The Buddha teaches the wanderer Vaccha how failure to comprehend the five aggregates binds beings to death, and how insight into them leads to the unconditioned.

SN 33.55 Not Directly Experiencing Consciousness

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

“Viññāṇe kho, vaccha, appaccakkhakammā, viññāṇasamudaye appaccakkhakammā, viññāṇanirodhe appaccakkhakammā, viññāṇanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya appaccakkhakammā; evamimāni anekavihitāni diṭṭhigatāni loke uppajjanti sassato lokoti vā, asassato lokoti …pe… neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vāti. Ayaṁ kho, vaccha, hetu, ayaṁ paccayo, yānimāni anekavihitāni diṭṭhigatāni loke uppajjanti sassato lokoti vā, asassato lokoti vā, antavā lokoti vā, anantavā lokoti vā, taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīranti vā, aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīranti vā, hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā, na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā, hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā, neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā”ti.

Pañcapaññāsamaṁ.

Vacchagottavaggo paṭhamo.

Tassuddānaṁ

Aññāṇā adassanā ceva,
Anabhisamayā ananubodhā;
Appaṭivedhā asallakkhaṇā,
Anupalakkhaṇena appaccupalakkhaṇā;
Asamapekkhaṇā appaccupekkhaṇā,
Appaccakkhakammanti.

Vacchagottasaṁyuttaṁ samattaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

At Sāvatthī.

“Viññāṇe kho, vaccha, appaccakkhakammā, viññāṇasamudaye appaccakkhakammā, viññāṇanirodhe appaccakkhakammā, viññāṇanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya appaccakkhakammā;

“Vaccha, it is because of not directly experiencing consciousness, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation

evamimāni anekavihitāni diṭṭhigatāni loke uppajjanti

that these various misconceptions arise in the world.

sassato lokoti vā, asassato lokoti …pe…

neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vāti.

Ayaṁ kho, vaccha, hetu, ayaṁ paccayo, yānimāni anekavihitāni diṭṭhigatāni loke uppajjanti

This is the cause, this is the reason.”

sassato lokoti vā, asassato lokoti vā, antavā lokoti vā, anantavā lokoti vā, taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīranti vā, aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīranti vā, hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā, na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā, hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā, neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā”ti.

Pañcapaññāsamaṁ.

Vacchagottavaggo paṭhamo.

Tassuddānaṁ

Aññāṇā adassanā ceva,

Anabhisamayā ananubodhā;

Appaṭivedhā asallakkhaṇā,

Anupalakkhaṇena appaccupalakkhaṇā;

Asamapekkhaṇā appaccupekkhaṇā,

Appaccakkhakammanti.

Vacchagottasaṁyuttaṁ samattaṁ.

The Linked Discourses with Vacchagotta are complete.

Qualities:

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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Wisdom

Wisdom

Lived understanding and sound judgment that steers the mind away from suffering, distinct from mere accumulation of facts.

Also known as: (of a person) wise, astute, intelligent, learned, skilled, firm, stable, steadfast, an experiential understanding of the four noble truths
Pāli: paññā, medhā, dhīra, paṇḍita, asammūḷha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026