Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 12.64

If There Is Desire

Atthirāgasutta

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
The same four fuels as SN 12.63, now traced forward into a full chain toward rebirth, and in reverse toward its absence, each illustrated by its own simile
Length
~5 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
★★★★☆ — a precise mechanical account, dense with repetition by design

Why this discourse

Where SN 12.63 named the four fuels and showed how each should be regarded, this discourse traces what happens when desire, relishing, and craving attach to any one of them: consciousness becomes established there and grows, name and form are conceived, choices grow, and the whole sequence runs forward into future rebirth, old age, death, and the grief that follows. Two similes make the mechanism vivid. An artist creating a full human figure on a polished plank using ordinary dyes illustrates how consciousness, given desire to work with, actively constructs a new existence rather than merely persisting. A ray of morning sunlight entering a window and searching for a wall, then the ground, then water to land on — landing nowhere at all if none of these exist — illustrates the reverse: consciousness needs something to become established on, and without desire providing that foothold, it simply doesn't take hold.

Reading guide

The same four fuels, now given their consequence

SN 12.63 taught how to regard edible food, contact, mental intention, and consciousness; this discourse picks up exactly where that left off, showing what happens specifically when desire attaches to any one of them.

A precise chain, not a vague warning

The sequence from desire to suffering is spelled out step by step — consciousness established and growing, name and form conceived, choices growing, regeneration into a new existence, rebirth, old age and death — a mechanism, not a general caution.

An artist actively constructing, not passively persisting

The painter simile emphasizes construction: dye applied to a polished plank produces "the form of a woman or a man, whole in its major and minor limbs," a deliberate act of making something new, paralleling how consciousness given desire to work with doesn't simply continue but actively takes shape in a new existence.

A sunbeam that needs somewhere to land

The second simile inverts the logic: light entering a window will land on a wall, or failing that the ground, or failing that water, and only fails to land anywhere if none of these supports exist — a precise image for consciousness needing an object to become established on, absent which it simply has nowhere to take hold.

The same structure run twice, for presence and absence

Every step of the arising sequence is mirrored exactly in reverse for its absence — no desire, no establishment, no conception, no growth, no rebirth, no sorrow — giving the discourse a rigorously symmetrical shape across all four fuels in both directions.

Key terms

atthi rāgo atthi nandī atthi taṇhā, patiṭṭhitaṁ tattha viññāṇaṁ virūḷhaṁ — “if there is desire, relishing, and craving, consciousness becomes established there and grows” — the discourse's key mechanism, repeated for each of the four fuels.
nāmarūpassa avakkanti — “name and form are conceived” — the same phrase used in SN 12.39 and SN 12.58, marking the next step once consciousness is established.
āyatiṁ punabbhavābhinibbatti — “regeneration into a new state of existence in the future” — the same term used in SN 12.38 and SN 12.39 for what follows established, growing consciousness.
rajako vā cittakārako… itthirūpaṁ vā purisarūpaṁ vā abhinimmineyya — “an artist or painter… would create the form of a woman or a man” — the image of active construction, not passive persistence.
vātapānena rasmi pavisitvā kvāssa patiṭṭhitā — “a ray of light enters through a window, where would it land?” — the image of consciousness needing somewhere to become established.

The text

The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, these four fuels maintain sentient beings that have been born and help those about to be born. What four? Edible food, whether solid or subtle; contact is the second, mental intention the third, and consciousness the fourth. These are the four fuels that maintain sentient beings that have been born and help those about to be born.

§2If there is desire, relishing, and craving for edible food, consciousness becomes established there and grows. Where consciousness is established and grows, name and form are conceived. Where name and form are conceived, there is the growth of choices. Where choices grow, there is regeneration into a new state of existence in the future. Where there is regeneration into a new state of existence in the future, there is rebirth, old age, and death in the future. Where there is rebirth, old age, and death in the future, I say this is full of sorrow, anguish, and distress.

§3If there is desire, relishing, and craving for contact as fuel … If there is desire, relishing, and craving for mental intention as fuel … If there is desire, relishing, and craving for consciousness as fuel, consciousness becomes established there and grows. Where consciousness is established and grows, name and form are conceived. Where name and form are conceived, there is the growth of choices. Where choices grow, there is regeneration into a new state of existence in the future. Where there is regeneration into a new state of existence in the future, there is rebirth, old age, and death in the future. Where there is rebirth, old age, and death in the future, I say this is full of sorrow, anguish, and distress.

