Saṃyutta Nikāya
Nidānavaggo
Nidānasaṃyuttaṃ
Buddhavaggo
Moḷiyaphaggunasuttaṃ
At Sāvatthi.
'These four, almsmen, are foods of the essence, or for the state of beings seeking to appear or for the upkeep.
Which four?
Edible food or gross or subtle, touch second, willpower third, cognition fourth. OK these, almsmen, four are foods of the essence, or for the state of beings seeking to appear or for the upkeep.'
When said so, senior Moḷiyaphagguna said this to the exalted one:
'OK now what, venerable, feeds on the food of cognition?'
The exalted one said:
'Not a sound question, I did not say 'feeds on'. If I would have said 'feeds on' to there the question 'OK now what, venerable, feeds on?' is sound. And I did not say so. Not saying so, what one should ask me is so: 'OK now of what, venerable, is cognition the food?' this is a sound question. There the explanation is sound. The food of cognition is the support, the stretching forth, of the production towards a following becoming. On that essence being, hexad-base. With support of hexad-base, touch.'
'OK now what, venerable, touches?'
The exalted one said:
'Not a sound question, I did not say 'touches'. If I would have said 'touches' to there the question 'OK now what, venerable, touches?' is sound. And I did not say so. Not saying so, what one should ask me is so: 'OK now with support of what, venerable, touch?' this is a sound question. There the explanation is sound. With support of hexad-base, touch. With support of touch, feeling.
'OK now what, venerable, gets to feel?'
The exalted one said:
'Not a sound question, I did not say 'gets to feel'. If I would have said 'gets to feel' to there the question 'OK now what, venerable, gets to feel?' is sound. And I did not say so. Not saying so, what one should ask me is so: 'OK now with support of what, venerable, feeling?' this is a sound question. There the explanation is sound. With support of touch, feeling. With support of, feeling, longing.
'OK now what, venerable, longs?'
The exalted one said:
'Not a sound question, I did not say 'longs'. If I would have said 'longs' to there the question 'OK now what, venerable, longs?' is sound. And I did not say so. Not saying so, what one should ask me is so: 'OK now with support of what, venerable, longing?' this is a sound question. There the explanation is sound. With support of feeling, longing. With support of longing, taking up.'
'OK now what, venerable, takes up?'
The exalted one said:
'Not a sound question, I did not say 'takes up'. If I would have said 'takes up' to there the question 'OK now what, venerable, takes up?' is sound. And I did not say so. Not saying so, what one should ask me is so: 'OK now with support of what, venerable, taking up?' this is a sound question. There the explanation is sound. With support of longing, taking up. With support of taking up, becoming. With support of becoming, birth. With support of birth, ageing-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, distress, unrest appear. So for this entire mass of suffering the rise is.'
However, Phagguna, with complete fading and cessation of the six's base for touch, cessation of touch. With cessation of touch, cessation of feeling. With cessation of feeling, cessation of longing. With cessation of longing, cessation of taking up. With cessation of taking up, cessation of becoming. With cessation of becoming, cessation of birth. With cessation of birth, ageing-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, distress, unrest cease. So for this entire mass of suffering the cessation is.'