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Saṁyutta Nikāya 12.1 Linked Discourses 12.1
1. Buddhavagga 1. The Buddhas
Paṭiccasamuppādasutta Dependent Origination Dependent Origination
Evaṁ me sutaṁ—So I have heard. Dependent origination depicts the unfolding of existence through a series of twelve links, which describe how our response to present experience generates future suffering. For an overview, see my Introduction to the Linked Discourses. To better understand the context for this terminology, I give some non-Buddhist usages, especially from texts closest in time and place to the Buddha. In the next discourse we see how the Buddha redefined these terms to his purpose. I also note new coinages which may be innovations by the Buddha. Thus have I heard.Thus have heard:—
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthı̄ in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.The Exalted One was once staying near Savatthi at the Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's Park.
Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus:And there the Exalted One addressed the monks, saying:—
“bhikkhavo”ti. “Mendicants!” “Bhikkhus!”Monks
“Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. “Venerable sir,” they replied. “Venerable sir!” those bhikkhus replied.“Venerable Sir!” responded those monks.
Bhagavā etadavoca: The Buddha said this: The Blessed One said this:The Exalted One said:—
“paṭiccasamuppādaṁ vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi. “Mendicants, I will teach you dependent origination. As an account of the origination of things, dependent origination compares to creation myths composed centuries before the Buddha, found in the tenth and final section of the Rig Veda. Perhaps there was an ocean of darkness, from which being was forged by fire and set in motion by desire (Rig Veda 10.129); or else the world was shaped from the sacrifice of the cosmic Man (10.90); or else the beginning was a Golden Egg, a Creator later called Pajāpati, but at first known only as “Who?” (10.121). From the unknowable One arose innumerable names and forms, all linked by their shared origin and woven together in the ritual (10.130). The connections (nidāna) are cloaked in mystery, known only by poets (10.114.2), who protect the truth by hiding the highest names (10.5). | Note that the key term for Vedic creation (sṛj) is assiduously avoided in Buddhism.“Bhikkhus, I will teach you dependent origination.“I will teach you, monks, the causal law.
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.”Listen to it, give your minds thoroughly and I will speak.”
“Evaṁ, bhante”ti kho te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. “Yes, sir,” they replied. “Yes, venerable sir,” those bhikkhus replied.“Even so, lord,” responded those monks.
Bhagavā etadavoca: The Buddha said this: The Blessed One said this:The Exalted One spake this:—
“Katamo ca, bhikkhave, paṭiccasamuppādo? “And what is dependent origination? “Dependent” is paṭicca, from the root i (“to go”) and prefix paṭi (“re-”) having the sense, “go back to, return to, resort to, depend on, require”. It is the gerund form of the verb pacceti, the noun form of which is paccaya (“dependency, requirement”). It is characteristically used of those who “return to” or “resort to” the father Pajāpati to dispel the darkness (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 11.5.5.3, 7) or seek wisdom (2.2.4.16, cf. Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 6.2.4). | “Origination” is samuppāda. This is not a regular pre-Buddhist term, but we are told that “all beings originate from space” and into space they return (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 1.9.1). More commonly we find the related term abhisampad in the sense “becomes, attains to, acquires” a body (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.8), godhood (BU 4.3.33, CU 8.15.1), or more generally the results of one’s deeds (BU 4.4.5).“And what, bhikkhus, is dependent origination?“What, monks, is the causal law ?
