1"Bhikkhus, I will teach you about craving—the ensnarer, streaming, widespread, and sticky [n.932] Mp: "Craving is called the ensnarer (jālinī) because it is like a net. For as a net is sewn tightly together and is thoroughly interwoven, so too is craving. Or it is called the ensnarer because it is a net spread out over the three realms of existence. It is streaming (saritā) because it streams and runs on here and there. It is widespread (visaṭā) because it is spread out and dispersed. And it is sticky (visattikā) because it sticks, attaches, fastens here and there." —by which this world has been smothered and enveloped, and by which it has become a tangled skein, a knotted ball of thread, a mass of reeds and rushes, so that it does not pass beyond the plane of misery, the bad destination, the lower world, saṁsāra. Listen and attend closely; I will speak."

"Yes, Bhante," those bhikkhus replied.

The Blessed One said this:

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2"And what, bhikkhus, is craving—the ensnarer, streaming, widespread, and sticky—by which this world has been smothered and enveloped, and by which it has become a tangled skein, a knotted ball of thread, a mass of reeds and rushes, so that it does not pass beyond the plane of misery, the bad destination, the lower world, saṁsāra?

"There are, bhikkhus, these eighteen currents of craving related to the internal and eighteen currents of craving related to the external.

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3"And what are the eighteen currents of craving related to the internal? When there is the notion ‘I am,’ there are the notions ‘I am thus,’ ‘I am just so,’ ‘I am otherwise,’ ‘I am lasting,’ ‘I am evanescent,’ ‘I may be,’ ‘I may be thus,’ ‘I may be just so,’ ‘I may be otherwise,’ ‘May I be,’ ‘May I be thus,’ ‘May I be just so,’ ‘May I be otherwise,’ ‘I shall be,’ ‘I shall be thus,’ ‘I shall be just so,’ ‘I shall be otherwise.’

These are the eighteen currents of craving related to the internal. [n.933] I translate these phrases—some obscure—with the aid of Mp. "Related to the internal" (ajjhattikassa upādāya) means related to one's own five aggregates.

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4"And what are the eighteen currents of craving related to the external? [n.934] "Related to the external" (bāhirassa upādāya) means related to external five aggregates. When there is the notion, ‘I am because of this,’ [n.935] Mp says that "because of this" (iminā) should be understood to mean "because of this form … because of this consciousness" (iminā rūpena vā … pe … viññāṇena). The passage is opaque as it stands and I am not sure that Mp has caught the original intention. "Because of this" might have meant "because of a creator God," or "because of primordial matter" or "because of chance or necessity," etc. there are the notions: ‘I am thus because of this,’ ‘I am just so because of this,’ ‘I am otherwise because of this,’ ‘I am lasting because of this,’ ‘I am evanescent because of this,’ ‘I may be because of this,’ ‘I may be thus because of this,’ ‘I may be just so because of this,’ ‘I may be otherwise because of this,’ ‘May I be because of this,’ ‘May I be thus because of this,’ ‘May I be just so because of this,’ ‘May I be otherwise because of this,’ ‘I shall be because of this,’ ‘I shall be thus because of this,’ ‘I shall be just so because of this,’ ‘I shall be otherwise because of this.’ These are the eighteen currents of craving related to the external.

5"Thus there are eighteen currents of craving related to the internal, and eighteen currents of craving related to the external. These are called the thirty-six currents of craving. There are thirty-six such currents of craving pertaining to the past, thirty-six pertaining to the future, and thirty-six pertaining to the present. So there are one hundred and eight currents of craving.

6"This, bhikkhus, is that craving—the ensnarer, streaming, widespread, and sticky—by which this world has been smothered and enveloped, and by which it has become a tangled skein, a knotted ball of thread, a mass of reeds and rushes, so that it does not pass beyond the plane of misery, the bad destination, the lower world, saṁsāra." [n.936] I am unsure how to explain the inclusion of this sutta in the Fours. The reason may be the four terms used to describe craving, enclosed between dashes, but this is a mere hypothesis.

1Bhagavā etadavoca: "taṇhaṁ vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi jāliniṁ saritaṁ visaṭaṁ visattikaṁ, yāya ayaṁ loko uddhasto pariyonaddho tantākulakajāto gulāguṇṭhikajāto muñjapabbajabhūto apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ saṁsāraṁ nātivattati. Taṁ suṇātha, sādhukaṁ manasi karotha, bhāsissāmī"ti.

"Evaṁ, bhante"ti kho te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ.

Bhagavā etadavoca:

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2"Katamā ca sā, bhikkhave, taṇhā jālinī saritā visaṭā visattikā, yāya ayaṁ loko uddhasto pariyonaddho tantākulakajāto gulāguṇṭhikajāto muñjapabbajabhūto apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ saṁsāraṁ nātivattati?

Aṭṭhārasa kho panimāni, bhikkhave, taṇhāvicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya, aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya.

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3Katamāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya? 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.

Imāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya.

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4Katamāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya? 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. Imāni aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya.

5Iti aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni ajjhattikassa upādāya, aṭṭhārasa taṇhāvicaritāni bāhirassa upādāya. Imāni vuccanti, bhikkhave, chattiṁsa taṇhāvicaritāni. Iti evarūpāni atītāni chattiṁsa taṇhāvicaritāni, anāgatāni chattiṁsa taṇhāvicaritāni, paccuppannāni chattiṁsa taṇhāvicaritāni. Evaṁ aṭṭhasataṁ taṇhāvicaritaṁ honti.

6Ayaṁ kho sā, bhikkhave, taṇhā jālinī saritā visaṭā visattikā, yāya ayaṁ loko uddhasto pariyonaddho tantākulakajāto guṇāguṇṭhikajāto muñjapabbajabhūto apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ saṁsāraṁ nātivattatī"ti.

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Navamaṁ.