1At Sāvatthī. "Bhikkhus, when one dwells contemplating gratification in things that can be clung to, craving increases.

With craving as condition, clinging comes to be; with clinging as condition, existence; with existence as condition, birth; with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be.

Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.

2"Suppose, bhikkhus, there was a great tree, and all its roots going downwards and across would send the sap upwards. Sustained by that sap, nourished by it, that great tree would stand for a very long time.

So too, when one lives contemplating gratification in things that can be clung to, craving increases.

With craving as condition, clinging comes to be; with clinging as condition, existence; with existence as condition, birth; with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be.

Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. [n.148] Spk: The great tree represents the round of existence with its three planes; the roots, the sense bases; the sending up of the sap through the roots, the building up of kamma through the six sense doors; the stability of the tree, the blind worldling's long continuation in saṁsara as he repeatedly sustains the round by building up kamma. sn.ii.88

3"When, bhikkhus, one dwells contemplating danger in things that can be clung to, craving ceases.

With the cessation of craving comes cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence … cessation of birth; … aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease.

Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.

4"Suppose, bhikkhus, there was a great tree. Then a man would come along bringing a shovel and a basket. He would cut down the tree at its foot, dig it up, and pull out the roots, even the fine rootlets and root-fibre. He would cut the tree into pieces, split the pieces, and reduce them to slivers. Then he would dry the slivers in the wind and sun, burn them in a fire, and collect the ashes. Having done so, he would winnow the ashes in a strong wind or let them be carried away by the swift current of a river. Thus that great tree would be cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that it is no more subject to future arising.

"So too, bhikkhus, when one dwells contemplating danger in things that can be clung to, craving ceases.

With the cessation of craving comes cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence … cessation of birth; … aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease.

Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering." [n.149] Spk: The man wishing to destroy the great tree represents the meditator, his shovel (or axe) knowledge, the basket concentration. The time the tree is cut down at its root is like the occasion when wisdom arises in the meditator as he attends to his meditation subject. The cutting of the tree into pieces is like attending to the body in brief by way of the four great elements; the splitting of the pieces is like attending to the body in detail in forty-two aspects (Vism 348–51; Ppn 11:31–38); reducing the pieces to slivers is like the discernment of name-and-form by way of derived form and consciousness; cutting up the roots is like the search for the conditions of name-and-form. The time of burning the slivers is like the time when the meditator attains the supreme fruit (of arahantship). The collecting of the ashes is like the arahant's life up to the time of his parinibbāna. The winnowing of the ashes, or their being carried away by the river, is like the stilling of the round when the arahant attains parinibbāna by the Nibbāna element without residue.

1Sāvatthiyaṁ vihārati. "Upādāniyesu, bhikkhave, dhammesu assādānupassino vihārato taṇhā pavaḍḍhati.

Taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṁ; upādānapaccayā bhavo … pe …

Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.

2Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, mahārukkho. Tassa yāni ceva mūlāni adhogamāni, yāni ca tiriyaṅgamāni, sabbāni tāni uddhaṁ ojaṁ abhiharanti. Evañhi so, bhikkhave, mahārukkho tadāhāro tadupādāno ciraṁ dīghamaddhānaṁ tiṭṭheyya.

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, upādāniyesu dhammesu assādānupassino vihārato taṇhā pavaḍḍhati.

Taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṁ … pe …

Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.

3Upādāniyesu, bhikkhave, dhammesu ādīnavānupassino vihārato taṇhā nirujjhati.

Taṇhānirodhā upādānanirodho; upādānanirodhā bhavanirodho … pe …

Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hoti.

4Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, mahārukkho. Atha puriso āgaccheyya kuddālapiṭakaṁ ādāya. So taṁ rukkhaṁ mūle chindeyya, mūlaṁ chinditvā palikhaṇeyya, palikhaṇitvā mūlāni uddhareyya antamaso usīranāḷimattānipi. So taṁ rukkhaṁ khaṇḍākhaṇḍikaṁ chindeyya, khaṇḍākhaṇḍikaṁ chinditvā phāleyya, phāletvā sakalikaṁ sakalikaṁ kareyya, sakalikaṁ sakalikaṁ karitvā vātātape visoseyya; vātātape visosetvā agginā ḍaheyya, agginā ḍahetvā masiṁ kareyya, masiṁ karitvā mahāvāte vā ophuṇeyya nadiyā vā sīghasotāya pavāheyya. Evañhi so, bhikkhave, mahārukkho ucchinnamūlo assa tālāvatthukato anabhāvaṅkato āyatiṁ anuppāda dhammo.

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, upādāniyesu dhammesu ādīnavānupassino vihārato taṇhā nirujjhati.

Taṇhānirodhā upādānanirodho; upādānanirodhā bhavanirodho … pe …

Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hotī"ti.

Pañcamaṁ.