DN15
So it is, Ānanda, that feeling is a cause of craving. Craving is a cause of seeking. Seeking is a cause of gaining material possessions. Gaining material possessions is a cause of assessing. Assessing is a cause of desire and lust. Desire and lust is a cause of attachment. Attachment is a cause of ownership. Ownership is a cause of stinginess. Stinginess is a cause of safeguarding.
Owing to safeguarding, many bad, unskillful things come to be: taking up the rod and the sword, quarrels, arguments, and disputes, accusations, divisive speech, and lies.
‘Owing to safeguarding, many bad, unskillful things come to be: taking up the rod and the sword, quarrels, arguments, and disputes, accusations, divisive speech, and lies’—that’s what I said. And this is a way to understand how this is so.
Suppose there were totally and utterly no safeguarding for anyone anywhere. When there’s no safeguarding at all, with the cessation of safeguarding, would those many bad, unskillful things still come to be?”
“No, sir.”
“That’s why this is the cause, source, origin, and reason for the origination of those many bad, unskillful things, namely safeguarding.
‘Stinginess is a cause of safeguarding’—that’s what I said. And this is a way to understand how this is so.
Suppose there were totally and utterly no stinginess for anyone anywhere. When there’s no stinginess at all, with the cessation of stinginess, would safeguarding still be found?”
“No, sir.”
“That’s why this is the cause, source, origin, and reason of safeguarding, namely stinginess.
‘Ownership is a cause of stinginess’—that’s what I said. And this is a way to understand how this is so.
Suppose there were totally and utterly no ownership for anyone anywhere. When there’s no ownership at all, with the cessation of ownership, would stinginess still be found?”
“No, sir.”
“That’s why this is the cause, source, origin, and reason of stinginess, namely ownership.
‘Attachment is a cause of ownership’—that’s what I said. And this is a way to understand how this is so.
Suppose there were totally and utterly no attachment for anyone anywhere. When there’s no attachment at all, with the cessation of attachment, would ownership still be found?”
“No, sir.”
“That’s why this is the cause, source, origin, and reason of ownership, namely attachment.
‘Desire and lust is a cause of attachment’—that’s what I said. And this is a way to understand how this is so.
Suppose there were totally and utterly no desire and lust for anyone anywhere. When there’s no desire and lust at all, with the cessation of desire and lust, would attachment still be found?”
“No, sir.”
“That’s why this is the cause, source, origin, and reason of attachment, namely desire and lust.
‘Assessing is a cause of desire and lust’—that’s what I said. And this is a way to understand how this is so.
Suppose there were totally and utterly no assessing for anyone anywhere. When there’s no assessing at all, with the cessation of assessing, would desire and lust still be found?”
“No, sir.”
“That’s why this is the cause, source, origin, and reason of desire and lust, namely assessing.
‘Gaining material possessions is a cause of assessing’—that’s what I said. And this is a way to understand how this is so.
Suppose there were totally and utterly no gaining of material possessions for anyone anywhere. When there’s no gaining of material possessions at all, with the cessation of gaining material possessions, would assessing still be found?”
“No, sir.”
“That’s why this is the cause, source, origin, and reason of assessing, namely the gaining of material possessions.
‘Seeking is a cause of gaining material possessions’—that’s what I said. And this is a way to understand how this is so.
Suppose there were totally and utterly no seeking for anyone anywhere. When there’s no seeking at all, with the cessation of seeking, would the gaining of material possessions still be found?”
“No, sir.”
“That’s why this is the cause, source, origin, and reason of gaining material possessions, namely seeking.
‘Craving is a cause of seeking’—that’s what I said. And this is a way to understand how this is so.
Suppose there were totally and utterly no craving for anyone anywhere.
That is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for continued existence, and craving to end existence. When there’s no craving at all, with the cessation of craving, would seeking still be found?”
“No, sir.”
“That’s why this is the cause, source, origin, and reason of seeking, namely craving.
And so, Ānanda, these two things are united by the two aspects of feeling.
