Buddhism

Causal dependence provides structure to the universe in Buddhism. Effects automatically proceed from their causes in an impersonal law like manner. Thus an intelligent agent, like a Creator, is not necessary. In fact it is impossible for such an uncaused principle to interact with our universe which runs on causal dependence. Due to the law like behavior of causation, Pratītyasamutpāda gives rise to every other doctrine in Buddhism including rebirth, samsara, dukkha, sunyata etc. Dependent origination provides that sentient beings are mere conceptual constructs designated upon bundles of causes and conditions, that is aggregates. It is important to note that the root cause of dukkha in the famous Twelve Nidānas is ignorance (Avijjā) of dependent origination, and not craving (Taṇhā).

Some scholars believe that pratītyasamutpāda is Buddhist metaphysics, but it has no relevance to cosmology (origin and nature of the universe), theology, or an absolutist (absolute soul, self, etc.) or relativistic philosophy. However, a small part of metaphysics deals with the apparent contradiction, or paradox, between free will and the position that worldly phenomena are solely a consequence of natural causal factors. In so far as it resolves this paradox, we can perhaps call pratītyasamutpāda a metaphysic of volitions (or karma).Understanding the relationships between the phenomena that sustain dukkha is said to lead to complete freedom from samsara, (nibbana).

Pratītyasamutpāda in Theravāda Buddhist sources

The Twelve Nidānas in the Pali Canon

In the Pali Suttapitaka (the most ancient canon of Buddhist writing preserved by Theravāda tradition) the first (partial) exposition of the twelve nidānas appears in the Dīgha Nikāya (Long Discourses), Brahmajāla Sutta, verse 3.71. The reference is partial because it does not cover all twelve links:" In this same Nikāya, Sutta 14 describes ten links instead of twelve, and in Sutta 15 the links are described, but without the six sense-bases (for a total of nine links in that Sutta).

...they experience these feelings by repeated contact through the six sense-bases; feeling conditions craving; craving conditions clinging; clinging conditions becoming; becoming conditions birth; birth conditions aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, sadness and distress.

Descriptions of the full sequence of twelve links can be found elsewhere in the Pali canon, for instance in section 12 of the Samyutta Nikaya:

Now from the remainderless fading and cessation of that very ignorance comes the cessation of fabrications ... From the cessation of birth, then aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress and suffering.

The Twelve Nidānas in the Theravāda commentaries

In the commentarial literature of the Theravada tradition (attributed, at least mythically, to the author Buddhaghosa, and written many centuries subsequent to the Suttapitaka passages described above) the same doctrine is instead interpreted as a sequence of three lives, thus shifting the theme from a single conception (and birth) to a sequence of "incarnations" (roughly speaking).

The causality of dukkha

Phenomena are sustained only so long as their sustaining factors remain. This causal relationship is expressed in its most general form as follows:

When this exists, that comes to be. With the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not come to be. With the cessation of this, that ceases.

— Samyutta Nikaya 12.61

This natural law of this/that causality is independent of being discovered, just like the laws of physics. In particular, the Buddha applied this law of causality to determine the cause of dukkha.

Cause	Effect	Comments
Birth - (Jāti)	Aging, death, and this entire mass of dukkha) - (Jarāmaraṇa)	Birth is any coming-to-be or coming-forth. It refers not just to birth at the beginning of a lifetime, but to birth as new person, acquisition of a new status or position etc.
Becoming - (Bhava)	Birth - (Jāti)	These three are becoming: sensual becoming, form becoming, formless becoming
Clinging/sustenance - (Upādāna)	Becoming (Bhava)	These four are clingings: sensual clinging, view clinging, practice clinging, and self clinging
Craving - (Taṇhā)	Clinging/sustenance - (Upādāna)	There are these six forms of cravings: cravings with respect to forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touch (massage, sex, pain), and ideas.
Feeling (Sensation) - (Vedanā)	Craving - (Taṇhā)	Feeling or sensations are of six forms: vision, hearing, olfactory sensation, gustatory sensation, tactile sensation, and intellectual sensation (thought).
Contact - (Phassa)	Feeling - (Vedanā)	The coming together of the object, the sense medium and the consciousness of that sense medium is called contact.
Six sense media - (Saḷāyatana)	Contact - (Phassa)	The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind are the six sense media.
Name-and-form - (Nāmarūpa)	Six sense media - (Saḷāyatana)	Feeling, perception, intention, contact, and attention: This is called name. The four great elements, and the body dependent on the four great elements: This is called form.
Consciousness - (Viññāṇa)	Name-and-form - (Nāmarūpa)	These six are classes of consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, intellect-consciousness. This is called consciousness. As seen earlier, consciousness and the organ cannot function without each other.
Fabrications (volitional fabrications) - (Saṅkhāra)	Consciousness - (Viññāṇa)	These three are fabrications: bodily fabrications, verbal fabrications, mental fabrications. These are called fabrications.
Ignorance - (Avijjā)	Fabrications (volitional tendencies) - (Saṅkhāra)	Not knowing suffering, not knowing the origination of suffering, not knowing the cessation of suffering, not knowing the way of practice leading to the cessation of suffering: This is called ignorance.

So working backwards gives us the way to put an end to stress:

From the remainderless fading and cessation of ignorance comes the cessation of (volitional) fabrications. From the cessation of (volitional) fabrications comes the cessation of consciousness. From the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of name-and-form. From the cessation of name-and-form comes the cessation of the six sense media. From the cessation of the six sense media comes the cessation of contact. From the cessation of contact comes the cessation of feeling. From the cessation of feeling comes the cessation of craving. From the cessation of craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress and suffering.

Applications

The Buddha's enlightenment simultaneously comprised his liberation from suffering (Pāli: dukkha; Sanskrit:duhkha) and his insight into the nature of reality (nature of experience). The general formulation has two well-known applications. One applies dependent origination to the concept of suffering, and takes the form of the Four Noble Truths:

1. Dukkha: There is suffering. Suffering is an intrinsic part of life prior to awakening, also experienced as dissatisfaction, discontent, unhappiness, impermanence.
2. Samudaya: There is a cause of suffering, which is attachment or desire (tanha).
3. Nirodha: There is a way out of suffering, which is to eliminate attachment and desire.
4. Magga: The path that leads out of suffering is called the Noble Eightfold Path.

The other applies dependent origination to the process of rebirth, and is known as the Twelve Nidanas. The nikayas themselves do not give a systematic explanation of the nidana series. As an expository device, the commentarial tradition presented the factors as a linear sequence spanning over three lives; this does not mean that past, present, and future factors are mutually exclusive – in fact, many sutras contend that they are not. The twelve nidanas categorized in this way are:

Former life

• ignorance
• formations (conditioned things)

Current life

• consciousness
• mind and body (personality or identity)
• the six sense bases (five physical senses and the mind)
• contact (between objects and the senses)
• feeling (registering the contact)
• craving (for continued contact)
• clinging
• becoming (similar to formations)

Future life

• birth
• old age and death

This twelve-factor formula is the most familiar presentation, though a number of early sutras introduce lesser-known variants which make it clear that the sequence of factors should not be regarded as a linear causal process in which each preceding factor gives rise to its successor through a simple reaction. The relationship among factors is always complex, involving several strands of conditioning. For example, whenever there is ignorance, craving and clinging invariably follow, and craving and clinging themselves indicate ignorance.

