About atthaṅgam and nirodh

atthaṅgam

atthaṅgamo:
disappearance (of); vanishing (of); settling down (of); subsiding (of); passing away (of); lit. going home [atthaṃ + gama], (of the sun) setting; going down [atthaṃ + gama]

D: 35 M: 53 S: 119 A: 72

atthaṅgamā (115)
atthaṅgamañca (89)
atthaṅgamo (45)
atthaṅgamoti (39)
atthaṅgamāya (29)
atthaṅgamaṃ (1)
atthaṅgameti (1)

nirodh

nirodha:
oppression, suppression; destruction, cessation annihilation.

D: 101 M: 205 S: 587 A: 257

dukkhanirodhagāminī (196)
nirodho (129)
nirodhāya (124)
nirodhā (100)
nirodhanissitaṃ (88)
saññāvedayitanirodhaṃ (74)
dukkhanirodhoti (65)
asesavirāganirodhā (52)
nirodhadhammanti (41)
dukkhanirodhagāminiyā (41)
upādānanirodhā (36)
upādānanirodho (36)
bhavanirodho (34)
phassanirodhā (32)
dukkhanirodhaṃ (32)
jātinirodhā (32)
taṇhānirodhā (32)
saṅkhāranirodho (31)
nirodhaṃ (31)
āsavanirodhagāminī (30)
viññāṇanirodho (28)
bhavanirodhā (27)
saṅkhāranirodhā (27)
nāmarūpanirodhā (23)
saṅkhāranirodhagāminiṃ (22)
āsavanirodhoti (21)
nirodhānupassī (20)
jātinirodho (20)
phassanirodho (18)
jarāmaraṇanirodhagāminiṃ (18)
jarāmaraṇanirodhaṃ (17)
viññāṇanirodhā (17)
viññāṇanirodhagāminiṃ (16)
vedanānirodhagāminī (16)
saḷāyatananirodhā (15)
rūpanirodhaṃ (15)
viññāṇanirodhaṃ (15)
avijjānirodhā (14)
rūpanirodhagāminiṃ (14)
nirodhasaññā (13)
saḷāyatananirodho (13)
asesavirāganirodho (13)
saññāvedayitanirodhasamāp… (12)
nāmarūpanirodho (12)
Etc, Etc…

DN1:

Vedanānaṁ samudayañca atthaṅgamañca assādañca ādīnavañca nissaraṇañca yathābhūtaṁ viditvā anupādāvimutto, bhikkhave, tathāgato.
Having truly understood the origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape from feelings, the Realized One is freed through not grasping.

Atthi kho, bho, añño attā sabbaso rūpasaññānaṁ samatikkamā paṭighasaññānaṁ atthaṅgamā nānattasaññānaṁ amanasikārā “ananto ākāso”ti ākāsānañcāyatanūpago.
There is another self which has gone totally beyond perceptions of form. With the ending of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that “space is infinite”, it’s reborn in the dimension of infinite space.

Yato kho, bho, ayaṁ attā sukhassa ca pahānā dukkhassa ca pahānā pubbeva somanassadomanassānaṁ atthaṅgamā adukkhamasukhaṁ upekkhāsatipārisuddhiṁ catutthaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati, ettāvatā kho, bho, ayaṁ attā paramadiṭṭhadhammanibbānaṁ patto hotī’ti.
But giving up pleasure and pain, and ending former happiness and sadness, this self enters and remains in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. That’s how this self attains ultimate extinguishment in the present life.’

Yato kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu channaṁ phassāyatanānaṁ samudayañca atthaṅgamañca assādañca ādīnavañca nissaraṇañca yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti, ayaṁ imehi sabbeheva uttaritaraṁ pajānāti.
When a mendicant truly understands the six fields of contact’s origin, ending, gratification, drawback, and escape, they understand what lies beyond all these things.

nirodh does not occur in DN1

DN2:

So evaṁ samāhite citte parisuddhe pariyodāte anaṅgaṇe vigatūpakkilese mudubhūte kammaniye ṭhite āneñjappatte āsavānaṁ khayañāṇāya cittaṁ abhinīharati abhininnāmeti.
When their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they project it and extend it toward knowledge of the ending of defilements.

