4👑☸ Cattāri Ariya-saccaṃ 四聖諦

4👑☸ → MN‍ → MN 18    🔝
 MN 18 – MN 18 Madhu-piṇḍika: honey cake
    MN 18.1 (buddha talks to dandapani )
    MN 18.3 (mahā-kaccāna expands Buddha’s brief statement in detail)
    MN 18.5 (mahā-kaccāna closing statement)
MN 18.100 – commentary

detailed TOC

 MN 18 – MN 18 Madhu-piṇḍika: honey cake
    MN 18.1 (buddha talks to dandapani )
        MN 18.1.1 (monks ask buddha to clarify, he only gives brief statement )
        MN 18.1.2 (monks ask maha kaccana to expand on brief statement )
    MN 18.3 (mahā-kaccāna expands Buddha’s brief statement in detail)
        MN 18.3.1 (Dependent origination of proliferation sequence)
        MN 18.3.2 (Proliferation sequence phrased slightly differently)
        MN 18.3.3 (Cessation of proliferation sequence)
    MN 18.5 (mahā-kaccāna closing statement)
        MN 18.5.1 (buddha stamps seal of approval on mahā-kaccāna explanation)
        MN 18.5.2 (conclusion)
MN 18.100 – commentary

18 – MN 18 Madhu-piṇḍika: honey cake


(derived from B. Sujato 2018/12)
Madhupiṇḍikasutta
 The Honey-Cake

18.1 (buddha talks to dandapani )

Evaṃ me sutaṃ—​
 So I have heard.
ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā sakkesu viharati kapilavatthusmiṃ nigrodhārāme.
 At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Sakyans, near Kapilavatthu in the Banyan Tree Monastery.
Atha kho bhagavā pubbaṇhasamayaṃ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya kapilavatthuṃ piṇḍāya pāvisi.
 Then the Buddha robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, entered Kapilavatthu for alms.
Kapilavatthusmiṃ piṇḍāya caritvā pacchābhattaṃ piṇḍapātapaṭikkanto yena mahāvanaṃ tenupasaṅkami divāvihārāya.
 He wandered for alms in Kapilavatthu. After the meal, on his return from alms-round, he went to the Great Wood,
Mahāvanaṃ ajjhogāhetvā beluvalaṭṭhikāya mūle divāvihāraṃ nisīdi.
 plunged deep into it, and sat at the root of a young wood apple tree for the day’s meditation.
Daṇḍapāṇipi kho sakko jaṅghāvihāraṃ anucaṅkamamāno anuvicaramāno yena mahāvanaṃ tenupasaṅkami.
 Daṇḍapāṇi the Sakyan, while going for a walk,
Mahāvanaṃ ajjhogāhetvā yena beluvalaṭṭhikā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṃ sammodi.
 plunged deep into the Great Wood. He approached the Buddha and exchanged greetings with him.
Sammodanīyaṃ kathaṃ sāraṇīyaṃ vītisāretvā daṇḍamolubbha ekamantaṃ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṃ ṭhito kho daṇḍapāṇi sakko bhagavantaṃ etadavoca:
 When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he stood to one side leaning on his staff, and said to the Buddha:
“kiṃvādī samaṇo kimakkhāyī”ti?
 “What does the ascetic teach? What does he explain?”
“Yathāvādī kho, āvuso, sadevake loke samārake sabrahmake sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya na kenaci loke viggayha tiṭṭhati, yathā ca pana kāmehi visaṃyuttaṃ viharantaṃ taṃ brāhmaṇaṃ akathaṃkathiṃ chinnakukkuccaṃ bhavābhave vītataṇhaṃ saññā nānusenti—
 “Sir, my teaching is such that one does not conflict with anyone in this world with its gods, Māras, and Brahmās, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans. And it is such that perceptions do not underlie the brahmin who lives detached from sensual pleasures, without doubting, stripped of worry, and rid of craving for rebirth in this or that state.
evaṃvādī kho ahaṃ, āvuso, evamakkhāyī”ti.
 That’s what I teach, and that’s what I explain.”
Evaṃ vutte, daṇḍapāṇi sakko sīsaṃ okampetvā, jivhaṃ nillāḷetvā, tivisākhaṃ nalāṭikaṃ nalāṭe vuṭṭhāpetvā daṇḍamolubbha pakkāmi.
 When he had spoken, Daṇḍapāṇi shook his head, waggled his tongue, raised his eyebrows until his brow puckered in three furrows, and he departed leaning on his staff.
Atha kho bhagavā sāyanhasamayaṃ paṭisallānā vuṭṭhito yena nigrodhārāmo tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā paññatte āsane nisīdi.
 Then in the late afternoon, the Buddha came out of retreat and went to the Banyan Tree Monastery, sat down on the seat spread out,
Nisajja kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi:
 and told the monks what had happened.
(repeat of earlier passage)

“idhāhaṃ, bhikkhave, pubbaṇhasamayaṃ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya kapilavatthuṃ piṇḍāya pāvisiṃ.
Kapilavatthusmiṃ piṇḍāya caritvā pacchābhattaṃ piṇḍapātapaṭikkanto yena mahāvanaṃ tenupasaṅkamiṃ divāvihārāya.
Mahāvanaṃ ajjhogāhetvā beluvalaṭṭhikāya mūle divāvihāraṃ nisīdiṃ.
Daṇḍapāṇipi kho, bhikkhave, sakko jaṅghāvihāraṃ anucaṅkamamāno anuvicaramāno yena mahāvanaṃ tenupasaṅkami.
Mahāvanaṃ ajjhogāhetvā yena beluvalaṭṭhikā yenāhaṃ tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā mayā saddhiṃ sammodi.
Sammodanīyaṃ kathaṃ sāraṇīyaṃ vītisāretvā daṇḍamolubbha ekamantaṃ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṃ ṭhito kho, bhikkhave, daṇḍapāṇi sakko maṃ etadavoca:
‘kiṃvādī samaṇo kimakkhāyī’ti?
(end of repetition)

