Saṃyutta Nikāya
2. Nidāna Vagga
12. Nidāna-Saṃyutta
1. Buddha-vaggo
The Connected Discourses of the Buddha
Part II.
The Book of Causation Nidāna-Vagga
12. Connected Discourses on Causation
I. The Buddhas
Namo tassa Bhagavato arahato sammā-sambuddhassa
Homage to the Blessed One,
the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One
Sutta 1
Desanā
Dependent Origination
Translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi
Copyright Bhikkhu Bodhi 2000, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Wisdom Publications, 2000)
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[1.1][pts][olds] Thus have I heard.
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.
There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus:
"Bhikkhus!"
"Venerable sir!" those bhikkhus replied.
The Blessed One said this:
Bhikkhus, I will teach you dependent origination.
Listen to that and attend closely, I will speak."
"Yes, venerable sir," those bhikkhus replied.
The Blessed One said this:
"And what, bhikkhus, is dependent origination?
With ignorance as condition, volitional formations [come to be][1];
with volitional formations as condition, consciousness;
with consciousness as condition, name-and-form;
with name-and-form as condition, the six sense bases;
with the six sense bases as condition, contact;
with contact as condition, feeling;
with feeling as condition, craving;
with craving as condition, clinging;
with clinging as condition, existence;
with existence as condition, birth;
with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be.
Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.
This, bhikkhus, is called dependent origination.
But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional formations;
with the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of consciousness;
with the cessation of consciousness, cessation of name-and-form;
with the cessation of name-and-form, cessation of the six sense bases;
with the cessation of the six sense bases, cessation of contact;
with the cessation of contact, cessation of feeling;
with the cessation of feeling, cessation of craving;
with the cessation of craving, cessation of clinging;
with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence;
with the cessation of existence, cessation of birth;
with the cessation of birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation,
pain, displeasure, and despair cease.
Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering."
This is what the Blessed One said.
Elated, those bhikkhus delighted in the Blessed One's statement.
[1] Spk: When it is said, "With ignorance as condition, volitional formatins," the meaning should be understood by this method: "It is ignorance and it is a condition, hence 'ignorance-as-condition' (avijjā ca sā paccayo cā ti avijjāpaccayo). Through that ignorance-as-condition volitional formations come to be (tasmā avijjāpaccayā saṇkhārā sambhavanti)."
This explanation suggests that the verb sambhavanti, which in the text occurs only at the end of the whole formula, should be connected to each proposition, thus establishing that each conditioned state arises through its condition. The twelve terms of the formula are treated analytically in the next sutta.
At the end of the paragraph, Ee reads ayaṃ vucati bhikkhave samuppādo, but this must be an editorial error as both Be and Se have paṭicca-samuppādo.
