..续本文上一页at its origin, from what is it born, what gives it existence
Craving has feeling as its source and origin, it is born of feeling, and feeling gives existence to it.
"And this feeling, O monks, what is its source and origin, from what is it born and what gives existence to it
Feeling has sense-impression as its source and origin...
"And this sense-impression, O monks, what is its source...
sense-impression has the six sense-bases as its source and origin...
"And these six sense-bases, O monks, what is their source...
The six sense-bases have mind-and-body as their source and origin...
"And this mind-and-body, O monks, what is its source...
Mind-and-body has consciousness as its source and origin...
"And this consciousness, O monks, what is its source...
Consciousness has kamma-formations as its source and origin...
"And these kamma-formations, O monks, what is their source and origin, from what are they born, what gives existence to them
Kamma-formations have ignorance as their source and origin, they are born of ignorance and ignorance gives existence to them.
"Thus, O monks, through ignorance conditioned are kamma-formations; through the kamma-formations conditioned is consciousness; through consciousness conditioned is mind-and-body; through mind-and-body conditioned are the six sense-bases; through the six sense-bases conditioned is sense-impression; through sense-impression conditioned is feeling, through feeling conditioned is craving; through craving conditioned is clinging; through clinging conditioned is becoming; through becoming conditioned is birth; through birth conditioned are decay and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair. Thus arises this whole mass of suffering."
— SN 12.11
Translator”s Note
In this discourse, the origin of the four nutriments is traced to craving (ta.nhaa), and the conditioned arising is pursued further back, in terms of the dependent origination (pa.ticca-samuppaada).[32] But while, in the usual formula of the dependent origination, it is clinging (or grasping, upaadaana) that is conditioned by craving, here, in this text, nutriment (aahaara) takes the place of clinging. So it also does in the Mahaa-Ta.nhaasankhaya Sutta (MN 38), while the Cuula-Sihanaada Sutta (MN 11) has here the fourfold pision of clinging, with, otherwise, the same wording as our present text.
Both Paali words, aahaara (nutriment) and upaadaana (clinging) have originally the same meaning of "taking up," "seizing," and both are also used to signify the fuel of a fire or a lamp (see SN 22.88).
COMMENTARY
Here the statement in the discourse that the four nutriments have craving as their source, should be understood to mean that cravings in a former life are the source of the nutriments; or, in other words, of the (present) inpidual (attabhaava), from (the moment of) rebirth (i.e., conception) onwards. How
At the moment of rebirth, there is present "nutritive essence" (ojaa) that has originated within the corporeality arisen by way of seven units of corporeal continua (satta-santati),[33] in the case of beings with complete sense faculties; or in the case of other beings,[34] with the appropriate reduction of the continua. This "nutritive essence" constitutes the karmically acquired nutriment "edible food" (upaadi.n.naka-kaba.li"nkaaraahaara) that has (past) craving as its source. The sense-impression and volition associated with the rebirth-consciousness, as well as that consciousness itself — these are the karmically acquired nutriments sense-impression, volitional thought, and consciousness which have craving as their source. This so far refers to the nutriments arising at rebirth and having as their source the craving in a former life. The same applies also to the nutriments arising later, …
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