Ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā ca sāriputto āyasmā ca mahākoṭṭhiko bārāṇasiyaṁ viharanti isipatane migadāye. At one time Venerable Sāriputta and Venerable Mahākoṭṭhita were staying near Varanasi, in the deer park at Isipatana.
Atha kho āyasmā mahākoṭṭhiko sāyanhasamayaṁ paṭisallānā vuṭṭhito yenāyasmā sāriputto tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmatā sāriputtena saddhiṁ sammodi. Then in the late afternoon, Venerable Mahākoṭṭhita came out of retreat, went to Venerable Sāriputta, and exchanged pleasantries with him. Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā mahākoṭṭhiko āyasmantaṁ sāriputtaṁ etadavoca: When the amicable and cordial talk was over, he sat down to one side and said to Sāriputta:
“kiṁ nu kho, āvuso sāriputta, sayaṅkataṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ, paraṅkataṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ, sayaṅkatañca paraṅkatañca jarāmaraṇaṁ, udāhu asayaṅkāraṁ aparaṅkāraṁ adhiccasamuppannaṁ jarāmaraṇan”ti? “Well, Friend Sāriputta, are aging and death made by oneself? Or by another? Or by both oneself and another? Or do they originate by chance, not made by oneself or another?”
“Na kho, āvuso koṭṭhika, sayaṅkataṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ, na paraṅkataṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ, na sayaṅkatañca paraṅkatañca jarāmaraṇaṁ, nāpi asayaṅkāraṁ aparaṅkāraṁ adhiccasamuppannaṁ jarāmaraṇaṁ. “No, Friend Koṭṭhita, aging and death are not made by oneself, nor by another, nor by both oneself and another, nor do they originate by chance, not made by oneself or another. Api ca jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇan”ti. Rather, with birth as support, there is aging and death.”
“Kiṁ nu kho, āvuso sāriputta, sayaṅkatā jāti, paraṅkatā jāti, sayaṅkatā ca paraṅkatā ca jāti, udāhu asayaṅkārā aparaṅkārā adhiccasamuppannā jātī”ti? “Well, Friend Sāriputta, is birth made by oneself? Or by another? Or by both oneself and another? Or does it originate by chance, not made by oneself or another?”
“Na kho, āvuso koṭṭhika, sayaṅkatā jāti, na paraṅkatā jāti, na sayaṅkatā ca paraṅkatā ca jāti, nāpi asayaṅkārā aparaṅkārā adhiccasamuppannā jāti. “No, Friend Koṭṭhita, birth is not made by oneself, nor by another, nor by both oneself and another, nor does it originate by chance, not made by oneself or another. Api ca bhavapaccayā jātī”ti. Rather, with being as support, there is birth.”
“Kiṁ nu kho, āvuso sāriputta, sayaṅkato bhavo …pe… “Well, Friend Sāriputta, is being made by oneself? …” … sayaṅkataṁ upādānaṁ … “Is assumption made by oneself? …” … sayaṅkatā taṇhā … “Is craving made by oneself? …” … sayaṅkatā vedanā … “Is feeling made by oneself? …” … sayaṅkato phasso … “Is pressure made by oneself? …” … sayaṅkataṁ saḷāyatanaṁ … “Are the six sense fields made by oneself? …” … sayaṅkataṁ nāmarūpaṁ, paraṅkataṁ nāmarūpaṁ, sayaṅkatañca paraṅkatañca nāmarūpaṁ, udāhu asayaṅkāraṁ aparaṅkāraṁ adhiccasamuppannaṁ nāmarūpan”ti? “Well, Friend Sāriputta, is name-and-form made by oneself? Or by another? Or by both oneself and another? Or does it originate by chance, not made by oneself or another?”
“Na kho, āvuso koṭṭhika, sayaṅkataṁ nāmarūpaṁ, na paraṅkataṁ nāmarūpaṁ, na sayaṅkatañca paraṅkatañca nāmarūpaṁ, nāpi asayaṅkāraṁ aparaṅkāraṁ, adhiccasamuppannaṁ nāmarūpaṁ. “No, Friend Koṭṭhita, name-and -form is not made by oneself, nor by another, nor by both oneself and another, nor does it originate by chance, not made by oneself or another. Api ca viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpan”ti. Rather, with consciousness as support, there is name-and-form.”
