An Explanation of the Twelve Nidānas in the Āgama Sutras
Section 4 The Relationship Between the Four Types of Food and the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
(371) The Arising of the Four Types of Food
Original text:尔时。世尊告诸比丘。有四食资益众生。令得住世。摄受长养。何等为四。谓一粗抟食。二细触食。三意思食。四识食。
Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: There are four types of food that nourish and benefit the living bodies of sentient beings, enabling them to be sustained and enhanced, to abide in the world, and to receive sustenance and nourishment. What are the four types of food? The first is coarse solid food (kavaḍaṅkāra-āhāra), which is relatively coarse food made of the four great elements; it nourishes the material body and sustains life. The second is subtle contact-food (sparśa-āhāra), which is relatively subtle contact-food; it takes as food the contact of the six faculties with the six sense objects, as well as the contact arising from the conjunction of the six faculties, the six consciousnesses, and the six sense objects; it nourishes the five aggregates of grasping and sustains life. The third is volitional food (manasaṃcetanā-āhāra), which takes the deliberation (manasikāra) of the mind consciousness and the manas as food; it nourishes the five-aggregate body and sustains life. The fourth is consciousness-food (vijñāna-āhāra), which takes the consciousness-mind's sustaining of the body as food; it sustains the functioning of the five-aggregate body and sustains life.
The first type, coarse solid food, is the food consumed by sentient beings of the human world in the desire realm and by animals; through chewing it enters the stomach and intestines and is absorbed by the body, thereby nourishing the material body and sustaining life in the world. Because the material bodies of humans and animals are coarse bodies composed of the four great elements, they require coarse food and drink to sustain them; subtle material bodies require subtle food and drink to sustain them, or else they are sustained by meditative concentration (samādhi). If there is no material body of the four great elements, then food composed of the four great elements is not needed, and it suffices to sustain life solely through meditative concentration. Although the devas of the desire realm also consume food composed of the four great elements, their food is extremely subtle; they need not chew it, and they become satiated merely by smelling it with the nose.
The second type, subtle contact-food, takes the contact between faculties and sense objects as food. Sentient beings with material bodies of the four great elements need contact-food, and sentient beings without material bodies of the four great elements also need contact-food, because although sentient beings of the formless realm have no material body of the four great elements, they do have the manas; only when the manas makes contact with the mental sense objects (dharma-viṣaya) can the life of formless-realm beings be sustained. Why do sentient beings need contact-food? Because sentient beings have the aggregates of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness; they have the six faculties, the six sense objects, and the six consciousnesses. Only when faculties and sense objects make contact and the six consciousnesses arise can the five aggregates function, can the six sense-object realms be discerned, and can the six sense-object realms be possessed—this is essential to life. If there were no contact-food, sentient beings would necessarily enter nirvāṇa and life would cease.
The third type, volitional food, consists mainly of the manas's deliberation of dharmas as food; the manas engages in constant, continuous deliberation without a moment's pause, supplemented by the intermittent deliberation-food of the mind consciousness. Only through deliberation can the five aggregates continue to function and absorb sense-object realms; this is essential for sentient beings of the three realms who possess ignorance. If there were no volitional food, sentient beings would necessarily enter nirvāṇa and life would cease.
The fourth type, consciousness-food, takes the eight consciousnesses as food to sustain the functioning of life. All eight consciousnesses have the function of sustaining the body. The eighth consciousness is the absolute body-sustaining consciousness, the primary body-sustaining consciousness; the seven consciousnesses are relative body-sustaining consciousnesses: the seventh consciousness is the second body-sustaining consciousness, the mind consciousness is the third body-sustaining consciousness, and the five sense consciousnesses are the fourth body-sustaining consciousness. As long as the eighth and seventh consciousnesses together sustain the body, the five-aggregate living body can remain in the world, but the functions of the five aggregates would be incomplete. The vast majority of sentient beings cannot do without the body-sustaining function of the mind consciousness, as well as the body-sustaining function of the five sense consciousnesses, for the functions of the five aggregates to operate in full and for life to continue and accumulate—except for bodhisattvas at the eighth bhūmi and above, who can have the faculties function interchangeably. Although the eighth consciousness has the absolute function of sustaining the body and is the source and foundation of all food, the fundamental food, the consciousness-food spoken of here still refers primarily to the food of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses.
The four types of food that sentient beings require are all inseparable from consciousness-food; it is consciousness-food that serves as the fundamental food sustaining the five-aggregate body, and on this basis contact-food and volitional food become necessary. If one does not possess profound meditative concentration, one must have solid food composed of the seeds of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—as the nutritional elements of the material body. If one's meditative concentration is relatively deep, one can eliminate solid food and rely mainly on consciousness-food and volitional food to nourish the material body; one may retain slight contact-food, or one may eliminate a portion of contact-food. The more sentient beings depend on these four types of food, the more they transmigrate through birth and death, and the more they experience feelings of suffering. The deeper the meditative concentration, the less dependence on these four types of food, and the freer the life; but dependence on the eighth consciousness can never be eliminated—one need only not cling to the eighth consciousness.
Original text:此四食何因何集。何生何触。谓此诸食。爱因爱集。爱生爱触。此爱何因何集。何生何触。谓爱受因受集。受生受触。此受何因何集。何生何触。谓受触因触集。触生触触。
Explanation: With what dharma as cause do these four types of food arise? Through the arising of what dharma do they accumulate? By the birth of what dharma are they brought about? By the contact of what dharma are they induced? These four types of food arise with craving (tṛṣṇā) as their cause, are accumulated through the accumulation of craving, are brought about by the birth of craving, and are induced by the contact of craving. Then with what dharma as cause does this craving arise? Through the accumulation of what dharma is it induced? By the birth of what dharma is it triggered? By the contact of what dharma is it produced?
This craving arises with feeling (vedanā) as its cause, is induced through the accumulation of feeling, is triggered by the birth of feeling, and is produced by the contact of feeling. With what dharma as cause does this feeling arise? Through the accumulation of what dharma is it induced? By the birth of what dharma is it triggered? By the contact of what dharma is it produced? This feeling arises with the contact of the six faculties with the six sense objects as its cause, is induced through the accumulation of contact, results from the birth of contact, and is induced by the contact of the six faculties with the six sense objects.
If there is no craving, if craving has ceased, consciousness-food does not arise, and there is no contact-food; without contact-food there is no volitional food or solid food, and the four types of food all cease and do not arise. Therefore craving is suffering; craving is the cause of the suffering of transmigration through birth and death.
Original text:此触何因何集。何生何触。谓触六入处因。六入处集。六入处生。六入处触。六入处集是触集。触集是受集。受集是爱集。爱集是食集。食集故未来世生老病死。忧悲恼苦集。如是纯大苦聚集。
如是六入处灭则触灭。触灭则受灭。受灭则爱灭。爱灭则食灭。食灭故。于未来世生老病死。忧悲恼苦灭。如是纯大苦聚灭。
Explanation: With what dharma as cause does this contact arise? Through the accumulation of what dharma does it arise? By the birth of what dharma is it triggered? By the contact of what dharma is it caused? Contact arises with the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana) as its cause, is induced through the accumulation of the six sense bases, is brought about by the birth of the six sense bases, and is the result of the contact of the six sense bases. The accumulation of the six sense bases is the accumulation of contact; the accumulation of contact is the accumulation of feeling; the accumulation of feeling is the accumulation of craving; the accumulation of craving is the accumulation of the four types of food. Because of the accumulation of food, the birth, aging, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress (śoka-parideva-duḥkha-daurmanasyopāyāsa) of future lives will accumulate, and thus the great mass of suffering entirely accumulates.
In terms of the correlations among these dharmas: if the six sense bases cease, contact ceases; when contact ceases, feeling ceases; when feeling ceases, craving ceases; when craving ceases, the four types of food cease; when the four types of food cease, the birth, aging, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress of future lives—the great mass of suffering entirely—ceases.
