Saṃyutta Nikāya
II. Nidāna Vagga
12. Nidāna Saṃyutta
2. Āhāra Vagga
Sutta 12
Moḷiya-Phagguna Suttaṃ
Top-knot-Phagguna
Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds
[1][pts][than][bodh] I HEAR TELL:
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:
"Four, Beggars, are the foods
of established living things,
or for the assistance
of beings seeking existence.
What four?
Made-edible food,
substantial or subtle;
contact is the second;
intentions the third;
consciousness the fourth.
These then, beggars, are the four foods
of established living things,
or for the assistance
of beings seeking existence."
§
This said, the elder, Top-knot-Phagguna,
said this to The Lucky Man:
"Now then who, Bhante, feeds on
the consciousness food?"
"Not a well put question,"
said The Lucky Man.
"I do not say:
'feeds on'.
If I were to say:
'feeds on',
this would be a well-put question:
'Now then who, Bhante,
feeds on?'
But I did not say this,
and not having said this,
it is thus
that you should put this question:
'Now then for what, Bhante,
is the consciousness food?'
That would be
the well-put question.
This would be
the well-put response:
'Consciousness-food is employed[1]
for turning up in further-existence.'
This living being
is the six sense spheres;
the six sense-spheres result in
contact."
-◦-
"Now then who, Bhante,
contacts?"
"Not a well put question,"
said The Lucky Man.
"I do not say:
'contacts'.
If I were to say:
'contacts',
this would be a well-put question:
'Now then who, Bhante,
contacts?'
But I did not say this,
and not having said this,
it is thus
that you should put this question:
'Now then what, Bhante,
results in contact?'
That would be
the well-put question.
This would be
the well-put response:
The six sense-spheres
result in contact,
contact results in
sensation."
-◦-
"Now then who, Bhante, experiences sensation?"
"Not a well put question,"
said The Lucky Man.
"I do not say:
'experiences sensation'.
If I were to say:
'experiences sensation',
this would be
a well-put question:
'Now then who, Bhante,
experiences sensation?'
But I did not say this,
and not having said this,
it is thus
that you should put this question:
'Now then what, Bhante,
results in experiencing sensation?'
That would be
the well-put question.
This would be
the well-put response:
'Contact results in
experiencing sensation,
experiencing sensation results in
thirst.'
-◦-
"Now then who, Bhante,
thirsts?"
"Not a well put question,"
said The Lucky Man.
"I do not say:
'thirsts'.
If I were to say:
'thursts',
this would be
a well-put question:
'Now then who, Bhante,
thirsts?'
But I did not say this,
and not having said this,
it is thus
that you should put this question:
'Now then what, Bhante,
results in thirst?'
That would be
the well-put question.
This would be
the well-put response:
'Sensation results in
thirst,
thirst results in
bind-ups.'[2]
-◦-
"Now then who, Bhante,
gets bound-up?"
"Not a well put question,"
said The Lucky Man.
"I do not say:
'gets bound-up'.
If I were to say:
'gets bound-up',
this would be a well-put question:
'Now then who, Bhante,
gets bound-up?'
But I did not say this,
and not having said this,
it is thus
that you should put this question:
'Now then what, Bhante,
results in getting bound-up?'
That would be
the well-put question.
This would be
the well-put response:
Thirst results in
getting bound-up,
getting bound-up results in
existence,
existence results in
birth,
birth results in
aging and death,
grief and lamentation
pain and misery
and despair.
Even thus
is the self-arising
of this pile of pain
made to be.
■
But, Phagguna:
with passionless ending
of the spheres of contact[3]
contact ends;
contact ending
sensation ends,
sensation ending,
thirst ends,
thirst ending,
bind-ups end,
bind-ups ending,
existence ends,
existence ending,
birth ends,
birth ending,
ends aging and death
grief and lamentation
pain and misery
and despair
becoming one's own.
Even thus
is the ending
of this pile of pain
made to be.
[1] Āyatiṃ > ayatana in meaning 2: exertion, doing, working, practice, performance. Neither Rhys Davids' 'cause' nor Bhk. Bodhi's 'condition'. Rhys Davids and Bhk. Bodhi focus on the switch from 'who' to 'what', but the Buddha's objection is not so much to the 'who' — the Buddha objects to the ideas 'feeds on', 'touches', 'intends' and 'cognizes' as implying the nourishment of a being that is feeding, where what is intended is that these foods further or bring about further existence. The first case implies, by pointing backward in Time, to a constant existing being.
[2] Upādiyatī. Fueling, planning-to-get. Fueling the fire. This stands in for mano-sañcetanā. The fuel for existence (or freedom from existence) is the contemplation of and wishing for and intending to get such. The consciousness food is implied by the resulting state: either as consciousness of being an existing being or as consciousness of freedom from existence.
[3] Phassāyatanāna. Spheres of contact. Not 'the six bases for contact' [Bhk. Bodhi] or 'the sixfold sphere of sense-contact' [Mrs. Rhys Davids] or 'the six sense media' [Bhk. Thanissaro], it is the equivalent of all these.