§4Suppose an artist or painter had some dye, red lac, turmeric, indigo, or rose madder. And on a polished plank or a wall or a canvas they’d create the form of a woman or a man, whole in its major and minor limbs. In the same way, if there is desire, relishing, and craving for edible food, consciousness becomes established there and grows. Where consciousness is established and grows, name and form are conceived. Where name and form are conceived, there is the growth of choices. Where choices grow, there is regeneration into a new state of existence in the future. Where there is regeneration into a new state of existence in the future, there is rebirth, old age, and death in the future. Where there is rebirth, old age, and death in the future, I say this is full of sorrow, anguish, and distress.

§5If there is desire, relishing, and craving for contact as fuel … If there is desire, relishing, and craving for mental intention as fuel … If there is desire, relishing, and craving for consciousness as fuel, consciousness becomes established there and grows. Where consciousness is established and grows, name and form are conceived. Where name and form are conceived, there is the growth of choices. Where choices grow, there is regeneration into a new state of existence in the future. Where there is regeneration into a new state of existence in the future, there is rebirth, old age, and death in the future. Where there is rebirth, old age, and death in the future, I say this is full of sorrow, anguish, and distress.

§6If there is no desire, relishing, and craving for edible food, consciousness does not become established there and doesn’t grow. Where consciousness is not established and doesn’t grow, name and form are not conceived. Where name and form are not conceived, there is no growth of choices. Where choices don’t grow, there is no regeneration into a new state of existence in the future. Where there is no regeneration into a new state of existence in the future, there is no rebirth, old age, and death in the future. Where there is no rebirth, old age, and death in the future, I say there’s no sorrow, anguish, and distress.

§7If there is no desire, relishing, and craving for contact as fuel … If there is no desire, relishing, and craving for mental intention as fuel … If there is no desire, relishing, and craving for consciousness as fuel, consciousness doesn’t become established there and doesn’t grow. Where consciousness is not established and doesn’t grow, name and form are not conceived. Where name and form are not conceived, there is no growth of choices. Where choices don’t grow, there is no regeneration into a new state of existence in the future. Where there is no regeneration into a new state of existence in the future, there is no rebirth, old age, and death in the future. Where there is no rebirth, old age, and death in the future, I say there’s no sorrow, anguish, and distress.

§8Suppose there was a bungalow or a hall with a peaked roof, with windows on the northern, southern, or eastern side. When the sun rises and a ray of light enters through a window, where would it land?” “On the western wall, sir.” “If there was no western wall, where would it land?” “On the ground, sir.” “If there was no ground, where would it land?” “In water, sir.” “If there was no water, where would it land?” “It wouldn’t land, sir.” “In the same way, if there is no desire, relishing, and craving for edible food, consciousness does not become established there and doesn’t grow. …

§9If there is no desire, relishing, and craving for contact as fuel … If there is no desire, relishing, and craving for mental intention as fuel … If there is no desire, relishing, and craving for consciousness as fuel, consciousness doesn’t become established there and doesn’t grow. Where consciousness is not established and doesn’t grow, name and form are not conceived. Where name and form are not conceived, there is no growth of choices. Where choices don’t grow, there is no regeneration into a new state of existence in the future. Where there is no regeneration into a new state of existence in the future, there is no rebirth, old age, and death in the future. Where there is no rebirth, old age, and death in the future, I say there’s no sorrow, anguish, and distress.”

· · ·

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 happens when desire, relishing, and craving attach to one of the four fuels?
Correct: A. The discourse's key mechanism, repeated for each fuel.
Question 2 of 10
What follows once consciousness is established and grows?
Correct: A. The same phrase used in SN 12.39 and SN 12.58 for this step.
Question 3 of 10
What does the painter simile emphasize?
Correct: A. A deliberate act of making, paralleling consciousness's role given desire to work with.
Question 4 of 10
What does the sunbeam simile illustrate?
Correct: A. Absent a wall, the ground, or water, the light simply doesn't land anywhere.
Question 5 of 10
How is the reverse sequence structured, when there is no desire for the fuels?
Correct: A. A rigorously symmetrical structure across all four fuels in both directions.
Question 6 of 10
How does this discourse relate to SN 12.63?
Correct: A. The same four fuels — edible food, contact, mental intention, consciousness — given their consequence.
Question 7 of 10
What is the final result of the forward chain described in this discourse?
Correct: A. The chain's endpoint, stated directly rather than left implicit.
Question 8 of 10
What term does this discourse share with SN 12.38 and SN 12.39 for what follows established, growing consciousness?
Correct: A. The same mechanism already examined from a different angle in the Intention discourses.
Question 9 of 10
Who is the sole speaker in this discourse?
Correct: A. No interlocutor or visiting figure appears, though the mendicants respond briefly.
Question 10 of 10
Where does the Buddha deliver this teaching?
Correct: A. The consistent setting shared with SN 12.63, immediately before it.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 12.63 · A Child’s Flesh