1At Sāvatthī. sn.ii.13 "Bhikkhus, there are these four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance of beings that have already come to be and for the assistance of those about to come to be. What four?

The nutriment edible food, gross or subtle; second, contact; third, mental volition; fourth, consciousness.

These are the four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance of beings that have already come to be and for the assistance of those about to come to be." [n.20] Spk: The Blessed One stopped the teaching at this point because he knew that a theorist (diṭṭhigatika) was sitting in the assembly and he wanted to give him an opportunity to ask his questions.

2When this was said, the Venerable Moḷiyaphagguna said to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, who consumes the nutriment consciousness?" [n.21] Spk explains that the name "Moḷiya" was given to him in lay life because he wore his hair in a huge topknot (moḷi), and the nickname stuck with him after he went forth as a monk. At MN21 he is admonished by the Buddha for his excessively familiar relations with the bhikkhunis; in SN12.32 it is announced that he has left the Order and returned to lay life.

"Not a valid question," the Blessed One replied. "I do not say, ‘One consumes.’ [n.22] Phagguna's question, "Who consumes…?" is "pregnant" with an implicit view of self. He sees someone—a self—standing behind consciousness in the role of a substantial subject. The Buddha must therefore reject as invalid the question itself, which is based on an illegitimate assumption. Spk: "I do not say, ‘One consumes’": "I do not say someone—a being or a person (koci satto va puggalo va)—consumes." If I should say, ‘One consumes,’ in that case this would be a valid question: ‘Venerable sir, who consumes?’ But I do not speak thus.

Since I do not speak thus, if one should ask me, ‘Venerable sir, for what is the nutriment consciousness a condition?’ [n.23] In the valid question, the Buddha replaces the personal pronoun ko, fraught with substantialist connotations, with the impersonal form kissa, genitive singular of the stem ki- (see Geiger, Pali Grammar, §111.1). Although all eds. read here kissa nu kho bhante viññāṇaharo, the sense seems to require that we add paccayo at the end. Spk glosses: Bhante ayaṁ viññāṇaharo katamassa dhammassa paccayo? Paccayo does in fact occur in the reply. this would be a valid question. To this the valid answer is: ‘The nutriment consciousness is a condition for the production of future renewed existence. [n.24] Spk: The nutriment consciousness: rebirth-consciousness (paṭisandhicitta). The production of future renewed existence (ayatiṁ punabbhavabhinibbatti): the name-and-form arisen along with that same consciousness. At AN3.76 it is said: "Kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture, for consciousness … to become established in a low (middling, superior) realm; thus there is production of future renewed existence (kammaṁ khettaṁ viññāṇaṁ bījaṁ taṇhā sineho … hinaya (majjhimaya, paṇitaya) dhātuya viññāṇaṁ patiṭṭhitaṁ; evaṁ ayatiṁ punabbhavabhinibbatti hoti)." This implies that it is the stream of consciousness coming from the preceding existence that functions as the nutriment consciousness by generating, at the moment of conception, the initial rebirth-consciousness, which in turn brings forth (or "nourishes") the concomitant name-and-form. When that which has come into being exists, the six sense bases come to be; [n.25] Tasmiṁ bhūte sati saḷayatanaṁ. Spk: When that name-and-form called "the production of renewed existence" is generated, when it exists, the six sense bases come to be. The conjunction bhūte sati is unusual and the redundancy can only be avoided if the past participle bhūte is here understood to function as a noun denoting the being that has come to be. with the six sense bases as condition, contact.’"

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3"Venerable sir, who makes contact?"

"Not a valid question," the Blessed One replied. "I do not say, ‘One makes contact.’ If I should say, ‘One makes contact,’ in that case this would be a valid question: ‘Venerable sir, who makes contact?’ But I do not speak thus.

Since I do not speak thus, if one should ask me, ‘Venerable sir, with what as condition does contact come to be?’ this would be a valid question. To this the valid answer is: ‘With the six sense bases as condition, contact comes to be; with contact as condition, feeling.’"

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4"Venerable sir, who feels?"

"Not a valid question," the Blessed One replied. "I do not say, ‘One feels.’ If I should say, ‘One feels,’ in that case this would be a valid question: ‘Venerable sir, who feels?’ But I do not speak thus.

Since I do not speak thus, if one should ask me, ‘Venerable sir, with what as condition does feeling come to be?’ this would be a valid question. To this the valid answer is: ‘With contact as condition, feeling comes to be; with feeling as condition, craving.’"

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5"Venerable sir, who craves?"

"Not a valid question," the Blessed One replied. "I do not say, ‘One craves.’ sn.ii.14 If I should say, ‘One craves,’ in that case this would be a valid question: ‘Venerable sir, who craves?’ But I do not speak thus.

Since I do not speak thus, if one should ask me, ‘Venerable sir, with what as condition does craving come to be?’ this would be a valid question. To this the valid answer is: ‘With feeling as condition, craving comes to be; with craving as condition, clinging.'

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6"Venerable sir, who clings?"

"Not a valid question," the Blessed One replied. "I do not say, ‘One clings.’ sn.ii.14 If I should say, ‘One clings,’ in that case this would be a valid question: ‘Venerable sir, who clings?’ But I do not speak thus.

