Unit Four
The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering
D. 22
What, now, is the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering? It is craving, which gives rise to fresh rebirth, and, bound up with pleasure and lust, now here, now there, finds ever-fresh delight.
The Threefold Craving
There is the ‘Sensual Craving' (kāma-taṇhā), the ‘Craving for (Eternal) Existence' (bhava-taṇhā), the ‘Craving for Self-Annihilation' (vibhava-taṇhā).
‘Sensual Craving' (kāma-taṇhā) is the desire for the enjoyment of the five sense objects.
‘Craving for Existence' (bhava-taṇhā) is the desire for continued or eternal life, referring in particular to life in those higher worlds called Fine-material and Immaterial Existences (rūpa-, and arūpa-bhava). It is closely connected with the so-called ‘Eternity-Belief' (bhava- or sassata-diṭṭhi), i.e. the belief in an absolute, eternal Ego-entity persisting independently of our body.
‘Craving for Self-Annihilation' (lit., ‘for non-existence', vibhava-taṇhā) is the outcome of the ‘Belief in Annihilation' (vibhava- or uccheda-diṭṭhi), i.e. the delusive materialistic notion of a more or less real Ego which is annihilated at death, and which does not stand in any causal relation with the time before death and the time after death.
Origin of Craving
But where does this craving arise and take root? Wherever in the world there are delightful and pleasurable things, there this craving arises and takes root. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, are delightful and pleasurable: there this craving arises and takes root.
Visual objects, sounds, smells tastes, bodily impressions, and mind objects, are delightful and pleasurable: there this craving arises and takes root.
Consciousness, sense impression, feeling born of sense impression, perception, will, craving, thinking, and reflecting, are delightful and pleasurable:there this craving arises and takes root.
This is called the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering.
Dependent Origination of All Phenomena
M. 38
If, whenever perceiving a visual object, a sound, odour, taste, bodily impression, or a mind-object, the object is pleasant, one is attracted; and if unpleasant, one is repelled.
Thus, whatever kind of ‘Feeling' (vedanā) one experiences-pleasant, unpleasant or indifferent-if one approves of, and cherishes the feeling, and clings to it, then while doing so, lust springs up; but lust for feelings means ‘Clinging' (upādāna), and on clinging depends the (present) ‘process of Becoming'; on the process of becoming (bhava; here kamma-bhava, Karma-process) depends (future)‘Birth' (jāti); and dependent on birth are ‘Decay and Death', sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair. Thus arises this whole mass of suffering.
The formula of the Dependent Origination (paṭicca-samuppāda) of which only some of the twelve links have been mentioned in the preceding passage, may be regarded as a detailed explanation of the Second Truth.
Present Karma-Results
M. 13
Truly, due to sensuous craving, conditioned through sensuous craving, impelled by sensuous craving, entirely moved by sensuous craving, kings fight with kings, princes with princes, priests with priests, citizens with citizens; the mother quarrels with the son, the son with the mother, the father with the son, the son with the father; brother quarrels with brother, brother with sister, sister with brother, friend with friend. Thus, given to dissension, quarrelling and fighting, they fall upon one another with fists, sticks, or weapons. And thereby they suffer death or deadly pain.
And further, due to sensuous craving, conditioned through sensuous craving, impelled by sensuous craving, entirely moved by sensuous craving, people break into houses, rob, plunder, pillage whole houses, commit highway robbery, seduce the wives of others. Then, the rulers have such people caught, and inflict on them various forms of punishment. And thereby they incur death or deadly pain. Now, this is the misery of sensuous craving, the heaping up of suffering in this present life, due to sensuous craving, conditioned through sensuous craving, caused by sensuous craving, entirely dependent on sensuous craving.
Future Karma-Results
And further, people take the evil way in deeds, the evil way in words, the evil way in thoughts; and by taking the evil way in deeds, words and thoughts, at the dissolution of the body, after death, they fall into a downward state of existence, a state of suffering, into an unhappy destiny, and the abysses of the hells. But this is the misery of sensuous craving, the heaping up of suffering in the future life, due to sensuous craving, conditioned through sensuous craving, caused by sensuous craving, entirely dependent on sensuous craving.