18.1.1 (monks ask buddha to clarify, he only gives brief statement )


Evaṃ vutte, aññataro bhikkhu bhagavantaṃ etadavoca:
 When he had spoken, one of the monks said to him:
“kiṃvādī pana, bhante, bhagavā sadevake loke samārake sabrahmake sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya na kenaci loke viggayha tiṭṭhati?
 “But sir, what is the teaching such that the Buddha does not conflict with anyone in this world with its gods, Māras, and Brahmās, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans?
Kathañca pana, bhante, bhagavantaṃ kāmehi visaṃyuttaṃ viharantaṃ taṃ brāhmaṇaṃ akathaṅkathiṃ chinnakukkuccaṃ bhavābhave vītataṇhaṃ saññā nānusentī”ti?
 And how is it that perceptions do not underlie the Buddha, the brahmin who lives detached from sensual pleasures, without doubting, stripped of worry, and rid of craving for rebirth in this or that state?”
“Yatonidānaṃ, bhikkhu, purisaṃ papañcasaññāsaṅkhā samudācaranti.
 “monk, a person is beset by concepts of identity that emerge from the proliferation of perceptions.
Ettha ce natthi abhinanditabbaṃ abhivaditabbaṃ ajjhositabbaṃ.
 If they don’t find anything worth approving, welcoming, or getting attached to in the source from which these arise,
Esevanto rāgānusayānaṃ, esevanto paṭighānusayānaṃ, esevanto diṭṭhānusayānaṃ, esevanto vicikicchānusayānaṃ, esevanto mānānusayānaṃ, esevanto bhavarāgānusayānaṃ, esevanto avijjānusayānaṃ, esevanto daṇḍādānasatthādānakalahaviggahavivādatuvaṃtuvaṃpesuññamusāvādānaṃ.
 just this is the end of the underlying tendencies to desire, repulsion, views, doubt, conceit, the desire to be reborn, and ignorance. This is the end of taking up the rod and the sword, the end of quarrels, arguments, and fights, of accusations, divisive speech, and lies.
Etthete pāpakā akusalā dhammā aparisesā nirujjhantī”ti.
 This is where these bad, unskillful qualities cease without anything left over.”
Idamavoca bhagavā.
 That is what the Buddha said.
Idaṃ vatvāna sugato uṭṭhāyāsanā vihāraṃ pāvisi.
 When he had spoken, the Holy One got up from his seat and entered his dwelling.
Atha kho tesaṃ bhikkhūnaṃ acirapakkantassa bhagavato etadahosi:
 Soon after the Buddha left, those monks considered:
“idaṃ kho no, āvuso, bhagavā saṅkhittena uddesaṃ uddisitvā, vitthārena atthaṃ avibhajitvā, uṭṭhāyāsanā vihāraṃ paviṭṭho:
 “The Buddha gave this brief passage for recitation, then entered his dwelling without explaining the meaning in detail.
(repeat of earlier passage)

‘yatonidānaṃ, bhikkhu, purisaṃ papañcasaññāsaṅkhā samudācaranti.
Ettha ce natthi abhinanditabbaṃ abhivaditabbaṃ ajjhositabbaṃ.
Esevanto rāgānusayānaṃ … pe …
etthete pāpakā akusalā dhammā aparisesā nirujjhantī’ti.
(end of repetition)

Ko nu kho imassa bhagavatā saṅkhittena uddesassa uddiṭṭhassa vitthārena atthaṃ avibhattassa vitthārena atthaṃ vibhajeyyā”ti?
 Who can explain in detail the meaning of this brief passage for recitation given by the Buddha?”
Atha kho tesaṃ bhikkhūnaṃ etadahosi:
 Then those monks thought:
“ayaṃ kho āyasmā mahākaccāno satthu ceva saṃvaṇṇito sambhāvito ca viññūnaṃ sabrahmacārīnaṃ.
 “This Venerable Mahākaccāna is praised by the Buddha and esteemed by his sensible spiritual companions.
Pahoti cāyasmā mahākaccāno imassa bhagavatā saṅkhittena uddesassa uddiṭṭhassa vitthārena atthaṃ avibhattassa vitthārena atthaṃ vibhajituṃ.
 He is capable of explaining in detail the meaning of this brief passage for recitation given by the Buddha.
Yannūna mayaṃ yenāyasmā mahākaccāno tenupasaṅkameyyāma; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmantaṃ mahākaccānaṃ etamatthaṃ paṭipuccheyyāmā”ti.
 Let’s go to him, and ask him about this matter.”