With respect to the destinies of human beings and animals, dependent origination has a more specific meaning, as it describes the process by which sentient beings incarnate into any given realm and pursue their various worldly projects and activities with all concomitant suffering. Among these sufferings are aging and death. Aging and death are experienced by us because birth and youth have been experienced. Without birth there is no death. One conditions the other in a mutually dependent relationship. Our becoming in the world, the process of what we call "life", is conditioned by the attachment and clinging to ideas and projects. This attachment and clinging in turn cannot exist without craving as its condition. The Buddha understood that craving comes into being by way of sensations in the body which we experience as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. When we crave something, it is the sensation induced by contact with the desired object that we crave rather than the object itself. Sensation is caused by contact with such objects of the senses. The contact or impression made upon the senses (manifesting as sensation) is itself dependent upon the six sense organs which themselves are dependent upon the psychophysical entity that a human being is. The whole process is summarized by the Buddha as follows:

English Terms	Sanskrit Terms
With Ignorance as condition, Mental Formations arise	With Avidyā as condition, Saṃskāra arises
With Mental Formations as condition, Consciousness arises	With Saṃskāra as condition, Vijñāna arises
With Consciousness as condition, Mind and Matter arise	With Vijñāna as condition, Nāmarūpa arises
With Mind and Matter as condition, Sense Gates arise	With Nāmarūpa as condition, Ṣaḍāyatana arises
With Sense Gates as condition, Contact arises	With Ṣaḍāyatana as condition, Sparśa arises
With Contact as condition, Feeling arises	With Sparśa as condition, Vedanā arises
With Feeling as condition, Craving arises	With Vedanā as condition, Tṛṣṇā arises
With Craving as condition, Clinging arises	With Tṛṣṇā as condition, Upādāna arises
With Clinging as condition, Becoming arises	With Upādāna as condition, Bhava arises
With Becoming as a condition, Birth arises	With Bhava as condition, Jāti arises
With Birth as condition, Aging and Dying arise	With Jāti as condition, Jarāmaraṇa arises

The thrust of the formula is such that when certain conditions are present, they give rise to subsequent conditions, which in turn give rise to other conditions and the cyclical nature of life in Samsara can be seen. This is graphically illustrated in the Bhavacakra (wheel of life).

Contemporary teachers often teach that it can also be seen as a daily cycle occurring from moment to moment throughout each day. There is scriptural support for this as an explanation in the Abhidharmakosa of Vasubandhu, insofar as Vasubandu states that on occasion "the twelve parts are realized in one and the same moment".

For example, in the case of avidyā, the first condition, it is necessary to refer to the three marks of existence for a full understanding of its relation to pratityasamutpada. It is also necessary to understand the Three Fires and how they fit into the scheme. The Three Fires sit at the very center of the schemata in the Bhavacakra and drive the whole edifice. In Himalayan iconographic representations of the Bhavacakra such as within Tibetan Buddhism, the Three Fires are known as the Three Poisons which are often represented as the Gankyil. The Gankyil is also often represented as the hub of the Dharmacakra.

Nirvana is often conceived of as stopping this cycle. By removing the causes for craving, craving ceases. So, with the ceasing of birth, death ceases. With the ceasing of becoming, birth ceases, and so on, until with the ceasing of ignorance no karma is produced, and the whole process of death and rebirth ceases.

Madhyamaka and pratītyasamutpāda

See also: Mūlamadhyamakakārikā

Though the formulations above appear might seem to imply that pratityasamutpada is a straightforward causal model, in the hands of the Madhyamaka school, pratityasamutpada is used to demonstrate that the principle of causality itself is dependently originated (empty), in a manner that appears somewhat similar to the ideas of David Hume. Many scholars have agreed that the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā is one of the earliest interpretations of Buddha's teaching on paramartha originated from Pratītyasamutpāda^, .

The conclusion of the Madhyamikas is that causation is dependently originated (i.e. empty) like everything else. Therefore, like everything else, causation is designated as a mere conceptual label upon its causes and conditions.

This is best illustrated with the wheel of life (Sanskrit:bhavacakra). Depicting the cycle of rebirth, the wheel of life illustrates the fact that nothing in our conventional reality "is brought about ... by any single cause alone, but by concomitance of a number of conditioning factors arising in discernibly repeated patterns." Thus, everything is dependent on and relates to something (and, ultimately, everything) else. "As far as one analyzes, one finds only dependence, relativity, and emptiness, and their dependence, relativity, and emptiness" ad infinitum.

According to the analysis of Nāgārjuna, the most prominent Madhyamika, true causality depends upon the intrinsic existence of the elements of the causal process (causes and effects), which would violate the principle of anatman, but pratītyasamutpāda does not imply that the apparent participants in arising are essentially real.

Because of the interdependence of causes and effects (because a cause depends on its effect to be a cause, as effect depends on cause to be an effect), it is quite meaningless to talk about them as existing separately. However, the strict identity of cause and effect is also refuted, since if the effect were the cause, the process of origination could not have occurred. Thus both monistic and dualistic accounts of causation are rejected.

Therefore Nāgārjuna explains that the śūnyatā (or emptiness) of intrinsically existing causality is demonstrated by the interdependence of cause and effect, and likewise that the interdependence (pratītyasamutpāda) of causality itself is demonstrated by its lacking of any intrinsic existence.

In his Entry to the Middle Way, Candrakirti asserts, "If a cause produces its requisite effect, then, on that very account, it is a cause. If no effect is produced, then, in the absence of that, the cause does not exist."

Pratītyasamutpāda in Dzogchen

In Dzogchen tradition the interdependent origination is considered illusory:

[One says], "all these (configurations of events and meanings) come about and disappear according to dependent origination." But, like a burnt seed, since a nonexistent (result) does not come about from a nonexistent (cause), cause and effect do not exist. What appears as a world of apparently external phenomena, is the play of energy of sentient beings. There is nothing external or separate from the individual. Everything that manifests in the individual's field of experience is a continuum. This is the Great Perfection that is discovered in the Dzogchen practice.

"Being obsessed with entities, one's experiencing itself [sems, citta], which discriminates each cause and effect, appears as if it were cause and condition."

Dependent arising of enlightenment

Pratityasamutpada is most commonly used to explain how suffering arises depending on certain conditions, the implication being that if one or more of the conditions are removed (if the "chain" is broken), suffering will cease. There is also a text, the Upanisa Sutta in the Samyutta Nikaya, in which a discussion of the conditions not for suffering but for enlightenment are given. This application of the principle of dependent arising is referred to in Theravada exegetical literature as "transcendental dependent arising". The chain in this case is:

1. suffering (dukkha)
2. faith (saddhā)
3. joy (pāmojja, pāmujja)
4. rapture (pīti)
5. tranquillity (passaddhi)
6. happiness (sukha)
7. concentration (samādhi)
8. knowledge and vision of things as they are (yathābhūta-ñāna-dassana)
9. disenchantment with worldly life (nibbidā)
10. dispassion (virāga)
11. freedom, release, emancipation (vimutti, a synonym for nibbana)
12. knowledge of destruction of the cankers (āsava-khaye-ñāna)

Interbeing and deep ecology

The Shramanic religious traditions of India (Theravada Buddhism and Jainism) have been characterised by an unusual sensitivity to living beings. Monks of both traditions are strictly forbidden from harming any life form, including even the smallest insects and vegetation. One of the basic ideas behind the Buddha's teaching of mutual interdependence is that ultimately there is no demarcation between what appears to be an individual creature and its environment. Harming the environment (the nexus of living beings of which one forms but a part) is thus, in a nontrivial sense, harming oneself. This philosophical position lies at the heart of modern-day deep ecology and some representatives of this movement (e.g. Joanna Macy) have shown that Buddhist philosophy provides a basis for deep ecological thinking.

On one occasion Ananda remarked that despite its apparent difficulty, the teaching of dependent origination was actually quite simple; and the Buddha rebuked Ananda saying that in fact the teaching of dependent origination was very deep. Certainly in the teaching of dependent origination we have one of the most important and profound teachings in Buddhism. Yet I sometimes feel that our fear of dependent origination is to some extent unwarranted. There is nothing particularly difficult, for instance, in the term dependent origination. After all, we all know what dependent means, and what birth, origination or arising means. It is only when we begin to examine the function and application of dependent origination that we have to recognize the fact that we have a very profound and significant teaching. Some indication of this can be gained from the Buddha’s own statements. Very frequently, we find that the Buddha expressed His experience of enlightenment in one of two ways, either in terms of having understood the Four Noble Truths, or in terms of having understood the nature of dependent origination. Again, the Buddha has often mentioned that in order to attain enlightenment one has to understand the Four Noble Truths; or similarly, one has to understand dependent origination.

On the basis of the Buddha’s own statements, we can see a very close relationship between the Four Noble Truths and dependent origination. What is it that the Four Noble Truths and dependent origination have in common? The principle that both have in common is the principle of causality - the law of cause and effect, of action and consequence. In one of our earlier lectures we have mentioned that the Four Noble Truths are divided into two groups. The first two - suffering and the causes of suffering, and the last two - the end of suffering and the path to the end of suffering. In both of these groups, it is the law of cause and effect that governs the relationship between the two. In other words, suffering is the effect of the cause of suffering; and similarly, the end of suffering is the effect of the path to the end of suffering. Here too in regard to dependent origination, the fundamental principle at work is that of cause and effect. In dependent origination, we have a more detailed description of what actually takes place in the causal process.

Let us take a few examples that establish the nature of dependent origination. Let us take first an example used by the Buddha Himself. The Buddha has said the flame in an oil lamp burns dependent upon the oil and the wick. When the oil and the wick are present, the flame in an oil lamp burns. If either of these is absent, the flame will cease to burn. This example illustrates the principle of dependent origination with respect to a flame in an oil lamp. Let us take the example of the sprout. Dependent upon the seed, earth, water, air and sunlight the sprout arises. There are in fact innumerable examples of dependent origination because there is no existing phenomenon that is not the effect of dependent origination. All these phenomena arise dependent upon a number of causal factors. Very simply, this is the principle of dependent origination.

Particularly, we are interested in the principle of dependent origination as it applies to the problem of suffering and rebirth. We are interested in how dependent origination explains the situation in which we find ourselves here. In this sense, it is important to remember that dependent origination is essentially and primarily a teaching that has to do with the problem of suffering and how to free ourselves from suffering, and not a description of the evolution of the universe. Let me briefly list the twelve components or links that make up dependent origination. They are ignorance, mental formation, consciousness, name and form, the six senses, contact, feeling, craving, clinging, becoming, birth, and old age and death.

There are two principal ways in which we can understand these twelve components. One way to understand them is sequentially, over a period of three lifetimes: the past life, the present life and the future life. In this case, ignorance and mental formation belong to the past life. They represent the conditions that are responsible for the occurrence of this life. The following components of dependent origination - consciousness, name and form, the six senses, contact, feeling, craving, clinging and becoming - belong to this life. In brief, these eight components constitute the process of evolution within this life. The last two components - birth and old age and death - belong to the future life. According to this scheme, we can see how the twelve components of dependent origination are distributed over the period of three lifetimes, and how the first two - ignorance and mental formation result in the emergence of this life with its psycho-physical personality and how in turn, the actions performed in this life result in rebirth in the future life. This is one popular and authoritative way of interpreting the twelve components of dependent origination.

But for today, I am going to focus on another interpretation of the relation between the twelve components of dependent origination. This interpretation too is authoritative and has the support of recognized Buddhist masters and saints. This interpretation might be called a cyclical interpretation because it does not depend upon a distribution of the twelve components amongst three lifetimes. Rather, it divides the twelve components into three groups, and these are defilements (Klesha), actions (Karma), and sufferings (Duhkha). This scheme has the advantage of not relying upon a temporal distribution amongst three lifetimes. According to this scheme, ignorance, craving and clinging belong to the group of defilements. Mental formation and becoming belong to the group of actions. The remaining seven, that is, consciousness, name and form, the six senses, contact, feeling, birth, and old age and death belong to the group of sufferings. Through this interpretation we can see how the teaching of the Four Noble Truths and particularly the teaching of the Second Noble Truth - the truth of the cause of suffering, is conjoined with the teaching of karma and rebirth; and how together these two important teachings explain in a more complete way the process of rebirth and the origination of suffering.

You may recall that in the context of the Four Noble Truths, we have said that ignorance, desire and ill-will are the causes of suffering. If we look here at the three components of dependent origination that are included in the group of defilements, we will find ignorance, craving and clinging. Here too, ignorance is the most basic. It is because of ignorance that we crave for pleasures of the senses, for existence and for non-existence. Similarly, it is because of ignorance that we cling to pleasures of the senses, to pleasant experiences, to ideas and, perhaps most significantly, to the idea of an independent, permanent self. This ignorance - craving and clinging - is the cause of actions.

The two components of dependent origination that are included in the group of actions are mental formation and becoming. Mental formation refers to the impressions or habits that we have formed in our stream of conscious moments - our conscious continuum. These impressions or habits are formed by repeated actions. We can illustrate this by means of an example taken from geography. We know that rivers form their course by means of a process of repeated erosion. As rain falls on a hillside, that rain gathers into a rivulet. That rivulet gradually creates a channel for itself, and gradually grows into a stream. Eventually, as the channel of the stream is deepened and widened by repeated flows of water, the stream becomes a river which develops well-defined banks and a definite course. In the same way, our actions become habitual. These habits become part of our personality and we take these habits with us from life to life in the form of mental formation or habit energy. Our actions in this life are conditioned by the habits which we have formulated over countless previous lives. So to return to the analogy of the channel of the river and the water in it, we might say that mental formations are the channel of the river, and the actions that we perform in this life are the fresh water that flow again through the eroded channel created by previous actions. The actions that we perform in this life are represented by the component known as becoming. So here, as regards mental formation and becoming, we have the habits that we have developed over the course of countless lives combined with new actions performed in this life, and these two together result in rebirth and suffering.

