Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 12.59

Consciousness

Viññāṇasutta

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
The same four-movement, great-tree structure as SN 12.58, with consciousness's conception in place of name and form's
Length
~2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — the furthest upstream this chapter's tree simile is pushed

Why this discourse

This discourse takes the shift SN 12.58 made and pushes it one step further. Where SN 12.58 applied the tree simile to name and form's conception, this discourse applies it to consciousness's own conception (viññāṇassa avakkanti hoti) — the very earliest point in the downstream chain the tree simile is used for anywhere in this saṃyutta. The downstream chain then resumes with consciousness conditioning name and form, exactly reversing SN 12.58's entry point one link further back. Heavily elided even by this chapter's compressed standards, the discourse reads almost as a template: the same tree, the same attention-driven mechanism, moved one more notch toward the chain's root.

Reading guide

One further step upstream than SN 12.58

Exactly as SN 12.58 moved the tree simile's target from craving to name and form, this discourse moves it again from name and form to consciousness itself, the earliest point in the chain this simile is applied to anywhere in this saṃyutta.

The downstream chain resuming one link earlier

Where SN 12.58 continued with name and form conditioning the six sense fields, this discourse continues with consciousness conditioning name and form, showing the same reverse-chain logic simply shifted one position back.

The most heavily elided discourse in this pairing

Even the tree's own feeding mechanism, spelled out in SN 12.55 and SN 12.58 alike, is elided here with a peyyāla ellipsis, making this the most compressed member of the great-tree family of similes in this chapter.

A small variant in the reverse formula's wording

The reverse chain's opening phrase appears in two slightly different forms across this discourse — "viññāṇanirodhā" in one place and "viññāṇassa nirodhā" in another — a minor wording variation this reading guide notes rather than silently smoothing over.

Three discourses, one simile, three points of entry

Read together, SN 12.55, SN 12.58, and this discourse show the same great tree simile applied at three distinct points — craving, name and form, and consciousness — confirming that the image itself was never tied to any single link, only to the general shape of something fed or starved by attention.

Key terms

viññāṇassa avakkanti hoti — “consciousness is conceived” — the earliest point in the chain this chapter's tree simile is applied to, one step upstream of SN 12.58's name and form.
viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpaṁ — “consciousness is a requirement for name and form” — where the downstream chain resumes, one link earlier than SN 12.58's entry point.
viññāṇassa avakkanti na hoti — “consciousness is not conceived” — the negated version opening the cessation half.
viññāṇanirodhā nāmarūpanirodho — “when consciousness ceases, name and form cease” — appearing later in the discourse in the slightly different form “viññāṇassa nirodhā,” a minor wording variation this guide notes rather than smooths over.
saṁyojaniyesu… dhammesu — “things that tighten the fetters” — the same framing as SN 12.58.

The text

The discourse in full, heavily elided even by this chapter's compressed standards. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At Sāvatthī. “There are things that tighten the fetters. When you concentrate on the gratification provided by these things, consciousness is conceived. Consciousness is a requirement for name and form. … That is how this entire mass of suffering originates.

§2Suppose there was a great tree. And its roots going downwards and across all draw the sap upwards. … In the same way, there are things that tighten the fetters. When you concentrate on the gratification provided by these things, consciousness is conceived. …

§3There are things that tighten the fetters. When you concentrate on the drawbacks of these things, consciousness is not conceived. When consciousness ceases, name and form cease. … That is how this entire mass of suffering ceases.

§4Suppose there was a great tree. Then a person comes along with a spade and basket. … In this way the great tree is cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future. In the same way, there are things that tighten the fetters. When you concentrate on the drawbacks of these things, consciousness is not conceived. When consciousness ceases, name and form cease. … That is how this entire mass of suffering ceases.”

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Self-check quiz

Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 10
What does this discourse apply the tree simile to, one step earlier than SN 12.58?
Correct: A. The earliest point in the chain this simile is applied to anywhere in this saṃyutta.
Question 2 of 10
Where does the downstream chain resume after this discourse's point of entry?
Correct: A. One link earlier than SN 12.58's entry point at name and form.
Question 3 of 10
How does this discourse's use of elision compare to SN 12.55 and SN 12.58?
Correct: A. The most compressed member of the great-tree family of similes in this chapter.
Question 4 of 10
What minor wording variation does this reading guide note in the reverse formula?
Correct: A. Noted honestly rather than silently smoothed over.
Question 5 of 10
What do SN 12.55, SN 12.58, and this discourse together demonstrate about the great tree simile?
Correct: A. The same image applied at three distinct points in the chain.
Question 6 of 10
What framing does this discourse use?
Correct: A. The same framing as SN 12.58, immediately before it.
Question 7 of 10
How many movements structure this discourse?
Correct: A. The same four-part structure as SN 12.58, though each movement is more heavily elided.
Question 8 of 10
What determines whether consciousness is conceived or not, in this discourse?
Correct: A. The same attention-driven lever running through every discourse in this chapter.
Question 9 of 10
Who is the sole speaker in this discourse?
Correct: A. No interlocutor or visiting figure appears.
Question 10 of 10
Where does the Buddha deliver this teaching?
Correct: A. The consistent setting shared with most of this chapter's discourses.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 12.58 · Name and Form