“Kiṁ nu kho, āvuso sāriputta, sayaṅkataṁ viññāṇaṁ, paraṅkataṁ viññāṇaṁ, sayaṅkatañca paraṅkatañca viññāṇaṁ, udāhu asayaṅkāraṁ aparaṅkāraṁ adhiccasamuppannaṁ viññāṇan”ti? “Well, Friend Sāriputta, is consciousness made by oneself? Or by another? Or by both oneself and another? Or does it originate by chance, not made by oneself or another?”
“Na kho, āvuso koṭṭhika, sayaṅkataṁ viññāṇaṁ, na paraṅkataṁ viññāṇaṁ, na sayaṅkatañca paraṅkatañca viññāṇaṁ, nāpi asayaṅkāraṁ aparaṅkāraṁ adhiccasamuppannaṁ viññāṇaṁ. “No, Friend Koṭṭhita, consciousness is not made by oneself, nor by another, nor by both oneself and another, nor does it originate by chance, not made by oneself or another. Api ca nāmarūpapaccayā viññāṇan”ti. Rather, with name-and-form as support, there is consciousness.”
“Idāneva kho mayaṁ āyasmato sāriputtassa bhāsitaṁ evaṁ ājānāma: “Friend Sāriputta, just now I understood you to say: ‘na khvāvuso koṭṭhika, sayaṅkataṁ nāmarūpaṁ, na paraṅkataṁ nāmarūpaṁ, na sayaṅkatañca paraṅkatañca nāmarūpaṁ, nāpi asayaṅkāraṁ aparaṅkāraṁ adhiccasamuppannaṁ nāmarūpaṁ. ‘No, Friend Koṭṭhita, name-and -form is not made by oneself, nor by another, nor by both oneself and another, nor does it originate by chance, not made by oneself or another. Api ca viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpan’ti. Rather, with consciousness as support, there is name-and-form.’
Idāneva ca pana mayaṁ āyasmato sāriputtassa bhāsitaṁ evaṁ ājānāma: But I also understood you to say: ‘na khvāvuso koṭṭhika, sayaṅkataṁ viññāṇaṁ, na paraṅkataṁ viññāṇaṁ, na sayaṅkatañca paraṅkatañca viññāṇaṁ, nāpi asayaṅkāraṁ aparaṅkāraṁ adhiccasamuppannaṁ viññāṇaṁ. ‘No, Friend Koṭṭhita, consciousness is not made by oneself, nor by another, nor by both oneself and another, nor does it originate by chance, not made by oneself or another. Api ca nāmarūpapaccayā viññāṇan’ti. Rather, with name-and-form as support, there is consciousness.”
Yathā kathaṁ panāvuso sāriputta, imassa bhāsitassa attho daṭṭhabbo”ti? How then should we see the meaning of this statement?”
“Tenahāvuso, upamaṁ te karissāmi. “Well then, friend, I shall give you a simile. Upamāyapidhekacce viññū purisā bhāsitassa atthaṁ jānanti. For by means of a simile some sensible people understand the meaning of what is said. Seyyathāpi, āvuso, dve naḷakalāpiyo aññamaññaṁ nissāya tiṭṭheyyuṁ. Suppose there were two bundles of reeds leaning up against each other. *Compare with the metaphor of “nutriment” used in [MN 38](https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=mn38), illustrating just like this simile how [_paṭiccasamuppāda_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gmr4sGwd0sA) is not an outline of a “process” that occurs neither over multiple lives, nor over successive “mind moments”, but rather describes the simultaneous dependence-upon-something-else ([idappaccayatā](https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=mn26#mn26:19.3-mn26:19.4)) of those aspects of one’s experience that are causes for suffering, so that full dispassion and uprooting of ownership can be cultivated towards those same aspects, as said below.