18.1.2 (monks ask maha kaccana to expand on brief statement )


Atha kho te bhikkhū yenāyasmā mahākaccāno tenupasaṅkamiṃsu; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmatā mahākaccānena saddhiṃ sammodiṃsu.
 Then those monks went to Mahākaccāna, and exchanged greetings with him.
Sammodanīyaṃ kathaṃ sāraṇīyaṃ vītisāretvā ekamantaṃ nisīdiṃsu. Ekamantaṃ nisinnā kho te bhikkhū āyasmantaṃ mahākaccānaṃ etadavocuṃ:
 When the greetings and polite conversation were over, they sat down to one side. They told him what had happened, and said:
(repeat of earlier passage)

“idaṃ kho no, āvuso kaccāna, bhagavā saṅkhittena uddesaṃ uddisitvā vitthārena atthaṃ avibhajitvā uṭṭhāyāsanā vihāraṃ paviṭṭho:
‘yatonidānaṃ, bhikkhu, purisaṃ papañcasaññāsaṅkhā samudācaranti.
Ettha ce natthi abhinanditabbaṃ abhivaditabbaṃ ajjhositabbaṃ.
Esevanto rāgānusayānaṃ … pe …
etthete pāpakā akusalā dhammā aparisesā nirujjhantī’ti.
Tesaṃ no, āvuso kaccāna, amhākaṃ acirapakkantassa bhagavato etadahosi:
‘idaṃ kho no, āvuso, bhagavā saṅkhittena uddesaṃ uddisitvā vitthārena atthaṃ avibhajitvā uṭṭhāyāsanā vihāraṃ paviṭṭho:
“yatonidānaṃ, bhikkhu, purisaṃ papañcasaññāsaṅkhā samudācaranti.
Ettha ce natthi abhinanditabbaṃ abhivaditabbaṃ ajjhositabbaṃ.
Esevanto rāgānusayānaṃ … pe …
etthete pāpakā akusalā dhammā aparisesā nirujjhantī”’ti.
Ko nu kho imassa bhagavatā saṅkhittena uddesassa uddiṭṭhassa vitthārena atthaṃ avibhattassa vitthārena atthaṃ vibhajeyyāti?
Tesaṃ no, āvuso kaccāna, amhākaṃ etadahosi:
‘ayaṃ kho āyasmā mahākaccāno satthu ceva saṃvaṇṇito sambhāvito ca viññūnaṃ sabrahmacārīnaṃ, pahoti cāyasmā mahākaccāno imassa bhagavatā saṅkhittena uddesassa uddiṭṭhassa vitthārena atthaṃ avibhattassa vitthārena atthaṃ vibhajituṃ.
Yannūna mayaṃ yenāyasmā mahākaccāno tenupasaṅkameyyāma; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmantaṃ mahākaccānaṃ etamatthaṃ paṭipuccheyyāmā’ti.
(end of repetition)

Vibhajatāyasmā mahākaccāno”ti.
 “May Venerable Mahākaccāna please explain this.”
“Seyyathāpi, āvuso, puriso sāratthiko sāragavesī sārapariyesanaṃ caramāno mahato rukkhassa tiṭṭhato sāravato atikkammeva mūlaṃ, atikkamma khandhaṃ, sākhāpalāse sāraṃ pariyesitabbaṃ maññeyya;
 “Reverends, suppose there was a person in need of heartwood. And while wandering in search of heartwood he’d come across a large tree standing with heartwood. But he’d pass over the roots and trunk, imagining that the heartwood should be sought in the branches and leaves.
evaṃsampadamidaṃ āyasmantānaṃ satthari sammukhībhūte, taṃ bhagavantaṃ atisitvā, amhe etamatthaṃ paṭipucchitabbaṃ maññatha.
 Such is the consequence for the venerables. Though you were face to face with the Buddha, you passed him by, imagining that you should ask me about this matter.
So hāvuso, bhagavā jānaṃ jānāti, passaṃ passati, cakkhubhūto ñāṇabhūto dhammabhūto brahmabhūto, vattā pavattā, atthassa ninnetā, amatassa dātā, dhammassāmī tathāgato.
 For he is the Buddha, who knows and sees. He is vision, he is knowledge, he is the truth, he is holiness. He is the teacher, the proclaimer, the elucidator of meaning, the bestower of the deathless, the lord of truth, the Realized One.
So ceva panetassa kālo ahosi, yaṃ bhagavantaṃyeva etamatthaṃ paṭipuccheyyātha.
 That was the time to approach the Buddha and ask about this matter.
Yathā vo bhagavā byākareyya tathā naṃ dhāreyyāthā”ti.
 You should have remembered it in line with the Buddha’s answer.”
“Addhāvuso kaccāna, bhagavā jānaṃ jānāti, passaṃ passati, cakkhubhūto ñāṇabhūto dhammabhūto brahmabhūto, vattā pavattā, atthassa ninnetā, amatassa dātā, dhammassāmī tathāgato.
 “Certainly he is the Buddha, who knows and sees. He is vision, he is knowledge, he is the truth, he is holiness. He is the teacher, the proclaimer, the elucidator of meaning, the bestower of the deathless, the lord of truth, the Realized One.
So ceva panetassa kālo ahosi, yaṃ bhagavantaṃyeva etamatthaṃ paṭipuccheyyāma.
 That was the time to approach the Buddha and ask about this matter.
Yathā no bhagavā byākareyya tathā naṃ dhāreyyāma.
 We should have remembered it in line with the Buddha’s answer.
Api cāyasmā mahākaccāno satthu ceva saṃvaṇṇito sambhāvito ca viññūnaṃ sabrahmacārīnaṃ,
 Still, Mahākaccāna is praised by the Buddha and esteemed by his sensible spiritual companions.
pahoti cāyasmā mahākaccāno imassa bhagavatā saṃkhittena uddesassa uddiṭṭhassa vitthārena atthaṃ avibhattassa vitthārena atthaṃ vibhajituṃ.
 You are capable of explaining in detail the meaning of this brief passage for recitation given by the Buddha.
Vibhajatāyasmā mahākaccāno agaruṃ katvā”ti.
 Please explain this, if it’s no trouble.”
“Tena hāvuso, suṇātha, sādhukaṃ manasikarotha, bhāsissāmī”ti.
 “Well then, reverends, listen and pay close attention, I will speak.”
“Evamāvuso”ti kho te bhikkhū āyasmato mahākaccānassa paccassosuṃ.
 “Yes, reverend,” they replied.
Āyasmā mahākaccāno etadavoca:
 Venerable Mahākaccāna said this:

18.3 (mahā-kaccāna expands Buddha’s brief statement in detail)


“Yaṃ kho no, āvuso, bhagavā saṅkhittena uddesaṃ uddisitvā vitthārena atthaṃ avibhajitvā uṭṭhāyāsanā vihāraṃ paviṭṭho:
 “Reverends, the Buddha gave this brief passage for recitation, then entered his dwelling without explaining the meaning in detail:
‘yatonidānaṃ, bhikkhu, purisaṃ papañcasaññāsaṅkhā samudācaranti.
 ‘A person is beset by concepts of identity that emerge from the proliferation of perceptions.
Ettha ce natthi abhinanditabbaṃ abhivaditabbaṃ ajjhositabbaṃ, esevanto rāgānusayānaṃ … pe …
 If they don’t find anything worth approving, welcoming, or getting attached to in the source from which these arise …
etthete pāpakā akusalā dhammā aparisesā nirujjhantī’ti, imassa kho ahaṃ, āvuso, bhagavatā saṅkhittena uddesassa uddiṭṭhassa vitthārena atthaṃ avibhattassa evaṃ vitthārena atthaṃ ājānāmi—
 This is where these bad, unskillful qualities cease without anything left over.’ This is how I understand the detailed meaning of this passage for recitation.

18.3.1 (Dependent origination of proliferation sequence)

(6aya. Eye base \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x81)


Cakkhuñc-āvuso, paṭicca rūpe ca uppajjati cakkhu-viññāṇaṃ,
 Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights.
tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso,
 The meeting of the three is contact.
phassa-paccayā vedanā,
 Contact is a condition for feeling.
yaṃ vedeti taṃ sañjānāti,
 What you feel, you perceive.
yaṃ sañjānāti taṃ vitakketi,
 What you perceive, you think about.
yaṃ vitakketi taṃ papañceti,
 What you think about, you proliferate.
yaṃ papañceti tato-nidānaṃ
 What you proliferate about is the source
purisaṃ papañca-saññā-saṅkhā samudācaranti
 from which a person is beset by concepts of identity that emerge from the proliferation of perceptions.
atīt-ānāgata-paccuppannesu cakkhu-viññeyyesu rūpesu.
 This occurs with respect to sights known by the eye in the past, future, and present.

(same pattern for remaining 6aya. \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x81 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x82 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x83 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x85 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x86 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB2\xAD)


Sotañcāvuso, paṭicca sadde ca uppajjati sotaviññāṇaṃ … pe …
 Ear consciousness arises dependent on the ear and sounds. …
ghānañcāvuso, paṭicca gandhe ca uppajjati ghānaviññāṇaṃ … pe …
 Nose consciousness arises dependent on the nose and smells. …
jivhañcāvuso, paṭicca rase ca uppajjati jivhāviññāṇaṃ … pe …
 Tongue consciousness arises dependent on the tongue and tastes. …
kāyañcāvuso, paṭicca phoṭṭhabbe ca uppajjati kāyaviññāṇaṃ … pe …
 Body consciousness arises dependent on the body and touches. …
manañcāvuso, paṭicca dhamme ca uppajjati manoviññāṇaṃ, tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso, phassapaccayā vedanā, yaṃ vedeti taṃ sañjānāti, yaṃ sañjānāti taṃ vitakketi, yaṃ vitakketi taṃ papañceti, yaṃ papañceti tatonidānaṃ purisaṃ papañcasaññāsaṅkhā samudācaranti atītānāgatapaccuppannesu manoviññeyyesu dhammesu.
 Mind consciousness arises dependent on the mind and thoughts. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact is a condition for feeling. What you feel, you perceive. What you perceive, you think about. What you think about, you proliferate. What you proliferate about is the source from which a person is beset by concepts of identity that emerge from the proliferation of perceptions. This occurs with respect to thoughts known by the mind in the past, future, and present.

18.3.2 (Proliferation sequence phrased slightly differently)

(6aya. Eye base \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x81)


So vatāvuso, cakkhusmiṃ sati rūpe sati cakkhuviññāṇe sati phassapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—ṭhānametaṃ vijjati.
 When there is the eye, sights, and eye consciousness, it’s possible to point out what’s known as ‘contact’.
Phassapaññattiyā sati vedanāpaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—ṭhānametaṃ vijjati.
 When there is what’s known as contact, it’s possible to point out what’s known as ‘feeling’.
Vedanāpaññattiyā sati saññāpaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—ṭhānametaṃ vijjati.
 When there is what’s known as feeling, it’s possible to point out what’s known as ‘perception’.
Saññāpaññattiyā sati vitakkapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—ṭhānametaṃ vijjati.
 When there is what’s known as perception, it’s possible to point out what’s known as ‘thought’.
Vitakkapaññattiyā sati papañcasaññāsaṅkhāsamudācaraṇapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—ṭhānametaṃ vijjati.
 When there is what’s known as thought, it’s possible to point out what’s known as ‘being beset by concepts of identity that emerge from the proliferation of perceptions’.

