Saṃyukta Āgama (284-1)

(1) Original Text: Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha was dwelling in Śrāvastī, at the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s park. At that time, the Blessed One addressed the bhikṣus: "If, regarding the dharmas that are grasped at, one gives rise to relishing and attachment, with the mind bound by remembrance and longing, then the mind races after and pursues name-and-form. Name-and-form conditions the six sense bases. The six sense bases condition contact. Contact conditions feeling. Feeling conditions craving. Craving conditions grasping. Grasping conditions becoming. Becoming conditions birth. Birth conditions aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair. Thus indeed is the arising of this whole mass of suffering."

Explanation: The Blessed One told the bhikṣus: If you give rise to greed and affection for the dharmas you grasp at, become immersed in them, constantly recollecting, longing for, and expecting them, with the mind rushing towards the past, chasing after the name-and-form aggregates (the five aggregates); once name-and-form arises, it produces the six sense bases (the six faculties); having the six sense bases produces contact (contact between the six faculties and the six objects); the contact of the six faculties with the six objects produces sensation; having sensation produces craving; having craving produces grasping; after grasping, it produces future existence in the three realms; having the dharmas of the three realms produces the body of the five aggregates; once the body of the five aggregates is born, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and suffering arise. Thus, all the sufferings of saṃsāra in the three realms are gathered together.

What are the dharmas that are grasped at? The eye grasps forms, the ear grasps sounds, the nose grasps scents, the tongue grasps tastes, the body grasps tangible objects, and the mental faculty grasps mental objects (dharmas). The six faculties grasp the six objects. Regarding these grasped dharmas, if one feels they are very pleasurable and meaningful, greed and affection arise, and thus one becomes immersed in them and cannot extricate oneself. For the dharmas one grasps at, if greed and affection make one unable to extricate oneself, the mind will yearn for them, every thought being about the dharmas one is greedy for. The mind is tightly bound and fettered, lacking liberation and freedom, inevitably sinking into birth and death.

However, a liberated and free mind does not cling or grasp. It has no affairs in the heart, nothing to be concerned about or remember. Seeing forms with the eye, it does not grasp the characteristics of forms; hearing sounds with the ear, it does not grasp the characteristics of sounds; smelling scents with the nose, it does not grasp the characteristics of scents; tasting flavors with the tongue, it does not grasp the characteristics of flavors; feeling contact with the body, it does not grasp the characteristics of contact; cognizing dharmas with the mental faculty, it does not grasp the characteristics of dharmas. All dharmas are discarded after use, not held onto or entangled with in the mind. 'Driving and racing' is also called grasping, clinging. Thoughts constantly dwelling on something, wanting to obtain it – craving produces grasping. Having grasping is the karma for birth and death. Future births become unavoidable, and great suffering is gathered together. Suffering karma is all created by oneself and will be endured by oneself. If one does not wish to suffer the painful results, one should not create the suffering karma. Thus, by not gathering suffering, there will be no suffering result.

Sentient beings, life after life, blindly chase after the name-and-form of the five aggregates, blindly pursue worldly dust-objects, never stopping to deeply reflect on what benefit their pursuits have, what substantial dharmas they are, what direction they lead to, or what results they cause. They also do not contemplate the origin of birth and death of the five aggregates, what meaning there is in being born and dying repeatedly, how to avoid the suffering of the birth and death of the five aggregates, or what else beyond the five-aggregate world is more worthy of pursuit.

When sentient beings chase after name-and-form, the six sense bases will arise upon that name-and-form. The external six sense bases are the six objects about to enter the internal six faculties. The internal six sense bases are the six faculties within the subtle sense faculties (the brain). When the external six sense bases contact the six faculties, the six consciousnesses arise to perceive the six objects. After the six consciousnesses recognize what the six objects are, they produce feelings. After feeling the six-object realm, afflictions of greed and affection arise. Once the greedy mind arises, it will inevitably grasp unceasingly, wanting to possess them forever. After grasping, one becomes inseparable from the six objects and will be together with them life after life. Then, future lives will inevitably appear continuously within the three realms. Aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and suffering follow, and great suffering is gathered together. Revolving in this cycle endlessly is truly suffering. This chain of birth and death is called the Dharma of Twelve Links of Dependent Origination.