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Idappaccayatā

Idappaccayatā (Pali, also idappaccayata; Sanskrit: idaṃpratyayatā) is a Buddhist term that is translated as "specific conditionality" or "this/that conditionality".

Version
v1 · 2026-09-28 · History
Domain-specific #
9969
Domain group
Humanities
Origin domain
Religious Studies & Theology
Subdomains
Buddhist Philosophy, Pali Buddhism → Religious Studies & Theology

Core Idea

Idappaccayatā is treated here as the recurring Buddhist philosophy identity summarized by this source-grounded definition: Idappaccayatā (Pali, also idappaccayata; Sanskrit: idaṃpratyayatā) is a Buddhist term that is translated as "specific conditionality" or "this/that conditionality". Idappaccayatā (Pali, also idappaccayata; Sanskrit: idaṃpratyayatā) is a Buddhist term that is translated as "specific conditionality" or "this/that conditionality". It refers to the principle of causality: that all things arise and exist due to certain causes (or conditions), and cease once these causes (or conditions) are removed.

Scope of Application

  • Alternate translations. The following English terms are used as translations for this term.

  • Direct experience. This name for the causal principle the Buddha discovered on the night of his Awakening stresses the point that, for the purposes of ending suffering and stress, the processes of causality.

  • Etymology. The Pali term idappaccayatā, is composed of three Pali words: ida, paccaya and tā.

  • This/that conditionality - Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Specific conditionality - Ajahn Payutto; Bodhi/Ñāṇamoli (Connected Discourses, Middle Length Discourses etc.).

  • Expression of pratītyasamutpāda. Idappaccayatā (this/that conditionality), as expressed in the this/that formula, is identified as a key expression of the doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination).

Clarity

A clear use of Idappaccayatā names the carrier, the operative relation, and the conditions under which the source treats the identity as present. The minimal definition is Idappaccayatā (Pali, also idappaccayata; Sanskrit: idaṃpratyayatā) is a Buddhist term that is translated as "specific conditionality" or "this/that conditionality".

Manages Complexity

Idappaccayatā compresses multiple Buddhist philosophy details into a stable diagnostic relation. The source shows both the central mechanism—there are many translations of the idappaccayatā formula by contemporary scholars and translators.—and the practical consequence—the Pali term idappaccayatā, is composed of three Pali words: ida, paccaya and tā. This compression makes cases comparable while leaving parameters, conventions, exceptions, and evidential quality explicit.

Abstract Reasoning

  1. Type the carrier. Identify the Buddhist philosophy entities to which the claim applies.
  2. State the relation. Use the source-grounded identity: Idappaccayatā (Pali, also idappaccayata; Sanskrit: idaṃpratyayatā) is a Buddhist term that is translated as "specific conditionality" or "this/that conditionality".
  3. Check operation and conditions. The Buddha described it by saying: 'When there is this, that is. / With the arising of this, that arises. / When this is not, neither is that. / With the cessation of this, that ceases.' When all of these cycles of feeling, thought.

Knowledge Transfer

Within the home domain. Knowledge about Idappaccayatā transfers literally when a new case preserves the same carrier type, relation, and recognition test. The following English terms are used as translations for this term. This name for the causal principle the Buddha discovered on the night of his Awakening stresses the point that, for the purposes of ending suffering and stress, the processes of causality can be understood entirely in terms of forces and conditions that are experienced in the realm of direct experience, with no need to refer to forces operating outside of that realm. Beyond the home domain.

Neighborhood in Abstraction Space

Idappaccayatā sits in a sparse region of the domain-specific corpus (78th percentile for distinctiveness): few abstractions share its structure, so a faithful description tends to retrieve it precisely.

Family — Philosophical Concepts & Thought Experiments (27 abstractions)

Nearest neighbors

Computed from structural-signature embeddings · 2026-10-08