When one dwells perceiving enjoyment in things that are the basis for fetters, there is a descent of consciousness. When one dwells perceiving the drawback in things that are the basis for fetters, there is no descent of consciousness.

SN 12.59  Viññāṇa sutta - Consciousness

Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.

At Sāvatthi.

“Saṁyojaniyesu, bhikkhave, dhammesu assādānupassino viharato viññāṇassa avakkanti hoti.

“Bhikkhus, when one dwells perceiving enjoyment in things that are the basis for fetters, there is a |descent of::appearance of; lit. going down [avakkanti]| |consciousness::quality of awareness — distinctive knowing that arises in dependence on the meeting of eye and form, ear and sound, nose and odor, tongue and taste, body and tangible object, mind and mind object [viññāṇa]|.

Viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpaṁ, nāmarūpapaccayā saḷāyatanaṁ, saḷāyatanapaccayā phasso, phassapaccayā vedanā, vedanāpaccayā taṇhā, taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṁ, upādānapaccayā bhavo, bhavapaccayā jāti, jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇaṁ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā sambhavanti. Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.

Dependent on consciousness, |name and form::mentality and materiality—the integrated structure of mental capacities (intention, attention, contact, feeling, perception) and physical form that together constitute and sustain an individual being [nāmarūpa]| arise; dependent on name and form, the |six sense bases::The six internal sense bases—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—are the faculties that enable sensory contact and experience. They are not the physical organs themselves, but the functional conditions that enable consciousness to meet an object [saḷāyatana]| arise; dependent on the six sense bases, |contact::sense impingement, raw experience, touch [phassa]| arises; dependent on contact, |felt experience::pleasant, neutral, or painful sensation, feeling, second of the five aggregates [vedanā]| arises; dependent on felt experience, |craving::wanting, yearning, longing, attachment, lit. thirst [taṇha]| arises; dependent on craving, |clinging::grasping, acquiring, appropriating, taking possession, identifying; fuel for fire; lit. taking near [upādāna]| arises; dependent on clinging, |existence::being, becoming; continued conditional existence, the karmically conditioned mode of being that leads to future rebirth [bhava]| arises; dependent on existence, |birth::rebirth, conception, coming into existence [jāti]| arises; dependent on birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair arise. Thus is the arising of this whole mass of suffering.

Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, mahārukkho. Tassa yāni ceva mūlāni adhogamāni, yāni ca tiriyaṅgamāni, sabbāni tāni uddhaṁ ojaṁ abhiharanti. Evañhi so, bhikkhave, mahārukkho tadāhāro tadupādāno ciraṁ dīghamaddhānaṁ tiṭṭheyya.

Suppose, bhikkhus, there was a great tree. Its roots, both those that go downward and those that spread sideways, all draw |nourishment::sap, a crucial element in trees, carrying water and nutrients from the roots to the rest of the tree, ensuring its growth and longevity. [ojas]| upwards. Thus, bhikkhus, sustained by that nourishment, supported by that, the great tree would stand for a long time, enduring for a great length of time.

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, saṁyojaniyesu dhammesu assādānupassino viharato viññāṇassa avakkanti hoti, viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpaṁ, nāmarūpapaccayā saḷāyatanaṁ, saḷāyatanapaccayā phasso, phassapaccayā vedanā, vedanāpaccayā taṇhā, taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṁ, upādānapaccayā bhavo, bhavapaccayā jāti, jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇaṁ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā sambhavanti. Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.

In the same way, bhikkhus, when one dwells perceiving enjoyment in things that are the basis for fetters, there is the descent of consciousness. Dependent on consciousness, name and form arise; dependent on name and form, the six sense bases arise; dependent on the six sense bases, contact arises; dependent on contact, felt experience arises; dependent on felt experience, craving arises; dependent on craving, clinging arises; dependent on clinging, existence arises; dependent on existence, birth arises; dependent on birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair arise. Thus is the arising of this whole mass of suffering.

Saṁyojaniyesu, bhikkhave, dhammesu ādīnavānupassino viharato viññāṇassa avakkanti na hoti. Viññāṇanirodhā nāmarūpanirodho, nāmarūpanirodhā saḷāyatananirodho, saḷāyatananirodhā phassanirodho, phassanirodhā vedanānirodho, vedanānirodhā taṇhānirodho, taṇhānirodhā upādānanirodho, upādānanirodhā bhavanirodho, bhavanirodhā jātinirodho, jātinirodhā jarāmaraṇaṁ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā nirujjhanti. Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hoti.

