Samyukta Āgama (297), Part One

(1) Original text: 如是我闻。一时佛住拘留搜调牛聚落。尔时。世尊告诸比丘。我当为汝等说法。初中后善。善义善味。纯一清净。梵行清白。所谓大空法经。谛听。善思。当为汝说。云何为大空法经。所谓此有故彼有。此起故彼起。谓缘无明行。缘行识。乃至纯大苦聚集。

Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: "I shall teach the Dharma for you, a Dharma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end; not only is its meaning wholesome, its flavor of Dharma is also wholesome—pure and clean, endowed with a pure and undefiled holy life. This is called the Mahāśūnyatā Sūtra (Great Emptiness Sūtra). Listen carefully and contemplate well; I shall now teach it for you. What is the Mahāśūnyatā Sūtra? It is this: because this exists, that exists; because this arises, that arises. That is, ignorance conditions volitional formations (avidyā-pratyayāḥ saṃskārāḥ), formations condition consciousness, and so on, until the entire great mass of suffering is assembled."

Original text: 缘生老死者。若有问言。彼谁老死。老死属谁。彼则答言。我即老死。今老死属我。老死是我。所言命即是身。或言命异身异。此则一义。而说有种种。若见言命即是身。彼梵行者所无有。若复见言。命异身异。梵行者所无有。于此二边。心所不随。正向中道。贤圣出世。如实不颠倒正见。谓缘生老死。如是生有取爱。受触六入处。名色识行。缘无明故有行。

Explanation: Regarding the question that aging-and-death arises conditioned on birth: if someone asks, "Who has aging and death? To whom does aging and death belong?" you should answer, "I am the aging and death; now the aging and death belongs to me; aging and death is me." If someone says that life is the material body, or that when life changes the material body changes, these statements all have the same meaning, though expressed in several ways. If someone holds the view that life is the material body, then for those practicing the holy life, in the end there would be no more life. If someone holds the view that when life changes the material body changes, then for those practicing the holy life, in the end there would be no change of life.

The bhikṣus should not let their minds follow either of the two views regarding the existence or non-existence of life and the material body; they should single-mindedly turn directly toward the Middle Way and nirvāṇa. After the noble ones appear in the world, they hold the true right view regarding life, without inversion, teaching the twelve links of dependent origination: namely, only conditioned on birth is there aging and death, conditioned on existence is there birth, conditioned on grasping is there existence, conditioned on craving is there grasping, conditioned on feeling is there craving, conditioned on contact is there feeling, conditioned on the six sense bases is there contact, due to name-and-form there are the six sense bases, conditioned on the six consciousnesses there is name-and-form, conditioned on volitional formations there are the six consciousnesses, and conditioned on ignorance there are volitional formations.