AN 4.199

Taṇhāsutta

Bhagavā etadavoca: “taṇhaṁ vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi jāliniṁ saritaṁ visaṭaṁ visattikaṁ, yāya ayaṁ loko uddhasto pariyonaddho tantākulakajāto gulāguṇṭhikajāto muñjapabbajabhūto apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ saṁsāraṁ nātivattati. Taṁ suṇātha, sādhukaṁ manasi karotha, bhāsissāmī”ti. “Evaṁ, bhante”ti kho te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. Bhagavā etadavoca:

Craving, the Weaver

The Buddha said this: “Mendicants, I will teach you about craving—the weaver, the migrant, the creeping, the clinging. This world is choked by it, enveloped by it. It makes the world tangled like yarn, knotted like a ball of thread, and matted like rushes and reeds, not escaping the places of loss, the bad places, the underworld, transmigration. Listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Katamā ca sā, bhikkhave, taṇhā jālinī saritā visaṭā visattikā, yāya ayaṁ loko uddhasto pariyonaddho tantākulakajāto gulāguṇṭhikajāto muñjapabbajabhūto apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ saṁsāraṁ nātivattati? Aṭṭhārasa kho panimāni, bhikkhave, taṇhāvicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya, aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya.

“And what is that craving …? There are eighteen currents of craving that derive from the interior, and eighteen that derive from the exterior.

Katamāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya? Asmīti, bhikkhave, sati itthasmīti hoti, evaṁsmīti hoti, aññathāsmīti hoti, asasmīti hoti, satasmīti hoti, santi hoti, itthaṁ santi hoti, evaṁ santi hoti, aññathā santi hoti, apihaṁ santi hoti, apihaṁ itthaṁ santi hoti, apihaṁ evaṁ santi hoti, apihaṁ aññathā santi hoti, bhavissanti hoti, itthaṁ bhavissanti hoti, evaṁ bhavissanti hoti, aññathā bhavissanti hoti. Imāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya.

What are the eighteen currents of craving that derive from the interior? When there is the concept ‘I am’, there are the concepts ‘I am such’, ‘I am thus’, ‘I am otherwise’; ‘I am fleeting’, ‘I am lasting’; ‘mine’, ‘such is mine’, ‘thus is mine’, ‘otherwise is mine’; ‘also mine’, ‘such is also mine’, ‘thus is also mine’, ‘otherwise is also mine’; ‘I will be’, ‘I will be such’, ‘I will be thus’, ‘I will be otherwise’. These are the eighteen currents of craving that derive from the interior.

Katamāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya? Imināsmīti, bhikkhave, sati iminā itthasmīti hoti, iminā evaṁsmīti hoti, iminā aññathāsmīti hoti, iminā asasmīti hoti, iminā satasmīti hoti, iminā santi hoti, iminā itthaṁ santi hoti, iminā evaṁ santi hoti, iminā aññathā santi hoti, iminā apihaṁ santi hoti, iminā apihaṁ itthaṁ santi hoti, iminā apihaṁ evaṁ santi hoti, iminā apihaṁ aññathā santi hoti, iminā bhavissanti hoti, iminā itthaṁ bhavissanti hoti, iminā evaṁ bhavissanti hoti, iminā aññathā bhavissanti hoti. Imāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya.

What are the eighteen currents of craving that derive from the exterior? When there is the concept ‘I am because of this’, there are the concepts ‘I am such because of this’, ‘I am thus because of this’, ‘I am otherwise because of this’; ‘I am fleeting because of this’, ‘I am lasting because of this’; ‘mine because of this’, ‘such is mine because of this’, ‘thus is mine because of this’, ‘otherwise is mine because of this’; ‘also mine because of this’, ‘such is also mine because of this’, ‘thus is also mine because of this’, ‘otherwise is also mine because of this’; ‘I will be because of this’, ‘I will be such because of this’, ‘I will be thus because of this’, ‘I will be otherwise because of this’. These are the eighteen currents of craving that derive from the exterior.

Iti aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya, aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya. Imāni vuccanti, bhikkhave, chattiṁsa taṇhāvicaritāni. Iti evarūpāni atītāni chattiṁsa taṇhāvicaritāni, anāgatāni chattiṁsa taṇhāvicaritāni, paccuppannāni chattiṁsa taṇhāvicaritāni. Evaṁ aṭṭhasataṁ taṇhāvicaritaṁ honti.

So there are eighteen currents of craving that derive from the interior, and eighteen that derive from the exterior. These are called the thirty-six currents of craving. Each of these pertain to the past, future, and present, making one hundred and eight currents of craving.

Ayaṁ kho sā, bhikkhave, taṇhā jālinī saritā visaṭā visattikā, yāya ayaṁ loko uddhasto pariyonaddho tantākulakajāto guṇāguṇṭhikajāto muñjapabbajabhūto apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ saṁsāraṁ nātivattatī”ti.

This is that craving—the weaver, the migrant, the creeping, the clinging. This world is choked by it, enveloped by it. It makes the world tangled like yarn, knotted like a ball of thread, and matted like rushes and reeds, not escaping the places of loss, the bad places, the underworld, transmigration.”