Bhikkhus, when one dwells perceiving the |drawback::disadvantage, unsatisfactoriness, inadequacy, danger [ādīnava]| in things that are the basis for fetters, there is no descent of consciousness. With the ending of consciousness, there is the ending of name and form; with the ending of name and form ... the ending of the six sense bases; with the ending of the six sense bases ... the ending of contact; with the ending of contact ... the ending of felt experience; with the ending of felt experience ... the ending of craving; with the ending of craving ... the ending of clinging; with the ending of clinging ... the ending of existence; with the ending of existence ... the ending of birth; with the ending of birth ... aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease. Thus is the ending of this whole mass of suffering.

Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, mahārukkho. Atha puriso āgaccheyya kuddālapiṭakaṁ ādāya. So taṁ rukkhaṁ mūle chindeyya, mūlaṁ chinditvā palikhaṇeyya, palikhaṇitvā mūlāni uddhareyya antamaso usīranāḷimattānipi. So taṁ rukkhaṁ khaṇḍākhaṇḍikaṁ chindeyya, khaṇḍākhaṇḍikaṁ chinditvā phāleyya, phāletvā sakalikaṁ sakalikaṁ kareyya, sakalikaṁ sakalikaṁ karitvā vātātape visoseyya; vātātape visosetvā agginā ḍaheyya, agginā ḍahetvā masiṁ kareyya, masiṁ karitvā mahāvāte ophuṇeyya nadiyā sīghasotāya pavāheyya. Evañhi so, bhikkhave, mahārukkho ucchinnamūlo assa tālāvatthukato anabhāvaṅkato āyatiṁ anuppādadhammo.

Suppose, bhikkhus, there was a great tree. Then a man might come along carrying a shovel and a basket. He would cut down the tree at its base, dig up the root, and extract even the tiniest root fibers, down to those as fine as reed fibers. He would cut the tree into pieces, split the pieces, and reduce it to slivers. Then he would dry the slivers in the wind and sun, burn them in a fire, and turn them into ash. Having done so, he would winnow the ashes in a strong wind or let them be carried away by the swift current of a river. Thus that great tree would be cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that it is no more subject to future arising.

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, saṁyojaniyesu dhammesu ādīnavānupassino viharato viññāṇassa avakkanti na hoti. Viññāṇassa nirodhā nāmarūpanirodho, nāmarūpanirodhā saḷāyatanaṁ nirujjhanti, saḷāyatanaṁ nirujjhanti, phasso nirujjhati, phassassa nirujjhati vedanā nirujjhati, vedanāya nirujjhati taṇhā nirujjhati, taṇhā nirujjhati upādānaṁ nirujjhati, upādānanirodhā bhavanirodho hoti, bhavanirodhā jātinirodho hoti, jātinirodhā jarāmaraṇaṁ nirujjhanti, sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā nirujjhanti. Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hotī”ti.

In the same way, bhikkhus, when one dwells perceiving the drawback in things that are the basis for fetters, there is no descent of consciousness. With the ending of consciousness, there is the ending of name and form; with the ending of name and form ... the ending of the six sense bases; with the ending of the six sense bases ... the ending of contact; with the ending of contact ... the ending of felt experience; with the ending of felt experience ... the ending of craving; with the ending of craving ... the ending of clinging; with the ending of clinging ... the ending of existence; with the ending of existence ... the ending of birth; with the ending of birth ... aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease. Thus is the ending of this whole mass of suffering.”

Topics:

Consciousness

Consciousness

Consciousness, the fifth aggregate, has two key meanings in the discourses: 1.) The distinctive quality of awareness which knows and arises in dependence on the meeting of eye and form, ear and sound, nose and odor, tongue and taste, body and tangible object, mind and mind object. 2.) A seed that finds a footing in a realm, established by ignorance and intention, leading to renewed existence.

Also known as: awareness, the faculty that distinguishes
Pāli: viññāṇa
View all discourses →

Last updated on April 11, 2026