Since I do not speak thus, if one should ask me, ‘Venerable sir, with what as condition does clinging come to be?’ this would be a valid question. To this the valid answer is: ‘With feeling as condition, clinging comes to be; with clinging as condition, existence;

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with existence as condition, birth comes to be; with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be. [n.26] Spk: Why didn’t the theorist ask, "Who comes to be?"? Because he held the belief that it is a being that comes to be, and the Buddha’s answer would directly contradict his belief. Further, after being contradicted so many times, he became convinced, and also the Teacher continued the discourse without pause in order to prevent him from asking any more pointless questions.

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Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.’

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7"But, Phagguna, with the remainderless fading away and cessation of the six bases for contact comes cessation of contact;

with the cessation of contact, cessation of feeling;

with the cessation of feeling, cessation of craving;

with the cessation of craving, cessation of clinging;

with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence;

with the cessation of existence, cessation of birth;

with the cessation of birth, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease.

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Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering."

1Sāvatthiyaṁ vihārati. "Cattārome, bhikkhave, āhārā bhūtānaṁ vā sattānaṁ ṭhitiyā sambhavesīnaṁ vā anuggahāya. Katame cattāro?

Kabaḷīkāro āhāro – oḷāriko vā sukhumo vā, phasso dutiyo, manosañcetanā tatiyā, viññāṇaṁ catutthaṁ.

Ime kho, bhikkhave, cattāro āhārā bhūtānaṁ vā sattānaṁ ṭhitiyā sambhavesīnaṁ vā anuggahāyā"ti.

2Evaṁ vutte, āyasmā moḷiyaphagguno bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "ko nu kho, bhante, viññāṇāhāraṁ āhāretī"ti?

"No kallo pañho"ti bhagavā avoca: "‘āhāretī’ti ahaṁ na vadāmi. ‘Āhāretī’ti cāhaṁ vadeyyaṁ, tatrassa kallo pañho: ‘ko nu kho, bhante, āhāretī’ti? Evañcāhaṁ na vadāmi.

Evaṁ maṁ avadantaṁ yo evaṁ puccheyya: ‘kissa nu kho, bhante, viññāṇāhāro’ti, esa kallo pañho. Tatra kallaṁ veyyākaraṇaṁ: ‘viññāṇāhāro āyatiṁ punabbhavābhinibbattiyā paccayo, tasmiṁ bhūte sati saḷāyatanaṁ, saḷāyatanapaccayā phasso’"ti.

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3"Ko nu kho, bhante, phusatī"ti?

"No kallo pañho"ti bhagavā avoca: "‘phusatī’ti ahaṁ na vadāmi. ‘Phusatī’ti cāhaṁ vadeyyaṁ, tatrassa kallo pañho: ‘ko nu kho, bhante, phusatī’ti? Evañcāhaṁ na vadāmi.

Evaṁ maṁ avadantaṁ yo evaṁ puccheyya: ‘kiṁpaccayā nu kho, bhante, phasso’ti, esa kallo pañho. Tatra kallaṁ veyyākaraṇaṁ: ‘saḷāyatanapaccayā phasso, phassapaccayā vedanā’"ti.

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4"Ko nu kho, bhante, vedayatī"ti?

"No kallo pañho"ti bhagavā avoca: "‘vedayatī’ti ahaṁ na vadāmi. ‘Vedayatī’ti cāhaṁ vadeyyaṁ, tatrassa kallo pañho: ‘ko nu kho, bhante, vedayatī’ti? Evañcāhaṁ na vadāmi.

Evaṁ maṁ avadantaṁ yo evaṁ puccheyya: ‘kiṁpaccayā nu kho, bhante, vedanā’ti, esa kallo pañho. Tatra kallaṁ veyyākaraṇaṁ: ‘phassapaccayā vedanā, vedanāpaccayā taṇhā’"ti.

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5"Ko nu kho, bhante, tasatī"ti?

"No kallo pañho"ti bhagavā avoca: "‘tasatī’ti ahaṁ na vadāmi. ‘Tasatī’ti cāhaṁ vadeyyaṁ, tatrassa kallo pañho: ‘ko nu kho, bhante, tasatī’ti? Evañcāhaṁ na vadāmi.

Evaṁ maṁ avadantaṁ yo evaṁ puccheyya: ‘kiṁpaccayā nu kho, bhante, taṇhā’ti, esa kallo pañho. Tatra kallaṁ veyyākaraṇaṁ: ‘vedanāpaccayā taṇhā, taṇhāpaccayā upādānan’"ti.

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6"Ko nu kho, bhante, upādiyatī"ti?

"No kallo pañho"ti bhagavā avoca: "‘upādiyatī’ti ahaṁ na vadāmi. ‘Upādiyatī’ti cāhaṁ vadeyyaṁ, tatrassa kallo pañho: ‘ko nu kho, bhante, upādiyatī’ti? Evañcāhaṁ na vadāmi.

Evaṁ maṁ avadantaṁ yo evaṁ puccheyya: ‘kiṁpaccayā nu kho, bhante, upādānan’ti, esa kallo pañho. Tatra kallaṁ veyyākaraṇaṁ: ‘taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṁ; upādānapaccayā bhavo’ti

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… pe …

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Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.

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7Channaṁ tveva, phagguna, phassāyatanānaṁ asesavirāganirodhā phassanirodho;

phassanirodhā vedanānirodho;

vedanānirodhā taṇhānirodho;

taṇhānirodhā upādānanirodho;

upādānanirodhā bhavanirodho;

bhavanirodhā jātinirodho;

jātinirodhā jarāmaraṇaṁ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā nirujjhanti.

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Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hotī"ti.

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Dutiyaṁ.