(same pattern for remaining 6aya. \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x81 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x82 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x83 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x85 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x86 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB2\xAD)


So vatāvuso, sotasmiṃ sati sadde sati … pe …
 When there is the ear …
ghānasmiṃ sati gandhe sati … pe …
 nose …
jivhāya sati rase sati … pe …
 tongue …
kāyasmiṃ sati phoṭṭhabbe sati … pe …
 body …
manasmiṃ sati dhamme sati manoviññāṇe sati phassapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—ṭhānametaṃ vijjati.
 mind, thoughts, and mind consciousness, it’s possible to point out what’s known as ‘contact’. …
Phassapaññattiyā sati vedanāpaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—ṭhānametaṃ vijjati.
Vedanāpaññattiyā sati saññāpaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—ṭhānametaṃ vijjati.
Saññāpaññattiyā sati vitakkapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—ṭhānametaṃ vijjati.
Vitakkapaññattiyā sati papañcasaññāsaṅkhāsamudācaraṇapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—ṭhānametaṃ vijjati.
 When there is what’s known as thought, it’s possible to point out what’s known as ‘being beset by concepts of identity that emerge from the proliferation of perceptions’.

18.3.3 (Cessation of proliferation sequence)

(6aya. Eye base \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x81)


So vatāvuso, cakkhusmiṃ asati rūpe asati cakkhuviññāṇe asati phassapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.
 When there is no eye, no sights, and no eye consciousness, it’s not possible to point out what’s known as ‘contact’.
Phassapaññattiyā asati vedanāpaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.
 When there isn’t what’s known as contact, it’s not possible to point out what’s known as ‘feeling’.
Vedanāpaññattiyā asati saññāpaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.
 When there isn’t what’s known as feeling, it’s not possible to point out what’s known as ‘perception’.
Saññāpaññattiyā asati vitakkapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.
 When there isn’t what’s known as perception, it’s not possible to point out what’s known as ‘thought’.
Vitakkapaññattiyā asati papañcasaññāsaṅkhāsamudācaraṇapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.
 When there isn’t what’s known as thought, it’s not possible to point out what’s known as ‘being beset by concepts of identity that emerge from the proliferation of perceptions’.

(same pattern for remaining 6aya. \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x81 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x82 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x83 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x85 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x86 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB2\xAD)


So vatāvuso, sotasmiṃ asati sadde asati … pe …
 When there is no ear …
ghānasmiṃ asati gandhe asati … pe …
 nose …
jivhāya asati rase asati … pe …
 tongue …
kāyasmiṃ asati phoṭṭhabbe asati … pe …
 body …
manasmiṃ asati dhamme asati manoviññāṇe asati phassapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.
 mind, no thoughts, and no mind consciousness, it’s not possible to point out what’s known as ‘contact’. …
Phassapaññattiyā asati vedanāpaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.
Vedanāpaññattiyā asati saññāpaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.
Saññāpaññattiyā asati vitakkapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.
Vitakkapaññattiyā asati papañcasaññāsaṅkhāsamudācaraṇapaññattiṃ paññāpessatīti—netaṃ ṭhānaṃ vijjati.
 When there isn’t what’s known as thought, it’s not possible to point out what’s known as ‘being beset by concepts of identity that emerge from the proliferation of perceptions’.

18.5 (mahā-kaccāna closing statement)


Yaṃ kho no, āvuso, bhagavā saṅkhittena uddesaṃ uddisitvā vitthārena atthaṃ avibhajitvā uṭṭhāyāsanā vihāraṃ paviṭṭho:
 This is how I understand the detailed meaning of that brief passage for recitation given by the Buddha.
‘yatonidānaṃ, bhikkhu, purisaṃ papañcasaññāsaṅkhā samudācaranti ettha ce natthi abhinanditabbaṃ abhivaditabbaṃ ajjhositabbaṃ esevanto rāgānusayānaṃ … pe …
etthete pāpakā akusalā dhammā aparisesā nirujjhantī’ti, imassa kho ahaṃ, āvuso, bhagavatā saṅkhittena uddesassa uddiṭṭhassa vitthārena atthaṃ avibhattassa evaṃ vitthārena atthaṃ ājānāmi.
Ākaṅkhamānā ca pana tumhe āyasmanto bhagavantaṃyeva upasaṅkamitvā etamatthaṃ paṭipuccheyyātha.
 If you wish, you may go to the Buddha and ask him about this.
Yathā vo bhagavā byākaroti tathā naṃ dhāreyyāthā”ti.
 You should remember it in line with the Buddha’s answer.”

18.5.1 (buddha stamps seal of approval on mahā-kaccāna explanation)


Atha kho te bhikkhū āyasmato mahākaccānassa bhāsitaṃ abhinanditvā anumoditvā uṭṭhāyāsanā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkamiṃsu; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṃ abhivādetvā ekamantaṃ nisīdiṃsu. Ekamantaṃ nisinnā kho te bhikkhū bhagavantaṃ etadavocuṃ:
 “Yes, reverend,” said those monks, approving and agreeing with what Mahākaccāna said. Then they rose from their seats and went to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and told him what had happened. Then they said:
(repeat of earlier passage)