So idaṁ dukkhanti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti, ayaṁ dukkhasamudayoti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti, ayaṁ dukkhanirodhoti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti, ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadāti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti.
They truly understand: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’.

Ime āsavāti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti, ayaṁ āsavasamudayoti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti, ayaṁ āsavanirodhoti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti, ayaṁ āsavanirodhagāminī paṭipadāti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti.
They truly understand: ‘These are defilements’ … ‘This is the origin of defilements’ … ‘This is the cessation of defilements’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of defilements’.

DN2 repeats the 4th jhana instruction from DN1, otherwise atthaṅgam is absent.

DN3, DN5:

dukkhaṃ samudayaṃ nirodhaṃ maggaṃ
suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

“yaṁ kiñci samudayadhammaṁ sabbaṁ taṁ nirodhadhamman”ti.
“Everything that has a beginning has an end.”

atthaṅgam occurs again in the 4th jhana trope here.

DN9:

“Puna caparaṁ, poṭṭhapāda, bhikkhu sabbaso rūpasaññānaṁ samatikkamā paṭighasaññānaṁ atthaṅgamā nānattasaññānaṁ amanasikārā ‘ananto ākāso’ti ākāsānañcāyatanaṁ upasampajja viharati.
“Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond perceptions of form, with the ending of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite’, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite space.

Tassa yā purimā rūpasaññā, sā nirujjhati.
The perception of luminous form that they had previously ceases.

Ākāsānañcāyatanasukhumasaccasaññā tasmiṁ samaye hoti,
At that time they have a subtle and true perception of the dimension of infinite space.

Purimāni, bhante, divasāni purimatarāni, nānātitthiyānaṁ samaṇabrāhmaṇānaṁ kotūhalasālāya sannisinnānaṁ sannipatitānaṁ abhisaññānirodhe kathā udapādi:
Sir, a few days ago several ascetics and brahmins who follow various other religions were sitting together at the debating hall, and a discussion about the cessation of perception came up among them:

‘kathaṁ nu kho, bho, abhisaññānirodho hotī’ti?
‘How does the cessation of perception happen?’

Tassa saññagge ṭhitassa evaṁ hoti:
Standing on the peak of perception they think,

‘cetayamānassa me pāpiyo, acetayamānassa me seyyo.
‘Intentionality is bad for me, it’s better to be free of it.

Ahañceva kho pana ceteyyaṁ, abhisaṅkhareyyaṁ, imā ca me saññā nirujjheyyuṁ, aññā ca oḷārikā saññā uppajjeyyuṁ;
For if I were to intend and choose, these perceptions would cease in me, and other coarser perceptions would arise.

yannūnāhaṁ na ceva ceteyyaṁ na ca abhisaṅkhareyyan’ti.
Why don’t I neither make a choice nor form an intention?’

So na ceva ceteti, na ca abhisaṅkharoti.
They neither make a choice nor form an intention.

Tassa acetayato anabhisaṅkharoto tā ceva saññā nirujjhanti, aññā ca oḷārikā saññā na uppajjanti.
Those perceptions cease in them, and other coarser perceptions don’t arise.

So nirodhaṁ phusati.
They touch cessation.

Evaṁ kho, poṭṭhapāda, anupubbābhisaññānirodhasampajānasamāpatti hoti.
And that, Poṭṭhapāda, is how the progressive cessation of perception is attained with awareness.

What is your essential point/suggestion/argument/thesis here on EBTs?

I don’t have one @thomaslaw, I am interested in exploring why these two distinct terms are used the way they are, why is there not just one term? is there a noticeable difference in usage across the prose? what can we learn here?

For another example, samuday seems to do double duty as a pair for both atthaṅgam and nirodh yet samuday occurs only about half as often as nirodh and only in about half as many compounds, why? is it just the way DO is more often presented? is there a counterpart to nirodh that isn’t samuday? If so what is it? is it uppajj? If so which is the better match?

I am unconvinced by the explanations on either side here; (in the case mentioned the explanation may simply be metrical in nature)

https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/sn47-42-why-attha-gamo-rather-than-nirodha/

And no one has mooted anything enlightening here;

https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/pali-word-study-tasting-the-earths-nectar/

So I thought I would embark on a more systematic treatment and see if there is anything that jumps out.

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