lit. resting on, falling back on, foundation cause, motive etc. See on term as t.t. of philosophy Tikapaṭṭhāna I, foreword; J.P.T.S. 1916, 21 f.; Cpd. 42 sq. & esp. 259 sq.

1. (lit.) support, requisite means, stay. Usually with ref. to the 4 necessaries of the bhikkhu’s daily life, viz. cīvara, piṇḍapāta, senāsana (gilānapaccaya-) bhesajja, i.e. clothing, food as alms a dwelling-place, medicine: see under; cīvara. Snp.339 (paccaya = gilāna-paccaya Snp-a.342); Mil.336; Mhvs.3 Mhvs.15.
2. (applied) reason, cause, ground, motive, means condition MN.i.259 (yaṃ yad eva paccayaṃ paṭicca by whatever cause or by whichever means); SN.ii.65; Ne.78 sq.; DN-a.i.125; Pv-a.104. The fourfold cause (catubbidho paccayo) of rūpa (material form) consists of kamma, citta, utu, āhāra: Vism.600. Var. paccayas discussed at Vb-a.166 sq. (twofold, with ref. to paṭisandhi), Vb-a.183 (eightfold), Vb-a.202, Vb-a.205 sq. Vb-a.254 (4). sappaccaya founded, having a reason or cause SN.v.213 sq. AN.i.82; Nd ii.mūla; Dhs.1084, Dhs.1437
   ■ yathā paccayaṃ karoti do as he likes Cnd.280 = SN.iii.33. Often coupled with hetu, e.g. at SN.iv.68 sq.; AN.i.66; AN.iv.151 sq. DN.iii.284; Nd ii.under mūla; Pts.ii.116 sq., paccaya came to be distinguished from hetu as the genus of which hetu was the typical, chief species. i.e. paccaya became synonymous with our “relation,” understood in a causal sense, hetu meaning condition, causal antecedent and 23 other relations being added as special modes of causality. Later still these 24 were held reducible to 4 Tikp.1 f. (and foreword); Cpd. 197 Cp. Paṭṭhāna
   ■ Abl. paccayā as adv. by means of through, by reason of, caused by DN.i.45 (vedanā ˚taṇhā etc., see paṭicca-samuppāda); MN.i.261 (jātippaccayā jarāmaraṇaṃ); Pv.i.5#2 (kamma˚); Pv.iv.1#50 (tap˚); Pv-a.147 (kamma˚).
3. ground for, belief, confidence trust, reliance Ja.i.118, Ja.i.169; apara˚ without relying on anyone else SN.iii.83, SN.iii.135; AN.iv.186, AN.iv.210; Pv-a.226.

• -ākāra the mode of causes, i.e. the Paṭiccasamuppāda Dhs-a.2, Dhs-a.3; Vb-a.130 sq. (cp. Vism.522 sq.).

fr. paṭi + i, cp. Ved. pratyaya & P. pacceti, paṭicca