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The sense of ahara that, as mentioned, is not only something (food) formed into mouthfuls for eating but also 'condition', implies abundantly and diversely all the aspects of human life, the mysteries of life and death, of happiness and pain. From these senses, it is said that all such solemn 215 Ibid., Ibid., 216 pp. 47-48. p. 48.

121 utterances alone are already the importance of the subject that should be evident, and it has indeed been played upon throughout the Suttas in the Nikaya, followed up in later Abhidhamma texts of the Dhammasangani and played in the many commentaries of Buddhaghosa and in later treatises such as a Anuruddha's Abhidhammattha Sangaha up to the present century writers, such as Paul Dahlke in his Buddhism. 217 Thus, we find enumerated four sustenances (cattara ahara) for the maintenance of beings and for the assistance of those seeking birth. The enumerated number of the fourfold ahara repeated many times in the Pancanikaya. First of all, in the Sangitisutta: "Four supports (or foods), to wit, solid (bodily) food, whether gross or subtle, contact, as the second, motive or purpose as third, consciousness (in rebirth) as fourth."218 In the Dasuttarasutta Lord Buddha said: "Four things are to be understood: the Four Nutriments, to wit, solid nutriments, gross or subtle; contact as second, the purpose of the mind as third, (rebirth) consciousness as fourth "219. In the Sammaditthisutta, especially, Venerable Sariputta who is the chief disciple of the Buddha also taught that: "And what, your reverences, is sustenance, what the uprising of sustenance, what the stopping of sustenance, what the course leading to the stopping of sustenance? Your reverences, there are these four (kinds of) sustenance for the stability of creatures who have come to be or for the assistance of those who are seeking to be. What are the 217 Ibid. p. 280. 218 D. III, 228 (Dialogues of the Buddha, vol. III, PTS, p. 219.) 219 Ibid., 278 (ibid., p. 250.)

122 four? Material food, coarse or fine; (sense-) impingement is the second; volition is the third; consciousness is the fourth."220 In the Mahatanhasankhayasutta: "Monks, these four (forms of) nutriment are for the maintenance of creatures that have come to be or for the assistance of those seeking birth. What are the four? Material nutriment, whether coarse or fine, sensory impingement is the second, mental striving is the third, consciousness is the fourth. "221 In the Aharasutta of Nidanavagga of Samyutta Nikaya: 9,222 "There are these four sustenances, brethren, for the maintenance of beings that have come to birth or for the forwarding of them that seek to become. Which are the four? Material food, coarse or fine, secondly, contact, thirdly, volition, fourthly, consciousness. These four are the sustenances for the maintenance of beings that have come to birth, or for the forwarding of those that seek to become. In the Puttamamsupamasutta: "There are these four foods, brethren, for the maintenance of beings that have come to birth, or for the forwarding of those who seek to come to be. Which are the four? Material food, coarse or fine; contact is second, willing of mind is third, consciousness is the fourth. These are the four foods for the maintenance of beings that have come to birth, or for the forwarding of those who seek to come to be."223 "Monks, if in four things a monk rightly feel revulsion rightly feel fading interest (in the world.) rightly be released, rightly have sight to the furthest bounds and rightly comprehend the meaning of things, 220 M. I, 48 (The Collection of the Middle Sayings, vol. I, PTS, p. 59.) 221 Ibid., 261 (ibid., p. 316.) 222 223 S. II, 11 (The Book of The Kindred Sayings, part II, PTS, p. 8.) Ibid., 98 (ibid., pp. 67.)

123 then in this same visible state he makes an end of Ill. In what four things? The four sustenances. "224 It is observed that nutriment (ahara) has the meaning of "condition" (paccaya) because conditions carry (aharanti) their own results. Here an objection may be raised: "If the meaning of nutriment is that of condition, why are only four of them mentioned here, though living beings are conditioned also in other ways?" In reply, it is said: "Because these four are prominent conditions for the individual life continuity. "225 For beings living on material food, it is an important condition for their physical organism (rupa-kaya.) As to their mental organism (namakaya,) sense-impression is an important condition of feeling, volitional thought of consciousness, and consciousness of mind-and-body (namarupa.) Accordingly, it was said: "Just as this body subsists on nutriment, subsists because of nutriment, does not subsist without nutriment; "226 in the same way, "O monks, are feelings conditioned by sense-impression, is consciousness conditioned by kamma-formations (sankhara-cetana, 'karmic volition',) is mind-and-body conditioned by consciousness. "227 228 What is it, now, that is fed (or conditioned) by each of the four nutriments? Edible food feeds and conditions the set of corporeal qualities that have nutritive essence as their eighth factor. The nutriment sense-impression feeds and conditions the three kinds of feeling (pain, happiness, and neither anguish nor joy.) The nutriment volitional thought feeds and conditions the three states of existence 224 A. V, 52 (The Book of The Gradual Sayings, vol. V, PTS, p. 35.) 225 The Four Nutriments of Life, ibid., p.25. 226 S. V, 64. 227 228 S. II, 12:1, 1, etc. Ojatthamaka-rupani, the "basic corporeal octad" (suddhatthaka-kalapa), consisting of the four material elements, and color, smell, taste, and nutritive essence. This is the simplest kind of material group recognized by the Abhidhamma theory of matter. All the more complex material groups also contain these eight phenomena as their foundation. Material groups in a living organism require an input of nutriment in order to endure in continuity.

124 (craving for sense pleasures, for existence and for non-existence). The nutriment consciousness feeds and conditions mind-and-body at rebirth. From the above discussion and quotations, ahara that is the enumerated four in number is not only taught in the Nikaya but in the Abhidhamma, Vinaya pitaka and other commentaries. In fact, for this worldly life, what taught by Buddha is immutable truth that is "life is pain and the way to end it" is the same as the four foods are suffering and the way leading to stopping them. All this is involved in the four kinds of ahara that can be divided into twofold corresponding with physical body and mental life: the first one (kabalimkarahara) food for body and the rest (phassahara, manosancetanahara, and vinnanahara) food for mind. In short, it can be said that the sense and enumeration of ahara that is examined has not been seen and heard before, it demonstrates that the quest for food, as well as the supply thereof, constitutes physically, psychologically and sociologically, the basis of all action. As a primary need of life itself, it conveys the energy for sustenance at all levels, material, biological, volitional and intellectual. 229 We shall now consider each of four kinds of ahara singly next.