Chachakkasutta

Majjhima Nikāya 148

Six By Six · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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thusEvaṁ by meme heardsutaṁ—
oneekaṁ timesamayaṁ the Blessed Onebhagavā at Sāvatthīsāvatthiyaṁ was stayingviharati in Jeta's Grovejetavane of Anāthapiṇḍikaanāthapiṇḍikassa in the monasteryārāme.
thereTatra indeedkho the Blessed Onebhagavā the mendicantsbhikkhū addressedāmantesi:
“Mendicants!”“bhikkhavo”ti.
“Venerable sir,”“Bhadante”ti theyte mendicantsbhikkhū to the Blessed Onebhagavato repliedpaccassosuṁ.
the Blessed OneBhagavā said thisetadavoca:

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

the doctrine“dhammaṁ to youvo, mendicantsbhikkhave, I shall teachdesessāmi good in the beginningādikalyāṇaṁ good in the middlemajjhekalyāṇaṁ good in the endpariyosānakalyāṇaṁ meaningfulsātthaṁ well-phrasedsabyañjanaṁ, entirely fullkevalaparipuṇṇaṁ pureparisuddhaṁ spiritual practicebrahmacariyaṁ I shall revealpakāsessāmi, namelyyadidaṁ—
sixcha six setschakkāni.
thatTaṁ listensuṇātha, wellsādhukaṁ mindmanasi applykarotha, I will speakbhāsissāmī”ti.
yes“Evaṁ, sirbhante”ti indeedkho thosete mendicantsbhikkhū to the Blessed Onebhagavato they repliedpaccassosuṁ.
the Blessed OneBhagavā said thisetadavoca:

“Mendicants, I shall teach you the Dhamma that’s good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, meaningful and well-phrased. And I shall reveal a spiritual practice that’s entirely full and pure, namely, the six sets of six. Listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

six“Cha interiorajjhattikāni sense fieldsāyatanāni should be understoodveditabbāni, sixcha exteriorbāhirāni sense fieldsāyatanāni should be understoodveditabbāni, sixcha classes of consciousnessviññāṇakāyā should be understoodveditabbā, sixcha classes of contactphassakāyā should be understoodveditabbā, sixcha classes of feelingvedanākāyā should be understoodveditabbā, sixcha classes of cravingtaṇhākāyā should be understoodveditabbā.

“The six interior sense fields should be understood. The six exterior sense fields should be understood. The six classes of consciousness should be understood. The six classes of contact should be understood. The six classes of feeling should be understood. The six classes of craving should be understood.

'the six‘Cha interiorajjhattikāni sense fieldsāyatanāni should be understood'veditabbānī’ti—
thusiti indeedkho but thispanetaṁ was said.vuttaṁ. why was thisKiñcetaṁ because ofpaṭicca said?vuttaṁ?
eye sense field,Cakkhāyatanaṁ, ear sense field,sotāyatanaṁ, nose sense field,ghānāyatanaṁ, tongue sense field,jivhāyatanaṁ, body sense field,kāyāyatanaṁ, mind sense field.manāyatanaṁ.
'the six‘Cha interiorajjhattikāni sense fieldsāyatanāni should be understood'veditabbānī’ti—
thusiti whichyaṁ thattaṁ was said,vuttaṁ, this is the reasonidametaṁ because ofpaṭicca it was said.vuttaṁ.
ThisIdaṁ firstpaṭhamaṁ set of six.chakkaṁ.

‘The six interior sense fields should be understood.’ That’s what I said, but why did I say it? There are the sense fields of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. ‘The six interior sense fields should be understood.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it. This is the first set of six.

six‘Cha exteriorbāhirāni sense fieldsāyatanāni should be understoodveditabbānī’ti—
thusiti indeedkho but thispanetaṁ was saidvuttaṁ. but whatKiñcetaṁ in dependence onpaṭicca was saidvuttaṁ?
sense field of sightsRūpāyatanaṁ, sense field of soundssaddāyatanaṁ, sense field of smellsgandhāyatanaṁ, sense field of tastesrasāyatanaṁ, sense field of touchesphoṭṭhabbāyatanaṁ, sense field of ideasdhammāyatanaṁ.
six‘Cha exteriorbāhirāni sense fieldsāyatanāni should be understoodveditabbānī’ti—
thusiti whichyaṁ thattaṁ was saidvuttaṁ, thisidametaṁ in dependence onpaṭicca was saidvuttaṁ.
thisIdaṁ seconddutiyaṁ set of sixchakkaṁ.

‘The six exterior sense fields should be understood.’ That’s what I said, but why did I say it? There are the sense fields of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas. ‘The six exterior sense fields should be understood.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it. This is the second set of six.

