At Sāvatthi.

"Bhikkhus, I will teach you the dependent co-arising and analyze it in detail. Listen well and pay close attention, I will speak."

"Yes, venerable sir," those bhikkhus responded to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said:

"And what, bhikkhus, is dependent co-arising? Dependent on ignorance, bhikkhus, volitional formations [arise]; dependent on volitional formations, consciousness arises; dependent on consciousness, name and form arises; dependent on name and form, the six sense bases arise; dependent on the six sense bases, contact arises; dependent on contact, sensation arises; dependent on sensation, craving arises; dependent on craving, clinging arises; dependent on clinging, existence arises; dependent on existence, birth arises; dependent on birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair arise. Thus is the arising of this whole mass of suffering. This is called, bhikkhus, dependent co-arising.

And what, bhikkhus, is aging and death? Aging of the various beings in the various orders of beings is the growing old, deterioration, frailty, graying, wrinkling of the skin, decline of lifespan, and weakening of faculties: this is called aging. The passing away of the various beings from the various orders of beings, their falling away, disintegration, disappearance, mortality, death, completion of time, breaking up of the aggregates, and casting away of the body: this is called death. Thus, this aging and this death are called aging and death, bhikkhus.

And what, bhikkhus, is birth? The birth of the various beings into the various orders of beings, their arising, descent [into the womb], production, appearance of the aggregates, and the acquisition of the sense bases: this is called birth, bhikkhus.

And what, bhikkhus, is existence? There are these three kinds of existence, bhikkhus: existence in the realm of sense desire, existence in the realm of form, and existence in the formless realm. This is called existence, bhikkhus.

And what, bhikkhus, is clinging? There are these four types of clinging, bhikkhus: clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, clinging to rules and observances, and clinging to a doctrine of self. This is called clinging, bhikkhus.

And what, bhikkhus, is craving? There are these six classes of craving, bhikkhus: craving for forms, craving for sounds, craving for odors, craving for taste, craving for touch, and craving for mental objects. This is called craving, bhikkhus.

And what, bhikkhus, is sensation? There are these six classes of sensation, bhikkhus: sensation born of eye-contact, sensation born of ear-contact, sensation born of nose-contact, sensation born of tongue-contact, sensation born of body-contact, and sensation born of mind-contact. This is called sensation, bhikkhus.

And what, bhikkhus, is contact? There are these six classes of contact, bhikkhus: eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, and mind-contact. This is called contact, bhikkhus.

And what, bhikkhus, are the six sense bases? The eye base, the ear base, the nose base, the tongue base, the body base, and the mind base. These are called the six sense bases, bhikkhus.

And what, bhikkhus, is name and form? Sensations, perceiving, intending, contact, and attention — this is called 'name.' The four great elements and the form derived from the four great elements — this is called 'form.' This [together] is called name and form, bhikkhus.

And what, bhikkhus, is consciousness? There are these six types of consciousness, bhikkhus: eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, and mind consciousness. This is called consciousness, bhikkhus.

And what, bhikkhus, are volitional formations? There are these three types of volitional formations, bhikkhus: bodily formations, verbal formations [in the mind], and mental formations. These are called volitional formations, bhikkhus.

And what, bhikkhus, is ignorance? Not knowing suffering, not knowing the arising of suffering, not knowing the ending of suffering, and not knowing the way of practice leading to the ending of suffering. This is called ignorance, bhikkhus.

And so, dependent on ignorance, bhikkhus, volitional formations [arise]; dependent on volitional formations, consciousness arises; dependent on consciousness, name and form arises; dependent on name and form, the six sense bases arise; dependent on the six sense bases, contact arises; dependent on contact, sensation arises; dependent on sensation, craving arises; dependent on craving, clinging arises; dependent on clinging, existence arises; dependent on existence, birth arises; dependent on birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair arise. Thus is the arising of this whole mass of suffering.

With the complete fading away and ending of ignorance comes ending of volitional formations; with the ending of volitional formations, ending of consciousness; with the ending of consciousness, ending of name and form; with the ending of name and form, ending of the six sense bases; with the ending of the six sense bases, ending of contact; with the ending of contact, ending of sensation; with the ending of sensation, ending of craving; with the ending of craving, ending of clinging; with the ending of clinging, ending of existence; with the ending of existence, ending of birth; with the ending of birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease. Thus is the ending of this whole mass of suffering."