Venerable Rādha asks about the leash to existence and its cessation; the Buddha teaches that desire, craving, grasping, and underlying tendencies toward the five aggregates are the leash, and their cessation is the cessation of the leash.

SN 23.3 The Leash to Existence

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā rādho bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

“‘bhavanettinirodho, bhavanettinirodho’ti, bhante, vuccati. Katamā nu kho, bhante, bhavanetti, katamo bhavanettinirodho”ti?

“Rūpe kho, rādha, yo chando yo rāgo nandī taṇhā ye upayupādānā cetaso adhiṭṭhānābhinivesānusayā ayaṁ vuccati bhavanetti. Tesaṁ nirodho bhavanettinirodho.

Vedanāyasaññāyasaṅkhāresuviññāṇe yo chando …pe… adhiṭṭhānābhinivesānusayā ayaṁ vuccati bhavanetti. Tesaṁ nirodho bhavanettinirodho”ti.

Tatiyaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

At Sāvatthī.

Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā rādho bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

Seated to one side, Venerable Rādha said to the Buddha:

“‘bhavanettinirodho, bhavanettinirodho’ti, bhante, vuccati.

“Sir, they speak of this thing called ‘the cessation of the leash to existence’.

Katamā nu kho, bhante, bhavanetti, katamo bhavanettinirodho”ti?

What is the leash to existence? And what is the cessation of the leash to existence?”

“Rūpe kho, rādha, yo chando yo rāgo nandī taṇhā ye upayupādānā cetaso adhiṭṭhānābhinivesānusayā

“Rādha, any desire, greed, relishing, and craving for form; and any attraction, grasping, mental fixation, insistence, and underlying tendencies—

ayaṁ vuccati bhavanetti.

this is called the leash to existence.

Tesaṁ nirodho bhavanettinirodho.

Their cessation is the cessation of the leash to existence.

Vedanāya

Any desire, greed, relishing, and craving for feeling …

saññāya

perception …

saṅkhāresu

choices …

viññāṇe yo chando …pe… adhiṭṭhānābhinivesānusayā

consciousness; and any attraction, grasping, mental fixation, insistence, and underlying tendencies—

ayaṁ vuccati bhavanetti.

this is called the leash to existence.

Tesaṁ nirodho bhavanettinirodho”ti.

Their cessation is the cessation of the leash to existence.”

Tatiyaṁ.

Topics & Qualities:

Attachment

Attachment

A mental fastening onto people, things, views, or states as “me” or “mine,” unwilling to release them. This clinging can give a sense of security and sweetness.

Also known as: acquisition, bond, clinging, grasping, holding on, possession, entanglement, bound, connected, taking as mine
Pāli: upadhi, upādāna, sakiñcana, mamatta
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Craving

Craving

A driving ‘thirst’ that reaches out toward experiences, identities, or outcomes as the place to find satisfaction—“if only I had that.” It spins stories of lack, binds the mind to becoming, and invariably leads to suffering.

Also known as: wanting, yearning, longing, lit. thirst
Pāli: taṇha, abhijjhā
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Delight

Delight

A mental quality of relishing and taking pleasure in what is experienced—especially in sensuality or the prospect of continued becoming. When it fastens onto gratification, it nourishes craving and keeps the mind circling around what it wants to experience again.

Also known as: relishing, enjoyment, taking pleasure
Pāli: nandi, ārāmatā
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Desire

Desire

A wholesome motivation, interest, or objective that acts as the starting point for effort and application of will.

Also known as: aspiration, interest, wish, having an objective, intention, impulse
Pāli: chanda
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Ending

Ending

The complete exhaustion and ending of craving, aversion, and delusion—the three roots of suffering. It refers to both the gradual wearing away of defilements through practice and the final cessation that constitutes Nibbāna.

Also known as: cessation, exhaustion, gradual ending, wearing away
Pāli: khaya, khīṇa, nirodha
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Greed

Greed

A grasping mental quality of craving, possessiveness, or lustful wanting that clings to objects or experiences; it fuels attachment and obstructs renunciation and contentment

Also known as: acquisitiveness, avarice, covetousness, rapacity, money grabbing, grabbiness
Pāli: lobha, gedha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026