Saṃyukta Āgama (358)

Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha was dwelling at Śrāvastī in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park. At that time, the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus: "There is the arising of phenomena and the cessation of phenomena. Listen carefully and reflect well, I will explain it to you. What is the arising of phenomena? It is: 'When this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises.' That is: conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; conditioned by volitional formations, consciousness arises... and so on up to the arising of this whole mass of suffering. This is called the arising of phenomena.

What is the cessation of phenomena? It is: 'When this does not exist, that does not come to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases.' That is: with the cessation of ignorance, volitional formations cease; with the cessation of volitional formations, consciousness ceases... and so on up to the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. This is called the cessation of phenomena." After the Buddha had spoken this discourse, the bhikkhus, having heard what the Buddha said, rejoiced and undertook it respectfully.

Explanation: The Blessed One told the bhikkhus: "There is one method of arising and one method of cessation; I will explain it to you. Listen carefully and reflect well. What is the arising of phenomena? The arising of phenomena refers to 'when this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises.' Because this phenomenon exists, it gives rise to the appearance of that phenomenon, thereby increasing that phenomenon. That is, conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; conditioned by volitional formations, consciousness arises... and so on up to conditioned by birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and the whole mass of suffering arise. This is the conditioned arising that perpetuates the cycle of birth and death, the law of dependent origination.

What is the cessation of phenomena? The cessation of phenomena refers to 'when this does not exist, that does not come to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases.' Because this phenomenon ceases and no longer exists, that phenomenon consequently ceases along with it. When this phenomenon ceases, that phenomenon also ceases accordingly. That is, with the cessation of ignorance, volitional formations cease; with the cessation of volitional formations, consciousness ceases... and so on up to the cessation of birth; aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and the whole mass of suffering cease completely without remainder. This is the cessation of conditions that reverses the stream of birth and death, the law of dependent cessation."