Dhp. 127
Not in the air, nor ocean-midst,
Nor hidden in the mountain clefts,
Nowhere is found a place on earth,
Where man is freed from evil deeds.
Karma as Volition
A.VI. 63
It is volition (cetanā) that I call ‘Karma' (action). Having willed, one acts by body, speech, and mind.
There are actions (kamma) ripening in hells… ripening in the animal kingdom…ripening in the domain of ghosts… ripening amongst men… ripening in heavenly worlds.
The result of actions (vipāka) is of three kinds: ripening in the present life, in the next life, or in future lives.
Inheritance of Deeds (Karma)
A.X. 206
All beings are the owners of their deeds (kamma, Skr: karma), the heirs of their deeds: their deeds are the womb from which they sprang, with their deeds they are bound up, their deeds are their refuge. Whatever deeds they do—good or evil—of such they will be the heirs.
A. III. 33
And wherever the beings spring into existence, there their deeds will ripen;and wherever their deeds ripen, there they will earn the fruits of those deeds, be it in this life, or be it in the next life, or be it in any other future life.
S. XXII. 99
There will come a time when the mighty ocean will dry up, vanish, and be no more. There will come a time when the mighty earth will be devoured by fire, perish, and be no more. But yet there will be no end to the suffering of beings, who, obstructed by ignorance, and ensnared by craving, are hurrying and hastening through this round of rebirths.
Craving (taṇhā), however, is not the only cause of evil action, and thus of all the suffering and misery produced thereby in this and the next life; but wherever there is craving, there, dependent on craving, may arise envy, anger, hatred, and many other evil things productive of suffering and misery. And all these selfish, life-affirming impulses and actions, together with the various kinds of misery produced thereby here or thereafter, and even all the five groups of phenomena constituting life—everything is ultimately rooted in blindness and ignorance (avijjā).
Karma
The second Noble Truth serves also to explain the causes of the seeming injustices in nature, by teaching that nothing in the world can come into existence without reason or cause, and that not only our latent tendencies, but our whole destiny, all weal and woe, result from causes (Karma), which we have to seek partly in this life, partly in former states of existence.
These causes are the life-affirming activities (kamma, Skr: karma) produced by body, speech and mind. Hence it is this threefold action (kamma) that determines the character and destiny of all beings. Exactly defined Karma denotes those good and evil volitions (kusala-akusala-cetanā), together with rebirth. Thus existence, or better the Process of Becoming (bhava), consists of an active and conditioning ‘Karma Process' (kamma-bhava), and of its result, the ‘Rebirth Process' (upapatti-bhava).
Here, too, when considering Karma, one must not lose sight of the impersonal nature (anattatā) of existence. In the case of a storm-swept sea, it is not an identical wave that hastens over the surface of the ocean, but it is the rising and falling of quite different masses of water. In the same way it should be understood that there are no real Ego-entities hastening through the ocean of rebirth, but merely life-waves, which, according to their nature and activities (good or evil), manifest themselves here as men, there as animals, and elsewhere as invisible beings.
Once more the fact may be emphasized here that correctly speaking, the term‘Karma' signifies only the aforementioned kinds of action themselves, and does not mean or include their results.
For further details about Karma see Fund. and B. Dict.