To summarize, we have the defilements which may be described as impurities of the mind - ignorance, craving and clinging. These mental impurities result in actions, actions done in previous lives which have resulted in the formulation of habit energy, and actions done in the present life which on the whole are liable to conform to the patterns established in previous lives. Together, these impurities of the mind and these actions result in rebirth. In other words, they result in consciousness, in name and form, in the six senses, in contact between the six senses and the objects of the six senses, in feeling which is born of that contact, in birth, and in old age and death. In this interpretation, the five components of dependent origination included in the groups of defilements and actions - ignorance, craving, clinging, mental formation and becoming - are the causes of rebirth and suffering. Consciousness, name and form, the six senses, contact, feeling, birth, and old age and death are the effects of the defilements and actions. Together, the defilements and actions explain the origin of suffering and the particular circumstances in which each of us find ourselves, in which we are born.

You may recall that in one of our earlier lectures, we refer to the fact that whereas the defilements are common to all living beings, actions differ from individual to individual. So whereas the defilements account for the fact that all of us are prisoners within samsara, yet actions account for the fact that some are born as human beings, others are born as gods, and others as animals. In this sense, the twelve components of dependent origination present a picture of samsara with its causes and its effects.

There would be no point in painting this picture of samsara if we do not intend to use this picture to change our situation, to get out of samsara. It is in this sense that recognizing the circularity of samsara, the circularity of dependent origination is the beginning of liberation. How is this so? So long as defilements and actions are present, rebirth and suffering will occur. When we see that repeatedly, ignorance, craving, clinging and actions will lead to rebirth and suffering, we will recognize the need to break this vicious circle.

Let us take a practical example. Suppose you are looking for the home of an acquaintance whom you have never visited before. Suppose you have been driving about for half an hour or more and have failed to find the home of your friend, and suppose suddenly you recognize a landmark that you saw half an hour previously. Suppose you again come upon the landmark, and it dawns upon you that you have passed the landmark half an hour ago. At that moment it will also probably dawn upon you that you have been going around in circles, and you will stop and look at your road guide, or enquire the way from a passer-by so as to stop going around in circles and reach your destination. This is why the Buddha has said that he who sees dependent origination sees the Dharma and he who sees the Dharma sees the Buddha. This is why the Buddha has, as I have mentioned earlier, said that understanding dependent origination is the key to liberation. So once we see the functioning of dependent origination, we can then set about breaking this vicious circle of dependent origination. We can do this by removing the impurities of the mind - ignorance, craving and clinging. Once these impurities are eliminated, actions will not be performed, and habit energy will not be produced. Once actions cease, rebirth and suffering will also cease.

I would like to spend a little bit of time on another important meaning of dependent origination and that is dependent origination as an expression of the Middle Way. During one of our earlier lectures, we had occasion to refer to the Middle Way, and on that occasion we confined ourselves to only perhaps the most basic meaning. We have said that the Middle Way means avoiding the extreme of indulgence in pleasures of the senses and the extreme of self-mortification. In that context the Middle Way is synonymous with moderation. Now in the context of dependent origination, the Middle Way has another meaning which is related to the earlier meaning but deeper. In this context the Middle Way means avoiding the extremes of eternalism and nihilism. How is this so? The flame in the oil lamp exists dependent upon the oil and the wick. When either of these are absent, the flame will be extinguished. Therefore, the flame is neither permanent nor independent. Similarly, this personality of ours depends upon a combination of conditions - defilements and actions. It is neither permanent nor independent. Recognizing the conditioned nature of our personality, we avoid the extreme of eternalism, of affirming the existence of an independent, permanent self. Alternatively, recognizing that this personality, this life does not arise through accident, or mere chance, but is instead conditioned by corresponding causes, we avoid the extreme of nihilism, the extreme of denying the relation between action and consequence. While nihilism is the primary cause of rebirth in states of woe and is to be rejected, eternalism too is not conducive to liberation. One who clings to the extreme of eternalism will perform wholesome actions and will be reborn in states of happiness, as a human being or even as a god, but he will never attain liberation. Through avoiding these two extremes, through understanding the Middle Way, we can achieve happiness in this life and in the future life by performing wholesome actions and avoiding unwholesome actions, and eventually we can achieve liberation.

The Buddha has constructed His teachings with infinite care. The Buddha’s teachings are sometimes likened to the behaviour of a tigress towards her young. When a tigress carries her young in her teeth, she is most careful to see that her grip is neither too tight nor too loose. If her grip on the neck of her young is too tight, it will injure or kill the cub. If her grip is too loose, the cub will fall and will be injured. Similarly, the Buddha was careful to see that we should avoid the extremes of eternalism and nihilism. Because He saw that clinging to the extreme of eternalism would be like a chain that would bind us in samsara, the Buddha was careful to teach us to avoid belief in an independent and permanent self. Because He saw the possibility of freedom destroyed by the sharp teeth of belief in the self, the Buddha asked us to avoid the extreme of eternalism. Yet understanding that clinging to the extreme of nihilism would lead to catastrophe - rebirth in the states of woe - He was careful to teach the reality of the law of cause and effect, of moral responsibility. Because He saw that one would fall into the misery of the lower realms by denying the law of moral responsibility, He taught us to avoid the extreme of nihilism. This objective is admirably achieved through the teaching of dependent origination which safeguards our understanding of the conditioned, dependent and impermanent nature of this personality and our understanding of the reality of the law of cause and effect.

In the context of dependent origination, we have established the dependent, impermanent nature of the personality, the self, by means of underlining its dependent nature. In the two weeks to follow, we are going to arrive at the impermanence and impersonality of the self through examining its composite nature and through analyzing it into its constituent parts. By these means, we will elucidate the truth of not-self that opens the door to enlightenment.

