Thus have I heard. At that time, the World-Honored One had just attained perfect enlightenment and was dwelling at the foot of the Bodhi tree by the Nerañjarā River in Uruvelā. At that time, the World-Honored One sat cross-legged and continued to abide in the bliss of liberation for seven days. When the seven days had passed, the World-Honored One arose from meditation. In the first watch of the night, he contemplated the conditioned arising of all phenomena in forward order: "When this exists, that exists; from the arising of this, that arises. That is: conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; conditioned by volitional formations, consciousness arises; conditioned by consciousness, name-and-form arises; conditioned by name-and-form, the six sense bases arise; conditioned by the six sense bases, contact arises; conditioned by contact, feeling arises; conditioned by feeling, craving arises; conditioned by craving, clinging arises; conditioned by clinging, becoming arises; conditioned by becoming, birth arises; conditioned by birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair arise. Thus arises this whole mass of suffering." Having understood this, the World-Honored One then uttered this inspired utterance: