Friends:

Sensing causes Contact causes Feeling causes Craving causes Clinging!

This have I heard. At this time the Blessed One was living in the Natika Brick-House.
Then while being secluded & all alone, the Blessed Buddha spoke this deep Dhamma:
In dependence the eye and forms, visual consciousness arises...
In dependence the ear and sounds, auditory consciousness arises...
In dependence the nose and odours, olfactory consciousness arises...
In dependence the tongue and flavours, gustatory consciousness arises...
In dependence the body and touches, tactile consciousness arises...
In dependence the mind and thoughts, mental consciousness arises...
The meeting of these three phenomena, is Contact (phassa)...
Conditioned by contact, feeling comes to be. Conditioned by feeling, craving arises.
Conditioned by craving, clinging emerges. Conditioned by clinging, becoming appear.
Conditioned by becoming, rebirth happens. Conditioned by birth, ageing & death arrive!
Such is the cause of this conditioned origin of that whole accumulation of suffering...!!!
In dependence the eye and forms, visual consciousness arises...
In dependence the ear and sounds, auditory consciousness arises...
In dependence the nose and odours, olfactory consciousness arises...
In dependence the tongue and flavours, gustatory consciousness arises...
In dependence the body and touches, tactile consciousness arises...
In dependence the mind and thoughts, mental consciousness arises...
The meeting of these three phenomena, is Contact (phassa)...
Conditioned by contact feeling arises. But by the complete stilling, fading all away
and ceasing of that very same craving, comes the instantaneous cessation of clinging!
The ending of clinging ceases becoming. The ending of becoming ceases any rebirth.
The ending of birth ceases ageing, decay, sickness, death, sorrow, pain & much panic!
That is the cause of the conditioned ceasing of this entire massive bulk of suffering...!!!
Now a certain Bhikkhu was then standing listening to the Blessed One. The Blessed One
saw him standing there listening and said to him: Did you hear that Dhamma explanation,
bhikkhu? Yes, Sir! Learn that Dhamma exposition, Bhikkhu, remember it, make it as if your
own, and master it, since that Dhamma is advantageous & fundamental to all the Noble life.

Source:
The Grouped Sayings by the Buddha. Samyutta Nikāya. Book II 74-5
The section on Causation 12. Thread on Natika: 45.
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html
 

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Updated: 22 Nov 2009 http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/In_Dependence_on_Contact.htm