Reading guide
Eight forward links, eight reverse denials
Every link of SN 14.9's chain reappears here, now matched with an explicit denial running the opposite direction, from gain not producing search all the way back to perception not producing elements.
The vagga's most elaborate single discourse
Sixteen distinct causal claims — eight forward, eight reverse — doubled again in principle across six sense doors though only two are spelled out in full, make this the most structurally dense discourse in Nānattavagga.
The closing verse names the vagga's own shape
The untranslated uddāna following this discourse literally names ajjhattapañcaka and bāhirapañcaka — the internal five and the external five — confirming that the vagga's own tradition saw exactly the two-part structure this reading guide has traced discourse by discourse.
A closed system confirmed at every scale
The two-link chain of SN 14.2–3, the three-link chain of SN 14.4–5, the five-link chain of SN 14.7–8, and now the eight-link chain of SN 14.9–10 have all, without exception, been shown to run one way only.
A hinge into the next saṃyutta
This is the closing discourse of Nānattavagga, the first of four vaggas in Dhātusaṃyutta; the vagga immediately following moves from this repeating-formula structure toward discourses addressed to specific individuals and settings.
Key terms
The text
§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, diversity of elements gives rise to diversity of perceptions. Diversity of perceptions gives rise to diversity of thoughts. … contacts … feelings … desires … passions … Diversity of searches gives rise to diversity of gains. Diversity of gains doesn’t give rise to diversity of searches. Diversity of searches doesn’t give rise to diversity of passions. … desires … feelings … contacts … thoughts … Diversity of perceptions doesn’t give rise to diversity of elements. And what is the diversity of elements? The sight element, the sound element, the smell element, the taste element, the touch element, and the idea element. This is called the diversity of elements.
§2And how does diversity of elements give rise to diversity of perceptions, and diversity of perceptions give rise to diversity of thoughts? contacts … feelings … desires … passions … searches … gains … while diversity of gains doesn’t give rise to diversity of searches … passions … desires … feelings … contacts … thoughts … perceptions … elements?
§3The sight element gives rise to the perception of sights … The idea element gives rise to the perception of ideas … The search for ideas gives rise to gaining ideas. The gaining of ideas doesn’t give rise to the search for ideas. The search for ideas doesn’t give rise to the passion for ideas. The passion for ideas doesn’t give rise to the desire for ideas. The desire for ideas doesn’t give rise to feeling born of idea contact. Feeling born of idea contact doesn’t give rise to idea contact. Idea contact doesn’t give rise to thoughts about ideas. Thoughts about ideas don’t give rise to perceptions of ideas. Perceptions of ideas don’t give rise to the idea element.
§4That’s how diversity of elements gives rise to diversity of perceptions … diversity of perceptions doesn’t give rise to diversity of elements.”
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