sutta » sn » sn12 » Saṁyutta Nikāya 12.2

Vibhaṅgasutta

Analysis Analysis of Dependent Origination

Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.
At Sāvatthī.
At Sāvatthı̄.

“Paṭiccasamuppādaṁ vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi vibhajissāmi.
“Mendicants, I will teach and analyze for you dependent origination.
“Bhikkhus, I will teach you dependent origination and I will analyse it for you.

Taṁ suṇātha, sādhukaṁ manasi karotha, bhāsissāmī”ti.
Listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.”
Listen to that and attend closely, I will speak.”

“Evaṁ, bhante”ti kho te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ.
“Yes, sir,” they replied.
“Yes, venerable sir,” those bhikkhus replied.

Bhagavā etadavoca:
The Buddha said this:
The Blessed One said this:

“Katamo ca, bhikkhave, paṭiccasamuppādo?
“And what is dependent origination?
“And what, bhikkhus, is dependent origination?

Avijjāpaccayā, bhikkhave, saṅkhārā;
Ignorance is a condition for choices.
With ignorance as condition, volitional formations [come to be];

saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇaṁ;
Choices are a condition for consciousness.
with volitional formations as condition, consciousness;

viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpaṁ;
Consciousness is a condition for name and form.
with consciousness as condition, name-and-form;

nāmarūpapaccayā saḷāyatanaṁ;
Name and form are conditions for the six sense fields.
with name-and-form as condition, the six sense bases;

saḷāyatanapaccayā phasso;
The six sense fields are conditions for contact.
with the six sense bases as condition, contact;

phassapaccayā vedanā;
Contact is a condition for feeling.
with contact as condition, feeling;

vedanāpaccayā taṇhā;
Feeling is a condition for craving.
with feeling as condition, craving;

taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṁ;
Craving is a condition for grasping.
with craving as condition, clinging;

upādānapaccayā bhavo;
Grasping is a condition for continued existence.
with clinging as condition, existence;

bhavapaccayā jāti;
Continued existence is a condition for rebirth.
with existence as condition, birth;

jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇaṁ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā sambhavanti.
Rebirth is a condition for old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress to come to be.
with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be.

Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.
That is how this entire mass of suffering originates.
Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.

Katamañca, bhikkhave, jarāmaraṇaṁ?
And what is old age and death?
And what, bhikkhus, is aging-and-death?

Yā tesaṁ tesaṁ sattānaṁ tamhi tamhi sattanikāye jarā jīraṇatā khaṇḍiccaṁ pāliccaṁ valittacatā āyuno saṁhāni indriyānaṁ paripāko;
The old age, decrepitude, broken teeth, grey hair, wrinkly skin, diminished vitality, and failing faculties of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings.
The aging of the various beings in the various orders of beings, their growing old, brokenness of teeth, greyness of hair, wrinkling of skin, decline of vitality, degeneration of the faculties:

ayaṁ vuccati jarā.
This is called old age.
this is called aging.

Yā tesaṁ tesaṁ sattānaṁ tamhā tamhā sattanikāyā cuti cavanatā bhedo antaradhānaṁ maccu maraṇaṁ kālakiriyā khandhānaṁ bhedo kaḷevarassa nikkhepo (…),
The passing away, passing on, disintegration, demise, mortality, death, decease, breaking up of the aggregates, and laying to rest of the corpse of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings.
The passing away of the various beings from the various orders of beings, their perishing, breakup, disappearance, mortality, death, completion of time, the breakup of the aggregates, the laying down of the carcass:

idaṁ vuccati maraṇaṁ.
This is called death.
this is called death.

Iti ayañca jarā, idañca maraṇaṁ.
Such is old age, and such is death.
Thus this aging and this death

Idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, jarāmaraṇaṁ.
This is called old age and death.
are together called aging-and-death.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, jāti?
And what is rebirth?
And what, bhikkhus, is birth?

Yā tesaṁ tesaṁ sattānaṁ tamhi tamhi sattanikāye jāti sañjāti okkanti abhinibbatti khandhānaṁ pātubhāvo āyatanānaṁ paṭilābho.
The rebirth, inception, conception, reincarnation, manifestation of the aggregates, and acquisition of the sense fields of the various sentient beings in the various orders of sentient beings.
The birth of the various beings into the various orders of beings, their being born, descent [into the womb], production, the manifestation of the aggregates, the obtaining of the sense bases.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, jāti.
This is called rebirth.
This is called birth.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, bhavo?
And what is continued existence?
And what, bhikkhus, is existence?

Tayome, bhikkhave, bhavā—
There are these three states of existence.
There are these three kinds of existence:

kāmabhavo, rūpabhavo, arūpabhavo.
Existence in the sensual realm, the realm of luminous form, and the formless realm.
sense-sphere existence, form-sphere existence, formless-sphere existence.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhavo.
This is called continued existence.
This is called existence.

Katamañca, bhikkhave, upādānaṁ?
And what is grasping?
And what, bhikkhus, is clinging?

Cattārimāni, bhikkhave, upādānāni—
There are these four kinds of grasping.
There are these four kinds of clinging:

kāmupādānaṁ, diṭṭhupādānaṁ, sīlabbatupādānaṁ, attavādupādānaṁ.
Grasping at sensual pleasures, views, precepts and observances, and theories of a self.
clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, clinging to rules and vows, clinging to a doctrine of self.

Idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, upādānaṁ.
This is called grasping.
This is called clinging.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, taṇhā?
And what is craving?
And what, bhikkhus, is craving?

Chayime, bhikkhave, taṇhākāyā—
There are these six classes of craving.
There are these six classes of craving:

rūpataṇhā, saddataṇhā, gandhataṇhā, rasataṇhā, phoṭṭhabbataṇhā, dhammataṇhā.
Craving for sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas.
craving for forms, craving for sounds, craving for odours, craving for tastes, craving for tactile objects, craving for mental phenomena.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, taṇhā.
This is called craving.
This is called craving.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, vedanā?
And what is feeling?
And what, bhikkhus, is feeling?

Chayime, bhikkhave, vedanākāyā—
There are these six classes of feeling.
There are these six classes of feeling:

cakkhusamphassajā vedanā, sotasamphassajā vedanā, ghānasamphassajā vedanā, jivhāsamphassajā vedanā, kāyasamphassajā vedanā, manosamphassajā vedanā.
Feeling born of contact through the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
feeling born of eye-contact, feeling born of ear-contact, feeling born of nose-contact, feeling born of tongue-contact, feeling born of body-contact, feeling born of mind-contact.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, vedanā.
This is called feeling.
This is called feeling.

Katamo ca, bhikkhave, phasso?
And what is contact?
And what, bhikkhus, is contact?

Chayime, bhikkhave, phassakāyā—
There are these six classes of contact.
There are these six classes of contact:

cakkhusamphasso, sotasamphasso, ghānasamphasso, jivhāsamphasso, kāyasamphasso, manosamphasso.
Contact through the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, mind-contact.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, phasso.
This is called contact.
This is called contact.

Katamañca, bhikkhave, saḷāyatanaṁ?
And what are the six sense fields?
And what, bhikkhus, are the six sense bases?

Cakkhāyatanaṁ, sotāyatanaṁ, ghānāyatanaṁ, jivhāyatanaṁ, kāyāyatanaṁ, manāyatanaṁ—
The sense fields of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
The eye base, the ear base, the nose base, the tongue base, the body base, the mind base.

idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, saḷāyatanaṁ.
These are called the six sense fields.
These are called the six sense bases.

Katamañca, bhikkhave, nāmarūpaṁ?
And what are name and form?
And what, bhikkhus, is name-and-form?

Vedanā, saññā, cetanā, phasso, manasikāro—
Feeling, perception, intention, contact, and application of mind.
Feeling, perception, volition, contact, attention:

idaṁ vuccati nāmaṁ.
This is called name.
this is called name.

Cattāro ca mahābhūtā, catunnañca mahābhūtānaṁ upādāyarūpaṁ.
The four principal states, and form derived from the four principal states.
The four great elements and the form derived from the four great elements:

Idaṁ vuccati rūpaṁ.
This is called form.
this is called form.

Iti idañca nāmaṁ, idañca rūpaṁ.
Such is name and such is form.
Thus this name and this form

Idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, nāmarūpaṁ.
These are called name and form.
are together called name-and-form.

Katamañca, bhikkhave, viññāṇaṁ?
And what is consciousness?
And what, bhikkhus, is consciousness?

Chayime, bhikkhave, viññāṇakāyā—
There are these six classes of consciousness.
There are these six classes of consciousness:

cakkhuviññāṇaṁ, sotaviññāṇaṁ, ghānaviññāṇaṁ, jivhāviññāṇaṁ, kāyaviññāṇaṁ, manoviññāṇaṁ.
Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind consciousness.
eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mind-consciousness.

Idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, viññāṇaṁ.
This is called consciousness.
This is called consciousness.

Katame ca, bhikkhave, saṅkhārā?
And what are choices?
And what, bhikkhus, are the volitional formations?

Tayome, bhikkhave, saṅkhārā—
There are three kinds of choices.
There are these three kinds of volitional formations:

kāyasaṅkhāro, vacīsaṅkhāro, cittasaṅkhāro.
Choices by way of body, speech, and mind.
the bodily volitional formation, the verbal volitional formation, the mental volitional formation.

Ime vuccanti, bhikkhave, saṅkhārā.
These are called choices.
These are called the volitional formations.

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, avijjā?
And what is ignorance?
And what, bhikkhus, is ignorance?

Yaṁ kho, bhikkhave, dukkhe aññāṇaṁ, dukkhasamudaye aññāṇaṁ, dukkhanirodhe aññāṇaṁ, dukkhanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya aññāṇaṁ.
Not knowing about suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.
Not knowing suffering, not knowing the origin of suffering, not knowing the cessation of suffering, not knowing the way leading to the cessation of suffering.

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, avijjā.
This is called ignorance.
This is called ignorance.

Iti kho, bhikkhave, avijjāpaccayā saṅkhārā;
And so, ignorance is a condition for choices.
Thus, bhikkhus, with ignorance as condition, volitional formations [come to be];

saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇaṁ …pe…
Choices are a condition for consciousness. …
with volitional formations as condition, consciousness….

evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.
That is how this entire mass of suffering originates.
Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.

Avijjāya tveva asesavirāganirodhā saṅkhāranirodho;
When ignorance fades away and ceases with nothing left over, choices cease.
But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional formations;

saṅkhāranirodhā viññāṇanirodho …pe…
When choices cease, consciousness ceases. …
with the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of consciousness….

evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hotī”ti.
That is how this entire mass of suffering ceases.”
Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.”

Dutiyaṁ.