Sujato's translation of taṇhā-vicaritani as "currents of craving" isn't wrong exactly, but it loses the connection between how contact between 6 internal senses contacting 6 external objects, leading to sensations, perceptions, craving, thinking, and self identififcation.
There's a precise way in the EBT (early buddhism) suttas of how that selfing process happens, and it's related to the Dhamma vitakka thoughts and evaluation (vicāra) that happens in first jhāna, versus the thoughts and evaluation of non Dhamma wrong thinking that leads to selfing and suffering.
So while Sujato's translation of taṇhā-vicaritani as "currents of craving" isn't wrong exactly, it obfuscates that first jhāna and satipaṭṭhāna thinking and evaluation process (vitakka and vicāra).
AN 4.199: Taṇhāsutta—Bhikkhu Sujato (suttacentral.net)
- Numbered Discourses 4Aṅguttara Nikāya 4
- 20. The Great Chapter20. Mahāvagga
199. Craving, the Weaver199. Taṇhāsutta
The Buddha said this:Bhagavā etadavoca:
“Mendicants, I will teach you about craving—the weaver, the migrant, the creeping, the clinging. This world is choked by it, engulfed by it. It makes the world tangled like yarn, knotted like a ball of thread, and matted like rushes and reeds, not escaping the places of loss, the bad places, the underworld, transmigration.“taṇhaṁ vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi jāliniṁ saritaṁ visaṭaṁ visattikaṁ, yāya ayaṁ loko uddhasto pariyonaddho tantākulakajāto gulāguṇṭhikajāto muñjapabbajabhūto apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ saṁsāraṁ nātivattati.Listen and pay close attention, I will speak.”Taṁ suṇātha, sādhukaṁ manasi karotha, bhāsissāmī”ti.
“Yes, sir,” they replied.“Evaṁ, bhante”ti kho te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ.The Buddha said this:Bhagavā etadavoca:
“And what is that craving …?“Katamā ca sā, bhikkhave, taṇhā jālinī saritā visaṭā visattikā, yāya ayaṁ loko uddhasto pariyonaddho tantākulakajāto gulāguṇṭhikajāto muñjapabbajabhūto apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ saṁsāraṁ nātivattati?There are eighteen currents of craving that derive from the interior, and eighteen that derive from the exterior.Aṭṭhārasa kho panimāni, bhikkhave, taṇhā-vicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya, aṭṭhārasa taṇhā-vicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya.
What are the eighteen currents of craving that derive from the interior?Katamāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhā-vicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya?When there is the concept ‘I am’, there are the concepts ‘I am such’, ‘I am thus’, ‘I am otherwise’; ‘I am fleeting’, ‘I am lasting’; ‘mine’, ‘such is mine’, ‘thus is mine’, ‘otherwise is mine’; ‘also mine’, ‘such is also mine’, ‘thus is also mine’, ‘otherwise is also mine’; ‘I will be’, ‘I will be such’, ‘I will be thus’, ‘I will be otherwise’.Asmīti, bhikkhave, sati itthasmīti hoti, evaṁsmīti hoti, aññathāsmīti hoti, asasmīti hoti, satasmīti hoti, santi hoti, itthaṁ santi hoti, evaṁ santi hoti, aññathā santi hoti, apihaṁ santi hoti, apihaṁ itthaṁ santi hoti, apihaṁ evaṁ santi hoti, apihaṁ aññathā santi hoti, bhavissanti hoti, itthaṁ bhavissanti hoti, evaṁ bhavissanti hoti, aññathā bhavissanti hoti. These are the eighteen currents of craving that derive from the interior.Imāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhā-vicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya.
What are the eighteen currents of craving that derive from the exterior?Katamāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhā-vicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya?When there is the concept ‘I am because of this’, there are the concepts ‘I am such because of this’, ‘I am thus because of this’, ‘I am otherwise because of this’; ‘I am fleeting because of this’, ‘I am lasting because of this’; ‘mine because of this’, ‘such is mine because of this’, ‘thus is mine because of this’, ‘otherwise is mine because of this’; ‘also mine because of this’, ‘such is also mine because of this’, ‘thus is also mine because of this’, ‘otherwise is also mine because of this’; ‘I will be because of this’, ‘I will be such because of this’, ‘I will be thus because of this’, ‘I will be otherwise because of this’.Imināsmīti, bhikkhave, sati iminā itthasmīti hoti, iminā evaṁsmīti hoti, iminā aññathāsmīti hoti, iminā asasmīti hoti, iminā satasmīti hoti, iminā santi hoti, iminā itthaṁ santi hoti, iminā evaṁ santi hoti, iminā aññathā santi hoti, iminā apihaṁ santi hoti, iminā apihaṁ itthaṁ santi hoti, iminā apihaṁ evaṁ santi hoti, iminā apihaṁ aññathā santi hoti, iminā bhavissanti hoti, iminā itthaṁ bhavissanti hoti, iminā evaṁ bhavissanti hoti, iminā aññathā bhavissanti hoti.These are the eighteen currents of craving that derive from the exterior.Imāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhā-vicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya.