(372) The Relationship Between the Four Types of Food and the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
Original text:尔时。世尊告诸比丘。有四食资益众生。令得住世摄受长养。何等为四。一粗抟食。二细触食。三意思食。四识食。
Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: There are four types of food that nourish and benefit sentient beings, enabling them to receive sustenance and abide long in the world. What are the four types of food? The first is coarse solid food; the second is subtle contact-food; the third is the volitional food of the mind consciousness and the manas; the fourth is the discerning food of the consciousness-mind.
Original text:时有比丘名曰颇求那。住佛后扇佛。白佛言。世尊。谁食此识。佛告颇求那。我不言有食识者。我若言有食识者。汝应作是问。我说识是食。汝应问言。何因缘故有识食。我则答言。能招未来有。令相续生。
Explanation: At that time a bhikṣu named Pūrṇaka stood behind the Buddha fanning Him, and said to the Buddha: World-Honored One, who takes this consciousness as food? The Buddha told Pūrṇaka: I do not say there is one who takes consciousness as food. If I had said there is one who takes consciousness as food, then you could ask in this way. What I say is that consciousness is also a kind of food that nourishes sentient beings; you should ask: For what reason is there consciousness-food? Then I would answer: Consciousness-food can draw in the existence of future lives and enable existence in the three realms to arise continuously.
Why did the Buddha say there is no one who consumes the seven and eighth consciousnesses? Why did the Buddha say there is no one who takes the seven and eighth consciousnesses as food? Because those who need consciousness-food are sentient beings of the five aggregates, and sentient beings of the five aggregates are composite entities without any controller; consciousness is the primary element within this composite entity that has no controller. Consciousness does not consume itself; without a controller there is no consumer. Why is there consciousness-food? The Buddha said that only because there is consciousness-food can the existence of the three realms in future lives be drawn in. From this statement, we can understand that in the Small Vehicle and the Middle Vehicle, consciousness-food refers to the food of the six consciousnesses; with the food of the six consciousnesses there will be name-and-form in future lives. In the Great Vehicle, consciousness-food includes the seventh and eighth consciousnesses, with the seventh and eighth consciousnesses as primary and the six consciousnesses as supplementary.
Original text:有有故有六入处。六入处缘触。颇求那复问。为谁触。佛告颇求那。我不言有触者。我若言有触者。汝应作是问为谁触。汝应如是问。何因缘故生触。我应如是答。六入处缘触。
Explanation: Because there is existence, there are the six sense bases; with the six sense bases as condition, contact arises. Pūrṇaka asked the Buddha again: Who makes contact? The Buddha told Pūrṇaka: I do not say there is one who makes contact. If I had said there is one who makes contact, then you should ask in this way: Who makes contact? You should ask like this: For what reason does contact arise? Then I should answer: With the six sense bases as condition, contact arises.
Why did the Buddha say there is no one who makes contact? Why is there no one who feels, no one who craves, no one who grasps, no one who exists, no one who is born, no one who ages and dies? Because contact is the contact between faculties and sense objects, the contact between the inner six entrances and the outer six entrances; faculties and sense objects, the inner and outer six entrances, have no self-nature, no controller, no owner. Therefore there is neither that which contacts nor that which is contacted—there is no one who makes contact. By the same reasoning, there is also no one who feels, no one who craves, no one who grasps, no one who exists, no one who is born, and no one who ages and dies.
Original text:触缘受。复问。为谁受。佛告颇求那。我不说有受者。我若言有受者。汝应问为谁受。汝应问言。何因缘故有受。我应如是答。触缘故有受。
受缘爱。复问。世尊。为谁爱。佛告颇求那。我不说有爱者。我若说言有爱者。汝应作是问为谁爱。汝应问言。何缘故有爱。我应如是答。缘受故有爱。
Explanation: Because of contact, feeling arises. Pūrṇaka asked again: Who feels? The Buddha told Pūrṇaka: I do not say there is one who feels. If I had said there is one who feels, then you should ask: Who feels? You should ask like this: For what reason is there feeling? Then I would answer: Because there is contact, feeling arises.