“yaṃ kho no, bhante, bhagavā saṃkhittena uddesaṃ uddisitvā vitthārena atthaṃ avibhajitvā uṭṭhāyāsanā vihāraṃ paviṭṭho:
‘yatonidānaṃ, bhikkhu, purisaṃ papañcasaññāsaṅkhā samudācaranti.
Ettha ce natthi abhinanditabbaṃ abhivaditabbaṃ ajjhositabbaṃ.
Esevanto rāgānusayānaṃ … pe …
etthete pāpakā akusalā dhammā aparisesā nirujjhantī’ti.
Tesaṃ no, bhante, amhākaṃ acirapakkantassa bhagavato etadahosi:
‘idaṃ kho no, āvuso, bhagavā saṃkhittena uddesaṃ uddisitvā vitthārena atthaṃ avibhajitvā uṭṭhāyāsanā vihāraṃ paviṭṭho:
“yatonidānaṃ, bhikkhu, purisaṃ papañcasaññāsaṅkhā samudācaranti.
Ettha ce natthi abhinanditabbaṃ abhivaditabbaṃ ajjhositabbaṃ.
Esevanto rāgānusayānaṃ, esevanto paṭighānusayānaṃ, esevanto diṭṭhānusayānaṃ, esevanto vicikicchānusayānaṃ, esevanto mānānusayānaṃ, esevanto bhavarāgānusayānaṃ, esevanto avijjānusayānaṃ, esevanto daṇḍādānasatthādānakalahaviggahavivādatuvaṃtuvaṃpesuññamusāvādānaṃ.
Etthete pāpakā akusalā dhammā aparisesā nirujjhantī”ti.
Ko nu kho imassa bhagavatā saṃkhittena uddesassa uddiṭṭhassa vitthārena atthaṃ avibhattassa vitthārena atthaṃ vibhajeyyā’ti?
Tesaṃ no, bhante, amhākaṃ etadahosi:
‘ayaṃ kho āyasmā mahākaccāno satthu ceva saṃvaṇṇito sambhāvito ca viññūnaṃ sabrahmacārīnaṃ, pahoti cāyasmā mahākaccāno imassa bhagavatā saṃkhittena uddesassa uddiṭṭhassa vitthārena atthaṃ avibhattassa vitthārena atthaṃ vibhajituṃ, yannūna mayaṃ yenāyasmā mahākaccāno tenupasaṅkameyyāma; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmantaṃ mahākaccānaṃ etamatthaṃ paṭipuccheyyāmā’ti.
Atha kho mayaṃ, bhante, yenāyasmā mahākaccāno tenupasaṅkamimha; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmantaṃ mahākaccānaṃ etamatthaṃ paṭipucchimha.
(end of repetition)


18.5.2 (conclusion)


Tesaṃ no, bhante, āyasmatā mahākaccānena imehi ākārehi imehi padehi imehi byañjanehi attho vibhatto”ti.
 “Mahākaccāna clearly explained the meaning to us in this manner, with these words and phrases.”
“Paṇḍito, bhikkhave, mahākaccāno; mahāpañño, bhikkhave, mahākaccāno.
 “Mahākaccāna is astute, monks, he has great wisdom.
Mañcepi tumhe, bhikkhave, etamatthaṃ paṭipuccheyyātha, ahampi taṃ evamevaṃ byākareyyaṃ yathā taṃ mahākaccānena byākataṃ.
 If you came to me and asked this question, I would answer it in exactly the same way as Mahākaccāna.
Eso cevetassa attho. Evañca naṃ dhārethā”ti.
 That is what it means, and that’s how you should remember it.”
Evaṃ vutte, āyasmā ānando bhagavantaṃ etadavoca:
 When he said this, Venerable Ānanda said to the Buddha:
“seyyathāpi, bhante, puriso jighacchādubbalyapareto madhupiṇḍikaṃ adhigaccheyya, so yato yato sāyeyya, labhetheva sādurasaṃ asecanakaṃ.
 “Sir, suppose a person who was weak with hunger was to obtain a honey-cake. Wherever they taste it, they would enjoy a sweet, delicious flavor.
Evameva kho, bhante, cetaso bhikkhu dabbajātiko, yato yato imassa dhammapariyāyassa paññāya atthaṃ upaparikkheyya, labhetheva attamanataṃ, labhetheva cetaso pasādaṃ.
 In the same way, wherever a sincere, capable monk might examine with wisdom the meaning of this exposition of the teaching they would only gain joy and clarity.
Ko nāmo ayaṃ, bhante, dhammapariyāyo”ti?
 Sir, what is the name of this exposition of the teaching?”
“Tasmātiha tvaṃ, ānanda, imaṃ dhammapariyāyaṃ madhupiṇḍikapariyāyotveva naṃ dhārehī”ti.
 “Well, Ānanda, you may remember this exposition of the teaching as ‘The Honey-Cake Discourse’.”
Idamavoca bhagavā.
 That is what the Buddha said.
Attamano āyasmā ānando bhagavato bhāsitaṃ abhinandīti.
 Satisfied, Venerable Ānanda was happy with what the Buddha said.
(end of sutta⏹️)






18.100 – commentary



Cakkhu + rūpe + viññāṇaṃ → phasso → vedeti (vedanā) → sañjānāti → vitakketi → papañceti
 eye + forms + consciousness → contact → feel → perceive → think → proliferate
pro·lif·er·ate /prəˈlifəˌrāt/
increase rapidly in numbers; multiply.

The main point of this sutta

(1. Dependent origination of proliferation sequence)

(6aya. Eye base \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x81)


Cakkhuñc-āvuso, paṭicca rūpe ca uppajjati cakkhu-viññāṇaṃ,
 Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights.
tiṇṇaṃ saṅgati phasso,
 The meeting of the three is contact.
phassa-paccayā vedanā,
 Contact is a condition for feeling.
yaṃ vedeti taṃ sañjānāti,
 What you feel, you perceive.
yaṃ sañjānāti taṃ vitakketi,
 What you perceive, you think about.
yaṃ vitakketi taṃ papañceti,
 What you think about, you proliferate.
yaṃ papañceti tato-nidānaṃ
 What you proliferate about is the source
purisaṃ papañca-saññā-saṅkhā samudācaranti
 from which a person is beset by concepts of identity that emerge from the proliferation of perceptions.
atīt-ānāgata-paccuppannesu cakkhu-viññeyyesu rūpesu.
 This occurs with respect to sights known by the eye in the past, future, and present.

