Dighanikaya 15.114

15.114

Yehi, ānanda, ākārehītiādīsu ākārā vuccanti vedanādīnaṃ aññamaññaṃ asadisasabhāvā. Teyeva sādhukaṃ dassiyamānā taṃ taṃ līnamatthaṃ gamentīti liṅgāni. Tassa tassa sañjānanahetuto nimittāni. Tathā tathā uddisitabbato uddesā. Tasmā ayamettha attho – ‘‘ānanda, yehi ākārehi…pe… yehi uddesehi nāmakāyassa nāmasamūhassa paññatti hoti, yā esā ca vedanāya vedayitākāre vedayitaliṅge vedayitanimitte vedanāti uddese sati, saññāya sañjānanākāre sañjānanaliṅge sañjānananimitte saññāti uddese sati, saṅkhārānaṃ cetanākāre cetanāliṅge cetanānimitte cetanāti uddese sati, viññāṇassa vijānanākāre vijānanaliṅge vijānananimitte viññāṇanti uddese sati – ‘ayaṃ nāmakāyo’ti nāmakāyassa paññatti hoti. Tesu nāmakāyappaññattihetūsu vedanādīsu ākārādīsu asati api nu kho rūpakāye adhivacanasamphasso paññāyetha? Yvāyaṃ cattāro khandhe vatthuṃ katvā manodvāre adhivacanasamphassavevacano manosamphasso uppajjati, api nu kho so rūpakāye paññāyetha, pañca pasāde vatthuṃ katvā katvā uppajjeyyā’’ti. Atha āyasmā ānando ambarukkhe asati jamburukkhato ambapakkassa uppattiṃ viya rūpakāyato tassa uppattiṃ asampaṭicchanto no hetaṃ bhanteti āha.

In “By whatever aspects, Ānanda,” and so on, “aspects” (ākārā) are said to be the distinct individual natures of feeling and the rest. The very same, when well displayed, make known that hidden meaning, and are thus “marks” (liṅgāni). Because they are the causes for recognizing this or that, they are “signs” (nimittāni). Because they are to be pointed out in this way and that, they are “descriptions” (uddesā). Therefore, this is the meaning here: “Ānanda, by whatever aspects… pe… by whatever descriptions there is a designation of the mental body, the collection of mental factors—namely, when there is an aspect of being felt, a mark of being felt, a sign of being felt, and the description ‘feeling’ for feeling; when there is an aspect of recognizing, a mark of recognizing, a sign of recognizing, and the description ‘perception’ for perception; when there is an aspect of volition, a mark of volition, a sign of volition, and the description ‘volition’ for mental formations; when there is an aspect of cognizing, a mark of cognizing, a sign of cognizing, and the description ‘consciousness’ for consciousness—there is the designation ‘this is the mental body’ of the mental body. In the absence of those aspects and the rest in feeling and so on, which are the causes for the designation of the mental body, would designation-contact be discerned in the physical body? That mind-contact, which is a synonym for designation-contact, arising at the mind door taking the four aggregates as its physical basis—would it be discerned in the physical body, arising by repeatedly taking the five sensitive bases as its physical basis?” Then the Venerable Ānanda, rejecting its arising from the physical body just as the arising of a ripe mango from a rose-apple tree when there is no mango tree, said: “No, Bhante.”