Because of feeling, craving arises. Pūrṇaka asked again: World-Honored One, who craves? The Buddha told Pūrṇaka: I do not say there is one who craves. If I had said there is one who craves, you should ask: Who craves? You should ask like this: For what reason does craving arise? Then I should answer: Because there is feeling, there is craving.
Original text:爱缘取。复问。世尊为谁取。佛告颇求那。我不说言有取者。我若说言有取者。汝应问言为谁取。汝应问言。何缘故有取。我应答言。爱缘故有取。
Explanation: Conditioned on craving, the action of grasping arises. Pūrṇaka asked again: World-Honored One, who grasps? The Buddha told Pūrṇaka: I do not say there is one who grasps. If I had said there is one who grasps, you should ask: Who grasps? You should ask like this: What causes and conditions lead to the arising of grasping? Then I should answer: It is because of craving that grasping arises.
Original text:取缘有。复问。世尊为谁有。佛告颇求那。我不说有有者。我若说有有者。汝应问言为谁有。汝今应问。何缘故有有。我应答言。缘取故有有。能招当来有。触生是名有。
Explanation: Conditioned on grasping, existence in the three realms arises. Pūrṇaka asked again: World-Honored One, for whom does existence exist? The Buddha told Pūrṇaka: I do not say there is one who exists. If I had said there is one who exists, you should ask: For whom does existence exist? You should now ask like this: What causes and conditions lead to the appearance of existence in the three realms? Then I should answer: Because there are the mental actions of grasping, there is existence in the three realms; grasping can draw in the existence of future lives. When contact is born, this is called existence.
Original text:有六入处。六入处缘触。触缘受。受缘爱。爱缘取。取缘有。有缘生。生缘老病死忧悲恼苦。如是纯大苦聚集。谓六入处灭则触灭。触灭则受灭。受灭则爱灭。爱灭则取灭。取灭则有灭。有灭则生灭。生灭则老病死忧悲恼苦灭。如是纯大苦聚集灭。
Explanation: Because there are the six sense bases there is contact; the causes and conditions of the six sense bases lead to the arising of contact; the causes and conditions of contact give rise to feeling; conditioned on feeling there is craving; conditioned on craving there is grasping; conditioned on grasping existence arises; conditioned on existence life is born; with life there are aging, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress; thus the great mass of suffering entirely accumulates. If the six sense bases cease, contact ceases; when contact ceases, feeling ceases; when feeling ceases, craving ceases; when craving ceases, grasping ceases; when grasping ceases, existence ceases; when existence ceases, birth ceases; when birth ceases, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress cease, and the great mass of suffering entirely ceases.
In the dharma of the twelve links of dependent origination, there is no one who consumes consciousness, no one who makes contact, no one who feels, no one who craves, no one who grasps, no one who exists, no one who is born, and no one who ages and dies, because all these dharmas arise from causes and conditions, and dharmas arising from causes and conditions have no controller and are not the master. Then who is there that takes consciousness as food? Who is there that can make contact, feel, crave, grasp, exist, be born, age, and die? There is no such agent; all of this is merely illusion like floating clouds, passing without lingering, constantly migrating and evolving, arising and ceasing and changing, unobtainable. When circumstances change and time passes, there is no longer that contact; even if there is contact, there is no longer that feeling of the time, still less that craving, nor will there be grasping attachment. Yet one cannot avoid the existence of future lives, because there will still be other kinds of contact, other kinds of feeling, craving, and grasping—this is change and variation.
If there were a master, these dharmas would not change and vary: constant contact, constant feeling, constant craving, constant grasping, constant existence, with no birth, aging, sickness, or death. Without a master, there must necessarily be arising, ceasing, change, and impermanence, without constancy; there must necessarily be no one who consumes consciousness, no one who makes contact, no one who feels, no one who craves, no one who grasps, no one who exists, no one who is born, and no one who ages and dies.
