Muni's PlayThis series of suttas reveals the conditional nature of bad, unwholesome states (पापका अकुसला धम्मा - pāpakā akusalā dhammā). The Buddha repeatedly emphasizes that unwholesome states do not arise randomly or without a basis; they arise due to specific conditions. Therefore, by abandoning the underlying condition, the unwholesome states cease to exist.
The General Formula
The Buddha uses a consistent formula across these suttas, swapping out only the specific condition. Here is the template using “a sign/feature” (निमित्त - nimitta) from AN 2.77:
Pali
“सनिमित्ता, भिक्खवे, उप्पज्जन्ति पापका अकुसला धम्मा, नो अनिमित्ता। तस्सेव निमित्तस्स पहाना एवं ते पापका अकुसला धम्मा न होन्ती”ति।”
Sanskrit Chaya
“सनिमित्ता भिक्षव उत्पद्यन्ते पापका अकुशला धर्मा नोऽनिमित्ताः। तस्यैव निमित्तस्य प्रहाणादेवं ते पापका अकुशला धर्मा न भवन्ति।”
“Monks, bad, unwholesome states arise with a sign [feature/cause], not without a sign. By the abandoning of that very sign, those bad, unwholesome states do not come to be.”
The Conditions for the Unwholesome
To prevent the arising of unwholesome states, one must abandon the underlying basis from which they spring. The suttas list ten such bases:
| Sutta | Bad states arise with… (English) | The Condition to Abandon (Pali) | The Condition to Abandon (Sanskrit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| AN 2.77 | A sign / feature | निमित्त (nimitta) | निमित्त (nimitta) |
| AN 2.78 | A source / origin | निदान (nidāna) | निदान (nidāna) |
| AN 2.79 | A cause | हेतु (hetu) | हेतु (hetu) |
| AN 2.80 | Volitional formations / Choices | सङ्खारा (saṅkhārā) | संस्काराः (saṃskārāḥ) |
| AN 2.81 | A condition | पच्चय (paccaya) | प्रत्यय (pratyaya) |
| AN 2.82 | Form | रूप (rūpa) | रूप (rūpa) |
| AN 2.83 | Feeling | वेदना (vedanā) | वेदना (vedanā) |
| AN 2.84 | Perception | सञ्ञा (saññā) | संज्ञा (saṃjñā) |
| AN 2.85 | Consciousness | विञ्ञाण (viññāṇa) | विज्ञान (vijñāna) |
| AN 2.86 | The conditioned as an object | सङ्खतारम्मण (saṅkhatārammaṇa) | संस्कृतालम्बन (saṃskṛtālambana) |