledge. The knowledge of knowing the known. Awareness of knowing. Kenning: knowing. Called consciousness here because that is how it is generally known. In this case its intended meaning is "sense-consciousness".
[6] Nāma-rūpa. Nāma = name; rūpa = form. All existing things, (existing in what the Buddha taught meaning perceived through the senses) including things with no apparent shape such as wave-forms, sounds, and beings that do not have visible bodies, are characterized as having substance and are named.
[7] Saḷāyatana. Sala = six; ayatana = realms. The realm of the senses: eye and visible objects; ear and sounds; nose and scents; tongue and tastes; body and touches; mind and mental objects (mental objects being the sense-conscousneses of the other senses plus memory). All six together also known as "The All" meaning that this group encompasses everything that has come into existence.
[8] Phassa. Touch, meaning contact.
[9] Vedanā. Experience. To be understood 3 different ways: as the experience of the Arahant, as the sense-experience of the ordinary being, and as here, the sensation arising from consciousness of contact of sense-organ with sense-object. Sensation is experienced in three ways: as pleasant, as unpleasant, and as neither unpleasant nor pleasant. Sensation that is experienced as neither unpleasant nor pleasant is experienced in 2 ways: by the ignorant, world-bound individual as being a lack of stimulation and therefore to be replaced as soon as possible with some pleasaant stimulation; and by the one on the path to the end of pain as a taste of Nibbāna. In neither case of the sensation that is neither unpleasant nor unpleasant is it a feeling, that is, 'neutral' sensation. "Sensation" is used here simply to define the lack of either the pleasant or unpleasent. This "sensation" is the object of "not-doing".
[10] Taṇhā. Hungar/thirst. Yearning, wanting, desire, mooning, hankering ... for the stability or further experience of the sensation.
[11] Upādāna. Upa = uprisen; dāna = bound. The plans and intents and actions that are hoped will bring about the desired sense experience. Grasping, upkeep, fuel are some other translations. As laid out in this formula this is a sub-category of saṇkhāra.
[12] Bhava. becoming, existence, life, being, living. PED: "There are 3 states of existence conventionally enumerated as kāma-, rūpa-, arūpa- or sensual existence, deva-corporeal, and formless existence." Here what is intended is the possibility of rebirth in a sub-human, human, deity, or purely mental state. All are considered states of sense-existence, and this is an all-inclusive list of states of existence, or sense-existence.
