Exploring the Path - Pāli Course

3.2.4.2 The Four Noble Truths,¹ Part Two: Exposition of the Truth of the Arising of Suffering²

“And what, monks, is the Noble Truth of the Arising of Suffering?

It is this craving that occurs again and again and is bound up with pleasure and lust and finds delight now here, now there. That is, the craving for sensual pleasures, the craving for repeated rebirth and the craving for annihilation.

But where does this craving, monks, arise and where does it get established?

Wherever in the world [of mind and matter] there is something enticing and pleasurable, there this craving arises and gets established.

But what in the world26 [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable? The eye in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The ear … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The nose … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The tongue … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The body … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The mind in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established.

Visible objects, material forms in the world [of mind and matter], are enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. Sounds … are enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. Smells … are enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. Tastes … are enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. Touch … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The contents of the mind in the world [of mind and matter] are enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established.
The eye consciousness in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The ear consciousness … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The nose consciousness … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The tongue consciousness … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The body consciousness … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The mind consciousness in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established.

The eye contact in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The ear-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The nose-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The tongue-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The body-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The mind-contact in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established.

The sensation arising from the eye-contact in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The sensation arising from the ear-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The sensation arising from the nose-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The sensation arising from the tongue-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The sensation arising from the body-contact … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The sensation arising from the mind-contact in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established.

The perception of visible objects, of material forms, in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The perception of sounds … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The perception of smells … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The perception of tastes … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The perception of touch … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The perception of mental contents in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established.

The mental reaction to visible objects in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The mental reaction to sounds … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The mental reaction to smells … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The mental reaction to tastes … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The mental reaction to touch … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The mental reaction to mind objects, mental contents in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established.

The craving after visible objects in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The craving after sounds … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The craving after smells … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The craving after tastes … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The craving after touch … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The craving after mind objects, mental contents in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established.

The thought conception of visible objects in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The thought conception of sounds … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The thought conception of smells … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The thought conception of tastes … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The thought conception of touch … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The thought conception of mind objects, mental contents in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established.

The rolling in thoughts of visible objects in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The rolling in thoughts of sounds … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The rolling in thoughts of smells … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The rolling in thoughts of tastes … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The rolling in thoughts of touch … is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established. The rolling in thoughts of mind objects, mental contents in the world [of mind and matter] is enticing and pleasurable; there this craving arises and gets established.

This, monks, is the Noble Truth of the Arising of Suffering.