(same pattern for remaining 6aya. \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x81 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x82 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x83 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x85 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB1\x86 \xED\xA0\xBD\xED\xB2\xAD)




B. Thanissaro introuction to MN 18

The Ball of Honey
Madhupiṇḍika Sutta  (MN 18)

Introduction

This discourse plays a central role in the early Buddhist analysis of conflict. As might be expected, the blame for conflict lies within, in the unskillful habits of the mind, rather than without. The culprit in this case is a habit called papañca. Unfortunately, none of the early texts give a clear definition of what the word papañca means, so it’s hard to find a precise English equivalent for the term. However, they do give a clear analysis of how papañca arises, how it leads to conflict, and how it can be ended. In the final analysis, these are the questions that matter—more than the precise definition of terms—so we will deal with them first before proposing a few possible translation equivalents for the word.
Three passages in the discourses—DN 21, MN 18, and Sn 4:11—map the causal processes that give rise to papañca and lead from papañca to conflict. Because the Buddhist analysis of causality is generally non-linear, with plenty of room for feedback loops, the maps vary in some of their details. In DN 21, the map reads like this:
the perceptions & categories of papañca > thinking > desire > dear-&-not-dear > envy & stinginess > rivalry & hostility
In Sn 4:11, the map is less linear and can be diagrammed like this:
perception > the categories of papañca
perception > name & form > contact > appealing & unappealing > desire > dear-&-not-dear > stinginess/divisiveness/quarrels/disputes
In MN 18, the map is this:
contact > feeling > perception > thinking > the perceptions & categories of papañca
In this last case, however, the bare outline misses some of the important implications of the way this process is phrased. In the full passage, the analysis starts out in an impersonal tone:
“Dependent on eye & forms, eye-consciousness arises [similarly with the rest of the six senses]. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as a requisite condition, there is feeling.”
Starting with feeling, the notion of an “agent”—in this case, the feeler—acting on “objects,” is introduced:
“What one feels, one perceives [labels in the mind]. What one perceives, one thinks about. What one thinks about, one ‘papañcizes.’”
Through the process of papañca, the agent then becomes a victim of his/her own patterns of thinking:
“Based on what a person papañcizes, the perceptions & categories of papañca assail him/her with regard to past, present, & future forms cognizable via the eye [as with the remaining senses].”
What are these perceptions & categories that assail the person who papañcizes? Sn 4:14 states that the root of the categories of papañca is the perception, “I am the thinker.” From this self-reflexive thought—in which one objectifies a “self,” a thing corresponding to the concept of “I”— a number of categories can be derived: being/not-being, me/not-me, mine/not-mine, doer/done-to, signifier/signified. Once one’s self becomes a thing under the rubric of these categories, it’s impossible not to be assailed by the perceptions & categories derived from these basic distinctions. When there’s the sense of identification as a being that needs to feed (see Khp 4), then based on the feelings arising from sensory contact, some feelings will seem appealing—worth feeding on—and others will seem worth pushing away. From this there grows desire, which comes into conflict with the desires of others who are also feeding because they, too, engage in papañca. This is how inner objectification breeds external contention.
How can this process be ended? Through a shift in perception, caused by the way one attends to feelings, using the categories of appropriate attention (see MN 2). As the Buddha states in DN 21, rather than viewing a feeling as an appealing or unappealing thing, one should look at it as part of a causal process: When a particular feeling is pursued, do skillful or unskillful qualities increase in the mind? If skillful qualities increase, the feeling may be pursued. If unskillful qualities increase, it shouldn’t. When comparing feelings that lead to skillful qualities, notice that those endowed with thinking (directed thought) and evaluation are less refined than those free of thinking and evaluation, as in the higher stages of mental absorption, or jhāna. When seeing this, there is a tendency to opt for the more refined feelings, and this cuts through the act of thinking that, according to MN 18, provides the basis for papañca.
In following this program, the notion of agent and victim is avoided, as is self-reflexive thinking in general. There is simply the analysis of cause-effect processes. One is still making use of dualities—distinguishing between unskillful and skillful (and affliction/lack of affliction, the results of unskillful and skillful qualities)—but the distinction is between processes, not things. Thus one’s analysis avoids the type of thinking that, according to DN 21, depends on the perceptions and categories of papañca, and in this way the vicious cycle by which thinking and papañca keep feeding each other is cut.
Ultimately, by following this program to greater and greater levels of refinement through the higher levels of mental absorption, one finds less and less to relish and enjoy in the six senses and the mental processes based on them. With this sense of disenchantment, the processes of feeling and thought are stilled, and there is a breakthrough to the cessation of the six sense spheres. When these spheres cease, is there anything else left? Ven. Sāriputta, in AN 4:173 warns us not to ask, for to ask if there is, isn’t, both-is-and-isn’t, neither-is-nor-isn’t anything left in that dimension is to papañcize what is free from papañca. However, this dimension is not a total annihilation of experience. It’s a type of experience that DN 11 calls consciousness without surface, luminous all around, where water, earth, fire, & wind have no footing, where long/short, coarse/fine, fair/foul, name/form are all brought to an end. This is the fruit of the path of arahantship—a path that makes use of dualities but leads to a fruit beyond them.
It may come as cold comfort to realize that conflict can be totally overcome only with the realization of arahantship, but it’s important to note that by following the path recommended in DN 21—learning to avoid references to any notion of “self” and learning to view feelings not as things but as parts of a causal process affecting the qualities in the mind—the basis for papañca is gradually undercut, and there are fewer and fewer occasions for conflict. In following this path, one reaps its increasing benefits all along the way.
Translating papañca: As one writer has noted, the word papañca has had a wide variety of meanings in Indian thought, with only one constant: In Buddhist philosophical discourse it carries negative connotations, usually of falsification and distortion. The word itself is derived from a root that means diffuseness, spreading, proliferating. The Pali Commentaries define papañca as covering three types of thought: craving, conceit, and views. They also note that it functions to slow the mind down in its escape from saṁsāra. Because its categories begin with the objectifying thought, “I am the thinker,” I have chosen to render the word as “objectification,” although some of the following alternatives might be acceptable as well: self-reflexive thinking, reification, proliferation, complication, elaboration, distortion. The word offers some interesting parallels to the postmodern notion of logocentric thinking, but it’s important to note that the Buddha’s program of deconstructing this process differs sharply from that of postmodern thought.
* * *