Evameva kho, āvuso, nāmarūpapaccayā viññāṇaṁ; In the same way, with name-and-form as support, there is consciousness. viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpaṁ; With consciousness as support, there is name-and-form. nāmarūpapaccayā saḷāyatanaṁ; With name-and-form as support, there are the six sense fields. saḷāyatanapaccayā phasso …pe… With the six sense fields as support, there is pressure … evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti. That is how this entire mass of suffering originates. Tāsañce, āvuso, naḷakalāpīnaṁ ekaṁ ākaḍḍheyya, ekā papateyya; If the first of those bundles of reeds were to be pulled away, the other would collapse. aparañce ākaḍḍheyya, aparā papateyya. And if the other were to be pulled away, the first would collapse.
Evameva kho, āvuso, nāmarūpanirodhā viññāṇanirodho; In the same way, with the cessation of name-and-form, cessation of consciousness. viññāṇanirodhā nāmarūpanirodho; With the cessation of consciousness, cessation of name-and-form. nāmarūpanirodhā saḷāyatananirodho; With the cessation of name-and-form, cessation of the six sense fields. saḷāyatananirodhā phassanirodho …pe… With the cessation of the six sense fields, cessation of pressure … evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hotī”ti. That is how this entire mass of suffering ceases.”
“Acchariyaṁ, āvuso sāriputta; “It’s incredible, Friend Sāriputta, it’s amazing! abbhutaṁ, āvuso sāriputta. Yāvasubhāsitañcidaṁ āyasmatā sāriputtena. How well spoken this was by Venerable Sāriputta! Idañca pana mayaṁ āyasmato sāriputtassa bhāsitaṁ imehi chattiṁsāya vatthūhi anumodāma: And we can express our agreement with Venerable Sāriputta’s statement on these thirty-six grounds.
‘Jarāmaraṇassa ce, āvuso, bhikkhu nibbidāya virāgāya nirodhāya dhammaṁ deseti, dhammakathiko bhikkhūti alaṁvacanāya. If a bhikkhu teaches Dhamma for disenchantment, dispassion, and cessation regarding aging and death, he’s qualified to be called a ‘bhikkhu who speaks on Dhamma’. Jarāmaraṇassa ce, āvuso, bhikkhu nibbidāya virāgāya nirodhāya paṭipanno hoti, dhammānudhammappaṭipanno bhikkhūti alaṁvacanāya. If he practices for disenchantment, dispassion, and cessation regarding aging and death, he’s qualified to be called a ‘bhikkhu who practices in line with the Dhamma’. Jarāmaraṇassa ce, āvuso, bhikkhu nibbidā virāgā nirodhā anupādā vimutto hoti, diṭṭhadhammanibbānappatto bhikkhūti alaṁvacanāya. If he’s liberated through non-assumption by disenchantment, dispassion, and cessation regarding aging and death, he’s qualified to be called a ‘bhikkhu who has attained quenching in the present experience’. Jātiyā ce … If a bhikkhu teaches Dhamma for disenchantment regarding birth … bhavassa ce … being … upādānassa ce … assumption … taṇhāya ce … craving … vedanāya ce … feeling … phassassa ce … pressure … saḷāyatanassa ce … the six sense fields … nāmarūpassa ce … name-and-form … viññāṇassa ce … consciousness … saṅkhārānañce … activities … avijjāya ce, āvuso, bhikkhu nibbidāya virāgāya nirodhāya dhammaṁ deseti, dhammakathiko bhikkhūti alaṁvacanāya. If a bhikkhu teaches Dhamma for disenchantment, dispassion, and cessation regarding ignorance, he’s qualified to be called a ‘bhikkhu who speaks on Dhamma’. Avijjāya ce, āvuso, bhikkhu nibbidāya virāgāya nirodhāya paṭipanno hoti, dhammānudhammappaṭipanno bhikkhūti alaṁvacanāya. If he practices for disenchantment, dispassion, and cessation regarding ignorance, he’s qualified to be called a ‘bhikkhu who practices in line with the teaching’. Avijjāya ce, āvuso, bhikkhu nibbidā virāgā nirodhā anupādā vimutto hoti, diṭṭhadhammanibbānappatto bhikkhūti alaṁvacanāyā’”ti. If he’s liberated through non-assumption by disenchantment, dispassion, and cessation regarding ignorance, he’s qualified to be called a ‘bhikkhu who has attained quenching in the present experience’.”
Sattamaṁ.
Origin URL: https://suttas.hillsidehermitage.org/?q=sn12.67