'six‘Cha classes of consciousnessviññāṇakāyā should be understood'—veditabbā’ti—
thusiti indeedkho but thispanetaṁ was said.vuttaṁ. why thisKiñcetaṁ dependent onpaṭicca was said?vuttaṁ?
eye andCakkhuñca dependent onpaṭicca sightsrūpe andca arisesuppajjati eye-consciousness,cakkhuviññāṇaṁ,
ear andsotañca dependent onpaṭicca soundssadde andca arisesuppajjati ear-consciousness,sotaviññāṇaṁ,
nose andghānañca dependent onpaṭicca smellsgandhe andca arisesuppajjati nose-consciousness,ghānaviññāṇaṁ,
tongue andjivhañca dependent onpaṭicca tastesrase andca arisesuppajjati tongue-consciousness,jivhāviññāṇaṁ,
body andkāyañca dependent onpaṭicca touchesphoṭṭhabbe andca arisesuppajjati body-consciousness,kāyaviññāṇaṁ,
mind andmanañca dependent onpaṭicca ideasdhamme andca arisesuppajjati mind-consciousness.manoviññāṇaṁ.
'six‘Cha classes of consciousnessviññāṇakāyā should be understood'—veditabbā’ti—
thusiti whichyaṁ thattaṁ was said,vuttaṁ, thisidametaṁ dependent onpaṭicca was said.vuttaṁ.
thisIdaṁ thirdtatiyaṁ set of six.chakkaṁ.

‘The six classes of consciousness should be understood.’ That’s what I said, but why did I say it? Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights. Ear consciousness arises dependent on the ear and sounds. Nose consciousness arises dependent on the nose and smells. Tongue consciousness arises dependent on the tongue and tastes. Body consciousness arises dependent on the body and touches. Mind consciousness arises dependent on the mind and ideas. ‘The six classes of consciousness should be understood.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it. This is the third set of six.

'six‘Cha classes of contactphassakāyā should be understoodveditabbā’ti—
thusiti indeedkho this was saidpanetaṁ saidvuttaṁ. why was thisKiñcetaṁ dependent onpaṭicca saidvuttaṁ?
eye andCakkhuñca dependent onpaṭicca sightsrūpe andca arisesuppajjati eye-consciousnesscakkhuviññāṇaṁ, of the threetiṇṇaṁ meetingsaṅgati contactphasso;
ear andsotañca dependent onpaṭicca soundssadde andca arisesuppajjati ear-consciousnesssotaviññāṇaṁ, of the threetiṇṇaṁ meetingsaṅgati contactphasso;
nose andghānañca dependent onpaṭicca smellsgandhe andca arisesuppajjati nose-consciousnessghānaviññāṇaṁ, of the threetiṇṇaṁ meetingsaṅgati contactphasso;
tongue andjivhañca dependent onpaṭicca tastesrase andca arisesuppajjati tongue-consciousnessjivhāviññāṇaṁ, of the threetiṇṇaṁ meetingsaṅgati contactphasso;
body andkāyañca dependent onpaṭicca touchesphoṭṭhabbe andca arisesuppajjati body-consciousnesskāyaviññāṇaṁ, of the threetiṇṇaṁ meetingsaṅgati contactphasso;
mind andmanañca dependent onpaṭicca ideasdhamme andca arisesuppajjati mind-consciousnessmanoviññāṇaṁ, of the threetiṇṇaṁ meetingsaṅgati contactphasso.
'six‘Cha classes of contactphassakāyā should be understoodveditabbā’ti—
thusiti whichyaṁ thattaṁ was saidvuttaṁ, this isidametaṁ dependent onpaṭicca saidvuttaṁ.
thisIdaṁ fourthcatutthaṁ set of sixchakkaṁ.

‘The six classes of contact should be understood.’ That’s what I said, but why did I say it? Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights. The meeting of the three is contact. Ear consciousness arises dependent on the ear and sounds. The meeting of the three is contact. Nose consciousness arises dependent on the nose and smells. The meeting of the three is contact. Tongue consciousness arises dependent on the tongue and tastes. The meeting of the three is contact. Body consciousness arises dependent on the body and touches. The meeting of the three is contact. Mind consciousness arises dependent on the mind and ideas. The meeting of the three is contact. ‘The six classes of contact should be understood.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it. This is the fourth set of six.

‘The six classes of feeling should be understood.’ That’s what I said, but why did I say it? Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact is a requirement for feeling. Ear consciousness arises dependent on the ear and sounds. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact is a requirement for feeling. Nose consciousness arises dependent on the nose and smells. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact is a requirement for feeling. Tongue consciousness arises dependent on the tongue and tastes. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact is a requirement for feeling. Body consciousness arises dependent on the body and touches. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact is a requirement for feeling. Mind consciousness arises dependent on the mind and ideas. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact is a requirement for feeling. ‘The six classes of feeling should be understood.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it. This is the fifth set of six.

‘The six classes of craving should be understood.’ That’s what I said, but why did I say it? Eye consciousness arises dependent on the eye and sights. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact is a requirement for feeling. Feeling is a requirement for craving. Ear consciousness … Nose consciousness … Tongue consciousness … Body consciousness … Mind consciousness arises dependent on the mind and ideas. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact is a requirement for feeling. Feeling is a requirement for craving. ‘The six classes of craving should be understood.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it. This is the sixth set of six.

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