01: The Conditions Tetrad

2. Abhidhammabhājanīyaṁ
The Section Derived from the Abstract Teaching

01: Paccayacatukkaṁ
The Conditions Tetrad

[243]

Avijjāpaccayā saṅkhāro,
With ignorance as condition there is a (volitional) process, The comm. explains that, unlike in the discourse teaching, here we are only dealing with single mind moments, so only a single (volitional) process is mentioned.

saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇaṁ,
with a (volitional) process as condition: consciousness,

viññāṇapaccayā nāmaṁ,
with consciousness as condition: mind, Comm: the first section of the tetrad is called, aparipuṇṇa-aṅgadvāyayutto dvādasaṅgikavāro, the twelvefold section with two parts incomplete, because only mind in this line (not bodily form), and only the sixth sense sphere (not all of the sense spheres) in the next are mentioned. As we will see the other tetrads have names and variations of a similar kind.

nāmapaccayā chaṭṭhāyatanaṁ,
with mind as condition: the sixth sense sphere, Among other explanations, the comm. says that the first two sections can be seen as referring to life in the formless-world spheres (where there is only mind), the third to life in the form-world spheres (where there is mind and fine materiality), and the fourth to life in the sense-world spheres (where both mind and bodily form exist).

chaṭṭhāyatanapaccayā phasso,
with the sixth sense sphere as condition: contact,

phassapaccayā vedanā,
with contact as condition: feeling,

vedanāpaccayā taṇhā,
with feeling as condition: craving,

taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṁ,
with craving as condition: attachment,

upādānapaccayā bhavo,
with attachment as condition: continuation,

bhavapaccayā jāti,
with continuation as condition: birth,

jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇaṁ,
with birth as condition: ageing, death, Comm: grief, lamentation and so on are not mentioned here because they do not occur in every conscious moment. The comm. says that although ageing and death do not occur in every moment they are included for the sake of completion.

evam-etassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.
and so there is an origination of this whole mass of suffering.

Avijjāpaccayā saṅkhāro,
With ignorance as condition there is a (volitional) process,

saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇaṁ,
with a (volitional) process as condition: consciousness,

viññāṇapaccayā nāmaṁ,
with consciousness as condition: mind, Comm: the second section is called, aparipuṇṇa-ekaṅgayutto ekādasaṅgikavāro, the elevenfold section with one part incomplete, because only mind is mentioned in this line (not bodily form).

nāmapaccayā phasso,
with mind as condition: contact, The sense spheres are not mentioned at all here, following the Mahānidānasuttantaṁ (DN 15), therefore there are only eleven links in the series in this section.

phassapaccayā vedanā,
with contact as condition: feeling,

vedanāpaccayā taṇhā,
with feeling as condition: craving,

taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṁ,
with craving as condition: attachment,

upādānapaccayā bhavo,
with attachment as condition: continuation,

bhavapaccayā jāti,
with continuation as condition: birth,

jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇaṁ,
with birth as condition: ageing, death,

evam-etassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.
and so there is an origination of this whole mass of suffering.

Avijjāpaccayā saṅkhāro,
With ignorance as condition there is a (volitional) process,

saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇaṁ,
with a (volitional) process as condition: consciousness,

viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpaṁ,
with consciousness as condition: mind and bodily form,

nāmarūpapaccayā chaṭṭhāyatanaṁ,
with mind and bodily form as condition: the sixth sense sphere, Comm: third section, aparipuṇṇpa-ekaṅgayutto dvādasaṅgikavāro, the twelvefold section with one part incomplete, mind and bodily form are both mentioned in this variation, but only the sixth sense sphere is listed, hence the name here (PTS edition reads paripuṇṇa, but this is evidently incorrect).