Rūpaaññāṇasutta
Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Atha kho vacchagotto paribbājako yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṁ sammodi. Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho vacchagotto paribbājako bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “ko nu kho, bho gotama, hetu, ko 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? “Rūpe kho, vaccha, aññāṇā, rūpasamudaye aññāṇā, rūpanirodhe aññāṇā, rūpanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya aññāṇā; evamimāni anekavihitāni diṭṭhigatāni loke uppajjanti— sassato lokoti vā …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 …pe… neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā”ti.
Not Knowing Form
At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then the wanderer Vacchagotta went up to the Buddha and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to the Buddha: “What is the cause, worthy Gotama, what is the reason why these various misconceptions arise in the world? That is: the cosmos is eternal, or not eternal, or finite, or infinite; the soul and the body are one and the same, or the soul is one thing, the body another; after death, a realized one still exists, or no longer exists, or both still exists and no longer exists, or neither still exists nor no longer exists.” “Vaccha, it is because of not knowing form, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation that these various misconceptions arise in the world. This is the cause, this is the reason.”