So there are eighteen currents of craving that derive from the interior, and eighteen that derive from the exterior.Iti aṭṭhārasa taṇhā-vicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya, aṭṭhārasa taṇhā-vicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya.These are called the thirty-six currents of craving.Imāni vuccanti, bhikkhave, chattiṁsa taṇhā-vicaritāni.Each of these pertain to the past, future, and present,Iti evarūpāni atītāni chattiṁsa taṇhā-vicaritāni, anāgatāni chattiṁsa taṇhā-vicaritāni, paccuppannāni chattiṁsa taṇhā-vicaritāni.making one hundred and eight currents of craving.Evaṁ aṭṭhasataṁ taṇhā-vicaritaṁ honti.
This is that craving—the weaver, the migrant, the creeping, the clinging. This world is choked by it, engulfed by it. It makes the world tangled like yarn, knotted like a ball of thread, and matted like rushes and reeds, not escaping the places of loss, the bad places, the underworld, transmigration.”Ayaṁ kho sā, bhikkhave, taṇhā jālinī saritā visaṭā visattikā, yāya ayaṁ loko uddhasto pariyonaddho tantākulakajāto guṇāguṇṭhikajāto muñjapabbajabhūto apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ saṁsāraṁ nātivattatī”ti.
Navamaṁ.
AN 4.199 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu translation
“Monks, I will teach you craving: the ensnarer that has flowed along, spread out, and caught hold, with which this world is smothered & enveloped like a tangled skein, a knotted ball of string, like matted rushes and reeds, and does not go beyond transmigration, beyond the planes of deprivation, woe, & bad destinations. Listen well, and I will speak.”
“Yes, lord,” the monks responded to him.
The Blessed One said: “And which craving is the ensnarer that has flowed along, spread out, and caught hold, with which this world is smothered & enveloped like a tangled skein, a knotted ball of string, like matted rushes and reeds, and does not go beyond transmigration, beyond the planes of deprivation, woe, & bad destinations? These 18 craving-verbalizations1 dependent on what is internal and 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is external.
“And which are the 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is internal? There being ‘I am,’ there comes to be ‘I am here,’ there comes to be ‘I am like this’ … ‘I am otherwise’ … ‘I am bad’ … ‘I am good’ … ‘I might be’ … ‘I might be here’ … ‘I might be like this’ … ‘I might be otherwise’ … ‘May I be’ … ‘May I be here’ … ‘May I be like this’ … ‘May I be otherwise’ … ‘I will be’ … ‘I will be here’ … ‘I will be like this’ … ‘I will be otherwise.’ These are the 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is internal.
“And which are the 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is external? There being ‘I am because of this [or: by means of this],’ there comes to be ‘I am here because of this,’ there comes to be ‘I am like this because of this’ … ‘I am otherwise because of this’ … ‘I am bad because of this’ … ‘I am good because of this’ … ‘I might be because of this’ … ‘I might be here because of this’ … ‘I might be like this because of this’ … ‘I might be otherwise because of this’ … ‘May I be because of this’ … ‘May I be here because of this’ … ‘May I be like this because of this’ … ‘May I be otherwise because of this’ … ‘I will be because of this’ … ‘I will be here because of this’ … ‘I will be like this because of this’ … ‘I will be otherwise because of this.’ These are the 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is external.
“Thus there are 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is internal and 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is external. These are called the 36 craving-verbalizations. Thus, with 36 craving-verbalizations of this sort in the past, 36 in the future, and 36 in the present, there are 108 craving-verbalizations.
“This, monks, is craving: the ensnarer that has flowed along, spread out, and caught hold, with which this world is smothered & enveloped like a tangled skein, a knotted ball of string, like matted rushes and reeds, and does not go beyond transmigration, beyond the planes of deprivation, woe, & bad destinations.”
Note
1. Taṇhā-vicaritāni, literally, things evaluated by craving. The past participle here, vicaritāni, is related to the noun, vicāra, which is classed as a verbal fabrication, i.e., a necessary precondition for speech (see MN 44). A person devoid of craving would still be able to verbalize, but would not contemplate in the above terms, which are so basic to ordinary thought patterns.
See also: DN 15; MN 2; SN 12:20; SN 22:47; AN 6:49; Dhp 339–343; Sn 4:5; Sn 4:9–10
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