New Words and Expressions
abysses of the hells 地狱深渊
activities / ækˈtivitiz / n. 业
animal kingdom 畜生道；傍生趣
be dependent on 以……为缘；依赖于
Birth / bɜːθ / n. 生
bodily impression 身触
body, speech, and mind 身口意
causal relation 因果关系
cause / kɔːz / n. 因；原因；事业
causes / ˈkɔːzəz / n. 业
cling(to)/klɪŋ/vi. 执取；执着；附着；坚持
Clinging / ˈklɪŋɪŋ / n. 取
condition / kənˈdɪʃn / n.缘；条件；
vt.决定；以……为条件
Craving for (Eternal) Existence 有爱；贪有
Craving for Self-Annihilation 无有爱；断灭贪
Decay and Death / n. 老死
deeds / diːdz / n. 业；行为；行动
delusive/dɪˈluːsɪv/adj. 迷惑的
depend on… 以……为缘；依赖于
dissension / dɪˈsenʃn / n. 纠纷；意见不合
domain of ghosts 鬼道；鬼趣
Ego / ˈiːɡəʊ / n. 我；自我
Eternity-Belief 常见
Feeling / ˈfiːlɪŋ / n. 受
Fine-material Existence 色界
fruits / fruːts / n. 果
Future Karma-Results 未来的业果（业报）
future life 未来世；来世；来生
good and evil volitions 善不善思
heavenly worlds 天道；天趣
hell / hel / n. 地狱
Immaterial Existence 无色界
Inheritance of Deeds (Karma) 业行之承负
Karma / ˈkɑːmə / n. 业
Karma Process 业有
Karma-Result 业果；业报
life-affirming 执着生命的
Lust / lʌst / n. 贪；强烈的欲望
mass of suffering 苦蕴
men / men / n. 人；人道 man的复数形式
misery / ˈmɪzərɪ / n. 痛苦；不幸
Origin of Craving 贪爱之集
pleasant, unpleasant or indifferent 苦、乐或不苦不乐
Present Karma-Results 现生业果（业报）
present life 现世；今生
Process of Becoming 有
reason / ˈriːzn / n. 因；理由；动机
Rebirth / ˌriːˈbɜːθ / n. 再生
Rebirth Process 转生的过程
result / rɪˈzʌlt / n. 果；结果
ripen/ˈraɪpən/vi. 成熟；异熟
sense objects 尘；境；感官对象
Sensual Craving 爱欲；欲贪
sensuous/ˈsenʃuəs/adj. 感觉（上）的；感官的
spring/sprɪŋ/vi. 生长；涌出
take root 住；生根
the Belief in Annihilation 断见
the Noble Truth of The Origin of Suffering 集圣谛
twelve links 十二支
visual objects 色尘；色
womb / wuːm / n. 子宫；发源地执着于无（断见）
Grammar
课文中出现的倒装句，可分为两类：
1．完全倒装，即把句子谓语全部置于主语之前。
2．部分倒装，即把句子部分谓语（助动词或者情态动词）置于句子主语之前。
例如：
This am I not; …（完全倒装）
Inconceivable is the beginning of this Saṃsāra; …（完全倒装）
Long have you been caught as robbers, or highway men or adulterers. （部分倒装）
Thus arises this whole mass of suffering.（完全倒装）
On clinging depends the process of becoming; on the process of becoming depends birth ….（完全倒装）
Nowhere is found a place on earth where man is freed from evil deeds.（完全倒装）
Thus does the disciple dwell in contemplation of the body.（部分倒装）
※使用倒装句，是为了突出、强调某一句子成分，或是为了平衡句子结构，或是与上文相呼应。例如：讲“缘起”的一段：
On clinging depends “the process of becoming”; on “the process of becoming” depends“birth”; and dependent on birth are “Decay and Death” …
※为了更好地表现因果之间的联系和突出上下句之间的呼应，倒装句将主语（果）置于句末，并在下一句首重复同一词语；但此处，同一因素已从“果”变成了“因”。反复重复同一结构，就造成逻辑推演层层叠加，步步深入的效果，更好地表达了“缘起”的诸环节之间，依次互为因果，环环相扣的道理。
试将倒装句改为正常语序：
“The process of becoming” depends on clinging; “birth” depends on“the process of becoming”; and “Decay and Death” are dependent on “birth”…
改后的句子还是同样的意思，但正常语序的句子明显缺乏倒装句的表现力。
Exercises
l. Why do we have sensuous craving?
2. Explain the following concepts:
Feeling, lust, clinging, becoming, birth, decay, death How do they relate to each other?
3. How do you account for the seeming injustice in the world? (e.g. some are rich, some are poor, etc.)
4. Why is everything (craving, envy, anger, hatred) “ultimately rooted in ignorance”?
5. What is Karma? How does Karma determine our lives? What can we do about our Karma? Can we change it?
6. Where does craving arise and take root?