SN 22.131

Samudayasutta

Bārāṇasiyaṁ viharanti isipatane migadāye …pe… “‘avijjā, avijjā’ti, āvuso sāriputta, vuccati. Katamā nu kho, āvuso, avijjā; kittāvatā ca avijjāgato hotī”ti?

Origin

At Varanasi. “Reverend Sāriputta, they speak of this thing called ‘ignorance’. What is ignorance? And how is an ignoramus defined?”

“Idhāvuso, assutavā puthujjano rūpassa samudayañca atthaṅgamañca assādañca ādīnavañca nissaraṇañca yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti. Vedanāya …pe… saññāya … saṅkhārānaṁ … viññāṇassa samudayañca atthaṅgamañca assādañca ādīnavañca nissaraṇañca yathābhūtaṁ nappajānāti. Ayaṁ vuccatāvuso, avijjā; ettāvatā ca avijjāgato hotī”ti.

“Reverend, an unlearned ordinary person doesn’t truly understand the origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the drawback, and the escape when it comes to form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness. This is called ignorance. And this is how an ignoramus is defined.”