The Analysis of Conditional Origination
(Paṭiccasamuppāda)-Vibhaṅgasuttaṁ, SN 12.2

An English translation of a discourse which lays out the standard version of conditional origination, and then analyses the factors involved (with an embedded reading of the text).

Translated by Ānandajoti Bhikkhu

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Thus I heard:

at one time the Fortunate One was dwelling near Sāvatthī, in Jeta’s Wood, at Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There it was that the Fortunate One addressed the monks, saying): “I will teach and analyse conditional origination, monks, for you. Apply your minds thoroughly to it and I will speak.”

“Yes, reverend Sir”, those monks replied to the Fortunate One.

The Fortunate One said this:

And what, monks, is conditional origination?

With ignorance as condition, monks, there are volitional processes,
with volitional processes as condition: consciousness,
with consciousness as condition: mind and bodily form,
with mind and bodily form as condition: the six sense spheres,
with the six sense spheres as condition: contact,
with contact as condition: feeling,
with feeling as condition: craving,
with craving as condition: attachment,
with attachment as condition: continuation,
with continuation as condition: birth,
with birth as condition: old age, death,
grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and despair all arise,
and so there is an origination of this whole mass of suffering.

And what, monks, is old-age and death?

For the various beings in the various classes of beings there is aging, agedness, broken teeth, greying hair, and wrinkled skin; the dwindling away of the life span, the decay of the sense faculties.

This is called old age.

For the various beings in the various classes of beings there is a fall, a falling away, a breaking up, a disappearance, a dying, a death, a making of time; the break up of the constituent groups of mind and bodily form), the throwing off of the body, a cutting off of the life-faculty.

This is called death.
This is old-age, and this is death.

This, monks, is called old-age and death.

And what, monks, is birth?

For the various beings in the various classes of beings there is birth, being born, appearing, arising, turning up, the manifestation of the constituent groups of mind and bodily form), the acquisition of the sense spheres.

This, monks, is called birth.

And what, monks, is continuation?

There are three continuations, monks: continuation in the sense worlds, continuation in the form worlds, continuation in the formless worlds.

this, monks, is called continuation.

And what, monks, is attachment?

There are, monks, these four attachments: attachment to sense pleasures, attachment to views, attachment to virtue and practice, attachment to self-theories.

This, monks, is called attachment.

And what, monks, is craving?

There are these six cravings, monks: craving for forms, craving for sounds, craving for odours, craving for tastes, craving for touches, craving for thoughts.

This is called, monks, craving.

And what, monks, is feeling?

There are these six feelings, monks: feeling arising from eye-contact, feeling arising from ear-contact, feeling arising from nose-contact, feeling arising from tongue-contact, feeling arising from body-contact, feeling arising from mind-contact.

This is called, monks, feeling.

And what, monks, is contact?

There is a group of these six contacts, monks: eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, mind-contact.

This is called, monks, contact.

And what, monks, are the six sense-spheres?

eye sense-sphere, ear sense-sphere, nose sense-sphere, tongue sense-sphere, body sense-sphere, mind sense-sphere.

This is called, monks, the six sense-spheres.

And what, monks, is mind and bodily form?

Feeling, perception, intention, contact, application of mind.

This is called mind.

The four great elementals, and the form attached to the four great elementals.

This is called bodily form.

This is mind, and this is bodily form.

This is called, monks, mind and bodily form.

And what, monks, is consciousness?

There are these six consciousnesses, monks: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mind-consciousness.,

This, monks, is called consciousness.

And what, monks, are volitional processes?

There are these three volitional processes, monks: volitional processes expressed by way of body, volitional processes expressed by way of speech, volitional processes expressed by way of mind.

These, monks, are called volitional processes.

And what, monks, is ignorance?

Whatever, monks, is not knowing suffering, not knowing the origination of suffering, not knowing the cessation of suffering, not knowing the path leading to the cessation of suffering.

This, monks, is called ignorance.

Thus, monks, with ignorance as condition there are volitional processes,
with volitional processes as condition: consciousness,
with consciousness as condition: mind and bodily form,
with mind and bodily form as condition: the six sense spheres,
with the six sense spheres as condition: contact,
with contact as condition: feeling,
with feeling as condition: craving,
with craving as condition: attachment,
with attachment as condition: continuation,
with continuation as condition: birth,
with birth as condition: old age, death,
grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and despair all arise,
and so there is an origination of this whole mass of suffering.

But from the complete fading away and cessation of ignorance, there is the cessation of volitional processes,
from the cessation of volitional processes, the cessation of consciousness,
from the cessation of consciousness, the cessation of mind and bodily form,
from the cessation of mind and bodily form, the cessation of the six sense spheres,
from the cessation of the six sense spheres, the cessation of contact,
from the cessation of contact, the cessation of feeling,
from the cessation of feeling, the cessation of craving,
from the cessation of craving, the cessation of attachment,
from the cessation of attachment, the cessation of continuation,
from the cessation of continuation, the cessation of birth,
from the cessation of birth, old age, death,
grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and despair all cease,
and so there is a cessation of this whole mass of suffering.”