related suttas

See also: MN 54; MN 75; AN 3:103; AN 7:58; AN 10:80; Ud 4:1



B.Bodhi footnotes MN 18

226 Da˚ḍapāni, whose name means “stick-in-hand,” was so called because he used to walk around ostentatiously with a golden walking stick, even though he was still young and healthy. According to MA, he sided with Devadatta, the Buddha’sarch foe, when the latter attempted to create a schism in the Buddha’s following. His manner of asking the question is arrogant and deliberately provocative.
227 The first part of the Buddha’s reply directly counters Da˚ḍapāni’s aggressive attitude. MA quotes in this connection SN 22:94/iii.138: “Bhikkhus, I do not dispute with the world, it is the world that disputes with me. A speaker of Dhamma does not dispute with anyone in the world.” The second part may be taken to mean that, for the arahant (spoken of here as “that brahmin” with reference to the Buddha himself), perceptions no longer awaken the dormant underlying tendencies to defilements, to be enumerated in §8.
228 This response seems to be an expression of frustration and bewilderment.
229 The interpretation of this cryptic passage hinges on the word papañca and the compound papañca-saññā-sankhā. Ñm had translated the former as “diversification” and the latter as “calculations about perceptions of diversification.” It seems, however, that the primary problem to which the term papañca points is not “diversification,” which may be quite in place when the sensory field itself displays diversity, but the propensity of the worldling’s imagination to erupt in an effusion of mental commentary that obscures the bare data of cognition. In a penetrative study, Concept and Reality in Early Buddhism, Bhikkhu Ñā˚ananda explains papañca as “conceptual proliferation,” and I follow him in substituting “proliferation” for Ñm’s “diversification.” The commentaries identify the springs of this proliferation as the three factors—craving, conceit, and views—on account of which the mind “embellishes” experience by interpreting it in terms of “mine,” “I” and “my self.” Papañca is thus closely akin to maññanā, “conceiving,” in MN 1—see n.6.
The compound papañca-saññā-sankhā is more problematic. Ven. Ñā˚ananda interprets it to mean “concepts characterised by the mind’s prolific tendency,” but this explanation still leaves the word saññā out of account. MA glosses sankhā by koṭṭhāsa, “portion,” and says that saññā is either perception associated with papañca or papañca itself. I go along with Ñā˚ananda in taking sankhā to mean concept or notion (Ñm’s “calculation” is too literal) rather than portion. My decision to treat saññā-sankhā as a dvanda compound, “perceptions and notions ,” may be questioned, but as the expression papañca-saññā-sankhā occurs but rarely in the Canon and is never verbally analysed, no rendering is utterly beyond doubt. On alternative interpretations of its components, the expression might have been rendered “notions [arisen from] the proliferation of perceptions” or “perceptual notions [arisen from] proliferation.”
The sequel will make it clear that the process of cognition is itself “the source through which perceptions and notions [born of] mental proliferation beset a man.” If nothing in the process of cognition is found to delight in, to welcome, or to hold to, the underlying tendencies of the defilements will come to an end.
230 Ven. Mahā Kaccāna was declared by the Buddha to be the most eminent disciple in expounding the detailed meaning of a brief saying. MN 133 and MN 138 were also spoken by him under similar circumstances.
231 Cakkhubhūto ñāṇabhūto dhammabhūto brahmabhūto. MA: He is vision in the sense that he is the leader in vision; he is knowledge in the sense that he makes things known; he is the Dhamma in the sense that he consists of the Dhamma that he utters verbally after considering it in his heart; he is Brahmā, the holy one, in the sense of the best.
232 This passage shows how papañca, emerging from the process of cognition, gives rise to perceptions and notions that overwhelm and victimise their hapless creator. Ms contains a note by Ñm: “The meeting of eye, form, and eye-consciousness is called contact. Contact, according to dependent origination, is the principal condition of feeling. Feeling and perception are inseparable (MN 43.9). What is perceived as ‘this’ is thought about in its differences and is thus diversified from ‘that’ and from ‘me.’ This diversification—involving craving for form, wrong view about permanence of form, etc., and the conceit ‘I am’—leads to preoccupation with calculating the desirability of past and present forms with a view to obtaining desirable forms in the future. ” Perhaps the key to the interpretation of this passage is Ven. Mahā Kaccāna’s explanation of the Bhaddekaratta verses in MN 133. There too delight in the elements of cognition plays a prominent role in causing bondage, and the elaboration of the verses in terms of the three periods of time links up with the reference to the three times in this sutta.
233 The Pali idiom phassapaññattiṁ paññāpessati, in which the verb takes an object derived from itself, is difficult. Ñm originally rendered “that one will describe a description of contact.” “To point out a manifestation” is less literal, but it should do justice to the meaning without jeopardising intelligibility. MA says that this passage is intended to show the entire round of existence (vaṭṭa) by way of the twelve sense bases; §18 shows the cessation of the round (vaṭṭa) by the negation of the twelve sense bases.
234 A large sweet cake or a ball made from flour, ghee, molasses, honey, sugar, etc. See also AN 5:194/iii.237.


☸ Lucid 24.org 🐘🐾‍