Avijjāpaccayā, bhikkhave, saṅkhārā; Ignorance is a requirement for choices. “Knowledge” (veda) pertained to the immortal gods, so knowledge itself is immortal, while ignorance (avijjā), being perishable, traps the fool in suffering for life after life. Knowledge and ignorance are part of the mortal condition (Atharva Veda 11.8.23). “A man crosses death through ignorance and attains immortality through knowledge” (Īśa Upaniṣad 11; cf. Paiṅgala Upaniṣad 2.11, Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 5.1, Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.9).With ignorance as condition, volitional formations [come to be];Conditioned by ignorance activities come to pass;
saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇaṁ; Choices are a requirement for consciousness. Early meanings of saṅkhāra (Sanskrit samas kurva, saṁskāra) include “construct” (Rig Veda 1.38.12) and “prepare”, where “prepare” also means “energize, empower”, as an army for battle (RV 8.33.9, 8.77.11) or an offering (RV 5.76.2). It is used for the “reviving” or “rejuvenation” of the god Pajāpati when he is depleted by the act of creation, like a fire run low or a man after sex (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 7.2.1.5 et passim). The sacrificer thereby perpetuates the creative process, building a new self or body (10.4.1.2). The ritual is “performed” by body, speech, and mind in full awareness (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 4.16.2–3), “rejuvenating” or “energizing” the Self (Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad 2.6). Thus the creative act became determined by moral “choices”: a person becomes something good by good deeds, bad by bad deeds (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.5). This sense is echoed in the later use of saṁskāra as “rite of passage”, where the ceremony prepares or empowers a person to transform from one stage of life to the next.with volitional formations as condition, consciousness;conditioned by activities consciousness,
viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpaṁ; Consciousness is a requirement for name and form. “Consciousness” (viññāṇa, Sanskrit vijñāna) means to “know clearly, understand”, and hence the sense of awareness that is conscious of whatever happens. The “self” is the Person made of consciousness (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.1.16). One who is dying abandons the body and senses, becoming one with consciousness, embraced by previous knowledge and actions (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.2). They reach out to a new life and become established there, like a caterpillar moving from one leaf to the next.with consciousness as condition, name-and-form;conditioned by consciousness name-and-shape,
nāmarūpapaccayā saḷāyatanaṁ; Name and form are requirements for the six sense fields. “Name” (nāma) and “form” (rūpa) are the means by which we identify a person of such and such name and appearance (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.4.7). The world manifests as name, form, and action (1.6.1). A virtuous man abandons his old form (for “old age alters our form like a cloud”, Rig Veda 1.72.10) and fashions a better one as a god, etc. (BU 4.4.4). As the rivers lose their individual names and forms when they enter the ocean, the liberated soul returns to the cosmic Man (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.8, Praśna Upaniṣad 6.5). “Name” (nāma) is also defined as the various branches of Vedic lore (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 7.1.4).with name-and-form as condition, the six sense bases;conditioned by name-and-shape sense,
saḷāyatanapaccayā phasso; The six sense fields are requirements for contact. A “field” (āyatana) is an “abode” or “proper place” in which one is at rest and safe. Before the Buddha, senses were treated unsystematically—the order and number varies, and they are mixed with other things. Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 10.5.20, for example, says when a man sleeps, he no longer thinks, tastes, smells, sees, or hears. Or take Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.1, which speaks of inadequate (“one-footed”) manifestations of Divinity: speech, breath, eye, ear, mind (mano), heart.with the six sense bases as condition, contact;conditioned by sense contact,
phassapaccayā vedanā; Contact is a requirement for feeling. “Contact” (phassa, Sanskrit sparśa) is touch felt by the skin (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.4.11, 3.2.9). It is poetically extended to touching “heaven” (Rig Veda 2.41.20), “the heart” (4.1.1), or “the truth” (4.50.3), as well as the healing touch of hands (10.137.7). Jains likewise treat contact as physical touch (Tattvārtha Sūtra 5.23), suggesting that its use as a general term for sense contact was a Buddhist innovation.with contact as condition, feeling;conditioned by contact feeling,
vedanāpaccayā taṇhā; Feeling is a requirement for craving. “Feeling” (vedanā) does not seem to be used in the sense of hedonic experience pre-Buddhist, but we do find it in Jainism (Tattvārtha Sūtra 3.3, 9.32). Manu 12.13 says that the “soul” (jīva) experiences pleasure and pain through the different rebirths.with feeling as condition, craving;conditioned by feeling craving,
taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṁ; Craving is a requirement for grasping. “Craving” (taṇhā, Sanskrit tṛṣṇā) seems to be always used in the literal sense of “thirst”.with craving as condition, clinging;conditioned by craving grasping,
upādānapaccayā bhavo; Grasping is a requirement for continued existence. “Grasping” (upādāna) is found widely in later texts in the sense “take for oneself, appropriate”, and hence to “derive”, as well as “material cause”. But it does not seem to be pre-Buddhist.with clinging as condition, existence;conditioned by grasping bécoming,
bhavapaccayā jāti; Continued existence is a requirement for rebirth. The idea of three “worlds” (loka) or “states of existence” (bhava), variously defined, is shared between Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. It originally referred to the earth (bhū, pṛthivi), the midspace (antarikṣa), and the heavens or sky (diva, svarga), the respective abodes of humanity, the ancestors, and the gods. In the mythology underlying the Vedas they were formed by Indra’s heroic deeds: empowered by soma, he first slew the dragon Vṛtra who bound the world in a mass of darkness, then he separated earth from sky, leaving the midspace between (Rig Veda 2.15), thus creating the visible or intelligible world. However, while both Jains and Hindus know bhava in the sense “course of transmigration”, “ongoing series of births”, I cannot trace this before Buddhism.with existence as condition, birth;conditioned by becoming birth,
jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇaṁ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā sambhavanti. Rebirth is a requirement for old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress to come to be. What happens after death is described in multiple ways, but it was generally understood that a person would be reborn through some process or other and that this would continue until one’s knowledge was perfected. For example, Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.19 says the unenlightened go “from death to death”.with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be.conditioned by birth old age-and-death, grief, lamenting, suffering, sorrow. despair come to pass.
Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti. That is how this entire mass of suffering originates. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.Such is the uprising of this entire mass of ill.
Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, paṭiccasamuppādo. This is called dependent origination. This, bhikkhus, is called dependent origination.This, monks, is called [causal] happening.
Avijjāya tveva asesavirāganirodhā saṅkhāranirodho; When ignorance fades away and ceases no residue left behind, choices cease. For the general process of dependent origination, compare Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.5–7, which says that as a man desires so he wills, as he wills so he acts, and what he acts he attains. He who is attached goes with his deeds to the place he clings. When that deed is exhausted he returns to this world and further deeds. But if he is without desire, desiring only the Self, he attains immortal Divinity.But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance, comes cessation of volitional formations;But from the utter fading away and ceasing of ignorance (comes] ceasing of activities;
saṅkhāranirodhā viññāṇanirodho; When choices cease, consciousness ceases. with the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of consciousness;from ceasing of activities ceasing of consciousness;
viññāṇanirodhā nāmarūpanirodho; When consciousness ceases, name and form cease. with the cessation of consciousness, cessation of name-and-form;from ceasing of consciousness ceasing of name-and-shape;
nāmarūpanirodhā saḷāyatananirodho; When name and form cease, the six sense fields cease. with the cessation of name-and-form, cessation of the six sense bases;from ceasing of name-and-shape ceasing of sense;
saḷāyatananirodhā phassanirodho; When the six sense fields cease, contact ceases. with the cessation of the six sense bases, cessation of contact;from ceasing of sense ceasing of contact;
phassanirodhā vedanānirodho; When contact ceases, feeling ceases. with the cessation of contact, cessation of feeling;from ceasing of contact ceasing of feeling;
vedanānirodhā taṇhānirodho; When feeling ceases, craving ceases. with the cessation of feeling, cessation of craving;from ceasing of feeling ceasing of craving;
taṇhānirodhā upādānanirodho; When craving ceases, grasping ceases. with the cessation of craving, cessation of clinging;from ceasing of craving ceasing of grasping;
upādānanirodhā bhavanirodho; When grasping ceases, continued existence ceases. with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence;from ceasing of grasping ceasing of becoming;
bhavanirodhā jātinirodho; When continued existence ceases, rebirth ceases. with the cessation of existence, cessation of birth;from ceasing of becoming ceasing of birth;
jātinirodhā jarāmaraṇaṁ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā nirujjhanti. When rebirth ceases, old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress cease. with the cessation of birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease.from ceasing of birth old age-and-death, grief, lamenting, suffering, sorrow, despair cease.
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.”Such is the ceasing of this entire mass of ill.”
Idamavoca bhagavā. That is what the Buddha said. This is what the Blessed One said.It is the Exalted One who had spoken this.
Attamanā te bhikkhū bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinandunti. Satisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said. Elated, those bhikkhus delighted in the Blessed One's statement.Pleased in mind those monks took delight in the saying of the Exalted One.
Paṭhamaṁ.