From Āhāra to Paccaya: The “Nutriment Condition” (Āhāra-paccaya) in the Paṭṭhāna

This article reinterprets the sutta-level notion of “nutriment” (āhāra) through the Abhidhamma’s causal grammar, asking how the four nutriments become the technical “nutriment condition” (āhāra-paccaya) in the Paṭṭhāna. Combining philological analysis (lexical range; key terms such as ojā and āhāraja-rūpa) with doctrinal mapping of the twenty-four paccayas and selective comparisons with Āgama parallels, the study argues that the Abhidhamma preserves the sutta insight—what is fed persists—by distributing “feeding” across precise conditions rather than a single rubric. It shows that āhāra-paccaya denotes nutritive essence sustaining material phenomena via conascence, presence, and non-disappearance, while the other sutta nutriments are re-located: contact under phassa/ārammaṇa-paccaya, volition under kamma/upanissaya, and consciousness under roles such as root, faculty, dominance, and decisive support. Key findings clarify the pipeline from kabaḷīkāra-āhāra to ojā to sustained rūpa-kalāpas; delineate training levers (sense-restraint, intention-training, and calibrated bodily support); and show how agency is reconceived as stewardship of supports rather than a substantial self. The result is a cross-genre harmonization that renders the sutta’s pedagogy analytically exact and practically actionable. Keywords Āhāra; Āhāra-paccaya; Paṭṭhāna; Abhidhamma; Conditionality; Oja; Rūpa-kalāpa; Dependent Origination