# Pali (Sanskrit) Usual Translation Other Reference Remarks 1 Avijja (Avidya) Ignorance Lack of wisdom, which is the root of all evils. Obscuration as to self of persons and self of phenomena. 2 Sankhara (Samskara) Karma formations Compositional action Wholesome or unwholesome thoughts, speech and bodily deeds. 3 Vinnana (Vijnana) Conciousness Normally 6 consciousnesses but is taken as 8 in the Yogacara School. 4 Nama-rupa Name & form Corporeality & mentality Mental & physical existence. 4 mental aggregates and one physical body. 5 Ayatana (Shadayatana) Six bases Six sense organs/spheres Eye, ear, nose, tongue, touch and mental faculty. 6 Phassa (Sparsha) Sense impression Contact A mental factor and period in which the objects, sense power/organ and conciousness come together, causing one to distinguish an object as pleasurable, painful or neutral. 7 Vedana Feeling Sensation Posited as a mental factor that experiences pleasure, pain and neutral feeling. Pleasure leads to a strong desire for more while pain generates an avoidance desire. 8 Tanha (Trishna) Craving Attachment A mental factor that increases desire but without any satisfaction. 9 Upadana Clinging Grasping A stronger degree of desire. 4 basic varieties: desired objects, views of self, bad system of ethics and conduct; and other bad views. 10 Bhava (Bjava) Process of becoming Existence A period lasting from the time of fully potentialised karma up to the beginning of next lifetime. 11 Jati Rebirth 12 Jara-marana (Jaramaranam) Ageing & Death Decay & Death The doctrine of dependent origination is the key insight upon which the entire teaching of the Buddha rests. The Buddha even went so far as to equate the Dharma itself with dependent origination. “Now this has been said by the Blessed One: ‘One who sees dependent origination sees the Dhamma; one who sees the Dhamma sees dependent origination.’ ” (Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, p. 284) An understanding of dependent origination is integral to having a clear understanding of Buddhism. Put simply, dependent origination means that all phenomena arise as the result of conditions and cease when those conditions change. The general theory of dependent origination was taught by the Buddha as follows: “When this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not come to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases.” ( Connected Discourses, p. 575) So nothing exists as a static, isolated entity. Everything arises and ceases depending on causes and conditions which themselves arise due to causes and conditions. There is no ultimate ground or primordial cause, but a network of causes and conditions. This undercuts the view of a metaphysical selfhood, fixed entity, or substance underlying the constant change which is life. Dependent origination can be summarized in a few words, but truly understanding what it means and the profound implications of it is something else altogether. Ananda, who memorized all the discourses of the Buddha, once claimed that he clearly understood it and was quickly rebuked by the Buddha: Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was staying among the Kurus. There is a market town there called Kammasa-dhamma. And the Venerable Ananda came to the Lord, saluted him, sat down to one side, and said: ‘It is wonderful, Lord, it is marvelous how profound this dependent origination is, and how profound it appears! And yet it appears to me as clear as clear!’ ‘Do not say that Ananda, do not say that! This dependent origination is profound and appears profound. It is through not understanding, not penetrating this doctrine that this generation has become like a tangled ball of string, covered as with a blight, tangled like coarse grass, unable to pass beyond states of woe, the ill destiny, ruin and the round of birth-and-death. (Long Discourses of the Buddha, p. 223 also see Connected Discourses, pp. 593-594) According to this statement, it is ignorance of dependent origination which keeps people confused and bound up in views and actions which result in suffering for themselves and others. Dependent origination is the true nature of reality and this is so regardless of whether there is anyone who realizes it or not. Just as the law of gravity was true even before it’s “discovery” by Isaac Newton and irrespective of anyone’s opinions about it, dependent origination is the way things are and the buddhas simply realize it and declare it to others. In fact, it is by awakening and declaring dependent origination that buddhas, or tathagatas, can be said to be “awakened ones” in the first place. “And what, monks, is dependent origination? ‘With birth as condition, aging-and-death [comes to be]’: whether there is an arising of Tathagatas or no arising of Tathagatas, that element still persists, the stableness of the Dhamma, the fixed course of the Dhamma, specific conditionality. A Tathagata awakens to this and breaks through to it. Having done so, he explains it, teaches it, proclaims it, establishes it, discloses it, analyses it, elucidates it. And he says: ‘See! With birth as condition, monks, aging-and-death.’ (Connected Discourses of the Buddha, p. 551) There are many ways in which the principle of dependent origination is applied to the specifics of human life, or life in general, in the Buddha’s teachings. The four noble truths are one such application. The first two of the four noble truths explains the origin of suffering dependent on selfish craving for its cause. The third and fourth of the four noble truths describe the cessation of suffering by eradicating the causes upon which it depends. So unlike the many forms of fatalism, theism, or materialism taught by the Buddha’s contemporaries, the Buddha taught there is a rational order of causes and conditions which we can awaken to and work with rather than against. Furthermore, the conditioned nature of all things is not something apart from who we are. Rather, conditionality is the way we are. Negatively, this means there is nothing permanent to grasp or cling to either outside of or within ourselves, but positively it means that we are not stuck or fixed in any one state and that we have the power to unbind ourselves from suffering and to experience the boundless joy of freedom from suffering and its causes. We may be the products of causality but we are also the producers of the very causes which will determine whether we perpetuate suffering or attain liberation. The Buddhist vision of dependent origination is a vision in which sentient beings are not determined by forces beyond their control, but rather are fully integrated in the co-arising of all things and as such are able to take responsibility for themselves and create better conditions for themselves and others by making better causes informed by an awareness of the way things arise in mutual dependence. Dependent Origination as the Middle Way Dependent origination is the Middle Way between the extremes of existence and non-existence. The view of existence, or “eternalism,” imagines that fixed entities, independent of conditions and immune from change, can be found underlying the phenomena which do change. The view of non-existence, or “annihilationism,” imagines there is no continuity at all within change and the entities which do arise will eventually vanish completely without a trace. Dependent origination is the Middle Way which cuts through those views by pointing out the ceaseless interplay of causes and conditions, which is the process of becoming, rather than the eternalism of being or the nihilism of non-being. The Middle Way points out that while there are no fixed entities, there is a flow of continuity within the process of change. In the following sermon, the Buddha expounds the teaching of the Middle Way to Kaccana: “This world, Kaccana, for the most part depends upon a duality -- upon the notion of existence and the notion of nonexistence. But for one who sees the origin of the world as it really is with correct wisdom, there is no notion of nonexistence in regard to the world. And for one who sees the cessation of the world as it really is with correct wisdom, there is no notion of existence in regard to the world. “This world, Kaccana, is for the most part shackled by engagement, clinging, and adherence. But this one [with right view] does not become engaged and cling through that engagement and clinging, mental standpoint, adherence, underlying tendency; he does not take a stand about ‘my self.’ He has no perplexity or doubt that what arises is only suffering arising, what ceases is only suffering ceasing. His knowledge about this is independent of others. It is in this way, Kaccana, that there is right view. “‘All exists’: Kaccana, this is one extreme. ‘All does not exist’: this is the second extreme. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathagata teaches the Dhamma by the middle.” (Ibid, p. 544) The extreme of existence is an attempt to attribute intrinsic entities to the flow of causes and conditions. It does not see the interdependence, flux and relativity of all phenomena. In the end it results in an absolutism which fixes things in rigid categories in defiance of the actual contingency of life. From this rigidity springs all kinds of evils, such as classism, racism, nationalism and religious fundamentalism. Compassion is effectively banished through the projection of fixed boundaries of self and other upon the dynamic flow and interdependence of the life process. Finally, the eternalistic view assumes that there is a self which is immutable and therefore immune to the law of cause and effect. The extreme of non-existence is a refusal to accept any kind of meaning or value, since it assumes there are no entities of any kind to have any regard for. Life is reduced to chaos, absurdity or illusion. Ultimately, it is the negation of life itself; which is very different from the Buddha's liberation from the illusion of self. According to the Buddha, selfish craving is the cause of suffering, not life itself. In Buddhism, the goal is to become liberated from the delusion of self through the cultivation of the eightfold path. Nihilism only leads to irresponsible despair and the denial of the truth and meaning of causality. It assumes that there is no continuity at all within the flow of conditions and therefore negates the law of cause and effect. Dependent origination, then, is the teaching that things do have a provisional (though not intrinsic) existence based on causes and conditions. Therefore, one who is following the Middle Way will think in terms of causes and conditions, and not existence or non-existence. For the follower of the Middle Way there are no longer any immutable categories or boundaries, nor is there any question of absolute identity or absolute difference between entities. Dependent origination is the awareness of cause and effect and the interdependence of all things which gives rise to an authentic sense of responsibility, genuine love and compassion. The following discussion with the ascetic Kassapa shows how the Buddha directed his inquirers away from the assumption that there is or is not a self or person and towards the process of dependent origination. “How is it, Master Gotama: is suffering created by oneself?” “Not so, Kassapa,” the Blessed One said. “Then, Master Gotama, is suffering created by another?” “Not so, Kassapa,” the Blessed One said. “How is it then, Master Gotama: is suffering created both by oneself and by another?” “Not so, Kassapa,” the Blessed One said. “Then, Master Gotama, has suffering arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another” “Not so, Kassapa,” the Blessed One said. “How is it then, Master Gotama: is there no suffering?” “It is not that there is no suffering, Kassapa; there is suffering.” “Then is it that Master Gotama does not know and see suffering?” “It is not that I do not know and see suffering, Kassapa. I know suffering, I see suffering.” [Kassapa then reiterates his questions and the Buddha’s responses by way of review and finally asks:] “Venerable sir, let the Blessed One explain suffering to me. Let the Blessed One teach me about suffering.” “Kassapa, [if one thinks,] ‘The one who acts is the same as the one who experiences [the result],’ [then one asserts] with reference to one existing from the beginning: ‘Suffering is created by oneself.’ When one asserts thus, this amounts to eternalism. But, Kassapa, [if one thinks,] ‘The one who acts is one, the one who experiences [the result] is another,’ [then one asserts] with reference to one stricken by feeling: ‘Suffering is created by another.’ When one asserts thus, this amounts to annihilationism. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathagata teaches Dhamma by the middle: ‘With ignorance as condition, volitional formations [come to be]; with volitional formations as conditions, consciousness.... Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional formations; with the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of consciousness.... Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.” (Ibid, pp. 546-547) This discussion shows how the Buddha’s contemporaries typically set up their arguments in the form of a tetralemma, which proposes two alternatives, their combination, and the negation of both alternatives. The tetralemma supposedly exhausts all the possible solutions to a question, in this case the relationship between the one who acts and the one who experiences the karmic fruition of that act either within the same lifetime or in some future lifetime. All four alternatives, however, contain an assumption which the Buddha did not share: that there is a substantial entity which can be separated from its actions and their consequences and is either identical to or different from itself at another point in time. Without that assumption, none of the proposals makes any sense. The Buddha dismisses the first alternative as representing the extreme of eternalism. This is because it assumes that the one who did the deed can be completely identified with the person who will experience the result. In other words, the person stays the same throughout the whole process of cause and effect, as though they were untouched by it. The second alternative is dismissed as representative of the extreme of annihilationism, because it assumes that the one who committed the initial deed will be entirely gone by the time it comes to fruition and that there is no connection at all with the person who will have to suffer the result. In other words, there is no personal continuity of any kind within the process of cause and effect. The third alternative states that the person both remains unchanged and has no personal continuity throughout the process of cause and effect. This alternative is dismissed because it tries to bring together both extremes which is not only contradictory but contains the liabilities of both. The fourth alternative denies both eternalism and annihilationism but proposes that the process of cause and effect is arbitrary and a matter of luck or fate with no responsible parties. In denying all four alternatives, the Buddha seems to be denying any possible way of explaining the connection between the individual and the process of cause and effect. The Buddha does have an explanation, but it is one that Kassapa had not considered: dependent origination, the Middle Way between eternalism and annihilationism. In his answer to Kassapa, the Buddha states that he teaches the “Dhamma by the middle,” in other words the Middle Way, and then proceeds to expound the twelvefold chain of dependent origination (abridged in the translation cited). The twelvefold chain of dependent origination will be explained in detail below. The important thing to know at this point is that dependent origination puts forth the view that one can not abstract an unchanging person or discontinuous persons from the process of cause and effect. The person is the process and changes along with it. So there is no unchanging entity which suffers the effects of its own deeds, nor is there a disconnection between the one who acts and the one who experiences the result. In fact, there is no entity except in a provisional sense, there is simply the process wherein one thing leads to another. This is the Middle Way because it shows that there is change, as opposed to eternalism; and that within that change there is continuity, as opposed to annihilationism. The Middle Way also steers clear of an unsatisfactory combination of the extremes or the equally unsatisfactory denial of any connection between persons and the process of cause and effect. In the Middle Way, which is dependent origination, there is no question of identity or lack of identity between fixed entities or persons at different stages of the process of cause and effect, because the process of cause and effect itself accounts for both the change and continuity of personal experience. Change and continuity within the process itself maintains the subjectivity of individual experience and personal responsibility for actions and their consequences. In another discourse, the Buddha expands the Middle Way to take in not only the way between the extreme views of existence and non-existence, but also the way between the extremes of monism and pluralism. At Savatthi. Then a brahmin who was a cosmologist approached the Blessed One ... and said to him: “How is it, Master Gotama: does all exist?” “’All exists’: this, brahmin, is the oldest cosmology.” “Then, Master Gotama, does all not exist?” “’All does not exist’: this, brahmin, is the second cosmology.” “How is it, Master Gotama: is all a unity?” “’All is a unity’: this, brahmin, is the third cosmology.” “Then, Master Gotama, is all a plurality?” “’All is a plurality’: this, brahmin, is the fourth cosmology. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathagata teaches the Dhamma by the middle...” (Ibid, pp. 584 - 585) The view that “all is a unity” is often called “monism.” Monism can be seen as a variety of the extreme of existence in that it supposes that all phenomena can be identified with one immutable substance or essential being that underlies all difference and change. The fourth view that “all is a plurality” can be seen as a variety of the extreme of non-existence. Pluralism in the view of the brahmin cosmologist presupposes that all phenomena are separate and distinct from one another. They have no common existence or connection and each arises in isolation and vanishes without a trace. In this view, only non-existence is the common denominator. The Middle Way of dependent origination, however, does not presume a single eternal existence or multiple disconnected existent things. Rather, phenomena are the interplay of causes and conditions, and apart from causes and conditions one can not speak of anything. The causes and conditions are themselves caused and conditioned. The view of dependent origination does not point to any metaphysical substance or any kind of ultimate building blocks of reality. The Middle Way simply points to the conditioned nature of life as we actually experience it, so that we can disentangle ourselves from the conditioned in order to awaken to the unconditioned. The Twelvefold Chain of Dependent Origination Dependent origination applies to all phenomena, but the Buddha was specifically concerned with applying it to the human predicament. He wished to show the specific causes and conditions which bind people to an existence of suffering, and through understanding those causes, how to change them. To this end, the Buddha expounded the twelvefold chain of dependent origination. “With ignorance as condition, volitional formations [come to be]; with volitional formations as condition, consciousness; with consciousness as condition, name-and-form; with name-and-form as condition, the six sense bases; with the six sense bases as condition, contact; with contact as condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging; with clinging as condition, becoming; with becoming as condition, birth; with birth as condition, aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair come to be. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. This, monks, is called dependent origination.” (Ibid, p. 533) Admittedly, this formula may seem a little obscure. Nevertheless, it is the foundation upon which the Buddha's teachings rest and so deserves careful study. Through the ages, Buddhists have understood and taught the twelvefold chain in a variety of ways depending upon the social and historical context. The following explanation is based upon the Buddha’s expanded analysis of this formula from another discourse, and also the traditional understanding derived from the Abhidharma, the phenomenological treatises written by the early Buddhist monks in India as a systematic explanation of the sutras. In the traditional understanding, ignorance and volitional formations refer to past causes inherited from one's past life or lives. The cycle begins with ignorance of the true nature of reality. Specifically, the Buddha states that this link in the twelvefold chain refers to ignorance of the four noble truths. “And what, monks, is ignorance? Not knowing suffering, not knowing the origin of suffering, not knowing the cessation of suffering, not knowing the way leading to the cessation of suffering. This is called ignorance.” (Ibid, p. 535) Due to ignorance, one is disposed to perform acts of thought, word and deed based upon the most selfish and short sighted of motives. These are the volitional formations. “And what, monks, are the volitional formations? There are these three kinds of volitional formations: the bodily volitional formation, the verbal volitional formation, the mental volitional formation. These are called the volitional formations.” (Ibid, p. 535) These actions are also called “karma” which is not destiny or fate, but intentional activity motivated by ignorance, and to the consequences of those actions upon the future life or lives of the one who performs them. Volitional formations are also the same as the volitions which are the fourth of the five aggregates which constitute human life. They are habit-patterns which condition both ourselves and our environment in accordance with the nature of our motivations. The next five links of the chain spell out the consequences of past karma in terms of one's present life. They are the present effects of past causes. The first link is consciousness, which is the same as the fifth of the five aggregates. “And what, monks, is consciousness? There are these six classes of consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mind-consciousness. This is called consciousness.” (Ibid, p. 535) According to Buddhism, the kind of person we are in this life is not simply the result of heredity and environment, but is the outcome of karma. In other words, the kind of person that we are now has been determined by our own choices and the habits or dispositions that we have built up over many previous lives. These predispositions give rise to and condition conscious experience of various kinds (consciousness of the external world and the internal awareness of thoughts and feelings). According to the Abhidharma, the perpetuation of consciousness carries over from the expiration of one sentient being to the conception of a new sentient being. At some point, whether instantaneously or after an “intermediate existence” (depending on which version of Abhidharma one gives credence to), consciousness finds itself drawn to the most appropriate womb and environment wherein it's karmic inheritance can unfold. This transmigration of consciousness as a gandhabba or “being to be reborn” is explained by the Buddha as follows: “Monks, the conception of an embryo in a womb takes place through the union of three things. Here, there is the union of the mother and father, but it is not the mother’s season, and the being to be reborn is not present - in this case there is no conception of an embryo in a womb. Here, there is the union of the mother and father, and it is the mother’s season, but the being to be reborn is not present - in this case too there is no conception of an embryo in a womb. But when there is the union of the mother and father, and it is the mother’s season, and the being to be reborn is present, through the union of these three things the conception of an embryo in a womb takes place.” (Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, p. 358) Some might be mislead into thinking that consciousness is a kind of self which transmigrates from one lifetime to another. This was the mistaken view of a monk named Sati, who believed that the same consciousness “runs and wanders through the round of rebirths.” (Ibid, p.349) The Buddha admonished Sati and in no uncertain terms stated that consciousness is not a fixed entity that transmigrates but is itself something that arises in accordance with conditions. Consciousness is more of a recurring pattern, like a wave-form, than a thing. In another discourse, the Buddha even says that the mutability and impermanence of consciousness is even more drastic than that of the body, and therefore one would be better off identifying the body as a self. “It would be better, monks, for the uninstructed worldling to take as self this body composed of the four great elements rather than the mind. For what reason? Because this body composed of the four great elements is seen standing for one year, for two years, for three, four, five, or ten years, for twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years, for a hundred years, or even longer. But that which is called ‘mind’ or ‘mentality’ and ‘consciousness’ arises as one thing and ceases as another by day and by night. Just as a monkey roaming through the forest grabs hold of one branch, lets that go and grabs another, then lets that go and grabs still another, so too that which is called ‘mind’ and ‘mentality’ and ‘consciousness’ arises as one thing and ceases as another by day and by night.” (Connected Discourses of the Buddha, p. 595) Consciousness, then, is constantly changing to reflect the conditions which brought it about. As the Buddha explains to Sati, sometimes it is consciousness of something visual, or something auditory, or something tangible, or of some other sense. From moment to moment consciousness changes its focus and composition as often as a monkey jumping from branch to branch. Each moment of consciousness is therefore unique, dependent on conditions, impermanent, and not a candidate for any kind of permanent unchanging self. Consciousness in turn gives rise to and is supported by the aggregates which make up name-and-form, the psychophysical personality. “And what, monks, is name-and-form? Feeling, perception, volition, contact, attention: this is called name. The four great elements and the form derived from the four great elements: this is called form. Thus this name and this form are together called name-and-form.” (Ibid, p. 535) Name-and-form in this case, encompasses four of the five aggregates - form, feeling, perception, and volition. “Name” is applied to feeling, perception, and volition as well as contact and attention. These five always accompany consciousness as supportive functions which are involved in the recognition, or “naming,” of experience. “Form” is constituted by the four great elements which are elsewhere listed as earth, air, fire, and water. These four elements do not simply refer to earth, air, fire, and water as we commonly relate to them. Rather, the four great elements are emblematic of our experience of the physical world - solidity, movement, temperature, and cohesion respectively. When dependent origination is explained within the boundaries of a single lifetime, then the links of name-and-form and consciousness are shown to be mutually conditioning. Instead of consciousness arising due to the ignorance and volitional formations attributed to a previous lifetime, consciousness is said to arise depending on name-and-form and to in turn give rise to name-and-form. In another discourse, Shariputra explains this through the simile of two sheaves of reeds which are able to stand up by leaning up against one another, thus providing mutual support (Ibid, pp. 608 - 609). Upon birth, the psychophysical personality begins to utilize the six senses consisting of sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and mentation. “And what, monks, are the six sense bases? The eye base, the ear base, the nose base, the tongue base, the body base, the mind base. These are called the six sense bases.” (Ibid, p. 535) These six senses bring one into contact with the world. They are sometimes called the six doors because through them the world enters into our awareness. They are also referred to as the six roots because through them we are rooted in the world. “And what, monks, is contact? These are the six classes of contact: eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, mind-contact. This is called contact.” (Ibid, p. 535) Contact naturally results in feelings based on that contact. “And what, monks, is feeling? There are these six classes of feeling: feeling born of eye-contact, feeling born of ear-contact, feeling born of nose-contact, feeling born of tongue-contact, feeling born of body-contact, feeling born of mind-contact. This is called feeling.” (Ibid, p. 535) These feelings constitute the second of the five aggregates. Everything up to this point describes what one experiences in the present life; they are all givens which are the fruits of one's own actions. The next three links describe one's present actions in relation to the circumstances that one experiences. They are the present causes which will have future effects. The first is the craving which arises based upon feeling. “And what, monks, is craving? There are these six classes of craving: craving for forms, craving for sounds, craving for odours, craving for tastes, craving for tactile objects, craving for mental phenomena. This is called craving.” (Ibid, p. 535) One wishes to experience only pleasant feelings while avoiding the unpleasant at all costs. This craving leads to clinging to particular things, people, ideas and circumstances. “And what, monks, is clinging? There are these four kinds of clinging: clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, clinging to rules and vows, clinging to a doctrine of self. This is called clinging.” (Ibid, p. 535) This results in “becoming,” which is a way of summarizing the way in which we “become” hell-dwellers, hungry ghosts, animals, fighting demons, humans, and heavenly beings in the three realms. The three realms consist of the realms of desire (which takes in all existence up to the lower six heavens), form (the more refined heavens), and the formless (the most refined heavens). “Becoming” refers to the constant struggle for identity and happiness which characterizes the day to day life of most people. “And what, monks, is becoming? There are these three kinds of becoming: sense-realm becoming, form-realm becoming, formless-realm becoming. This is called becoming. (Ibid, p. 535) The last two links of the chain explain the future effects of the present causes. In the Buddhist view, this constant struggle for a happy existence or even for a peaceful annihilation can never be achieved because life is characterized by the three marks of impermanence, suffering and selflessness. One's desperate strivings and unrequited desires can only lead to a future birth. “And what, monks, is birth? The birth of the various beings into the various orders of beings, their being born, descent [into the womb], production, the manifestation of the aggregates, the obtaining of the sense bases. This is called birth.” (Ibid, p. 534) Birth will then lead to another round of old age and death, grief, lamentation, suffering, dejection and despair. “And what, monks, is aging-and-death? The aging of the various beings in the various orders of beings, their growing old, brokenness of teeth, greyness of hair, wrinkling of the skin, decline of vitality, degeneration of the faculties: this is called aging. The passing away of the various beings from the various orders of beings, their perishing, breakup, disappearance, mortality, death, completion of time, the breakup of the aggregates, the laying down of the carcass: this is called death. Thus this aging and this death are together called aging-and-death.” (Ibid, p. 534) In short, the twelvefold chain of dependent origination shows that human life is the outcome of a vicious circle of desire, karma and suffering. The only escape is to abolish ignorance and recognize the vicious circle for what it is. Once the chain is broken, liberation is at hand. “But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional formations; with the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of consciousness; with the cessation of consciousness, cessation of name-and-form; with the cessation of name-and-form, cessation of the six sense bases; with the cessation of the six sense bases, cessation of contact; with the cessation of contact, cessation of feeling; with the cessation of feeling, cessation of craving; with the cessation of craving, cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of becoming; with the cessation of becoming, cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, cessation of aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.” (Ibid, p. 534) Who has achieved liberation? As discussed earlier, the twelvefold chain is not concerned with the preservation or eradication of an individual person or entity. It is concerned with the way in which suffering is perpetuated and the way in which the conditions which give rise to suffering can be unraveled. The important things is that suffering has ended and liberation has been achieved. There is another way of understanding the twelvefold chain of dependent origination, however, which does not need to assume the literal existence of many lifetimes. It can be said that from moment-to-moment we are renewing ourselves and enacting the cycle of birth and death, with all the suffering that it entails. From this point of view, ignorance and volitional formations refer to our inability to accept the life process on its own terms. We desperately search for some form of stability and lasting happiness and refuse to acknowledge the dynamic flow and relationality that is the true reality of our lives. Due to this misguided activity, we fall out of sync with the true rhythm of life and end up feeling self-conscious and threatened. We never see reality itself because it is clouded over with our expectations, regrets, frustration and all other manner of projection. At this point, the psychophysical personality, name-and-form, is consolidated and immediately begins interpreting the world encountered through the senses in terms of self and other. The contact between this self and the world outside it from moment-to-moment gives rise to the feelings which constitute our self-referential experience of the world. At this point we begin craving for what is pleasant and constantly strive to be in the situations we do want. In this way, every moment becomes a new experience of transitory pleasure and pain. Birth, then, refers not to an actual rebirth, but to the birth of a new self-concept or identity based on what we are experiencing in that single moment. Thus, from moment-to-moment we have a new idea about who we are in relation to our environment. We see ourselves variously as competent, kind, gentle, harsh, admirable, pitiable, uncertain, loving, loved, hateful, hated, indifferent, fascinated and so on as each moment arises. However, no matter how comfortable we are with these ideas of ourselves, they will all fade away as the next moment comes and the cycle renews itself. This is the momentary meaning of old age and death. Looked at in this way, the abolishing of ignorance means that we cease living life in terms of self-reference. By not projecting our desires and expectations onto reality or bifurcating it into self and other, the actions and self consciousness which lead to so much suffering ceases. Free of the chain, life can take on entirely new qualities which are no longer characterized by ignorance, craving, grasping or the myriad forms of suffering. The moment-to-moment unfolding of the life process continues, but now it is free of our erroneous and fearful interpretations, such as the idea of birth and death. Dependent origination teaches that since all entities are actually phases and configurations of the continuous unfolding of causes and conditions, there are no clear cut lines that can be drawn between self and other, birth and death. Without such self-oriented projections, dependent origination can be seen just as it is - a dynamically relational unfolding of reality wherein every part contains the whole and is embraced by the whole. Twelve Stages of Transcendent Dependent Origination Ultimately, the Buddha taught that beyond the perpetuation of conditioned phenomena there is the state of liberation wherein clinging to and chasing after contingent phenomena ceases. This state defies any kind of descriptions which would simply reduce it to just another type of conditioned phenomena. It is most often indicated by all the conditioned states that it is free from, and most commonly by the term “nirvana” which refers to the extinction of the delusions and selfish craving which perpetuate suffering. Dependent origination as a teaching at once reveals the ephemeral nature of conditioned phenomena but also the way in which one can be deconditioned and thereby free of them. This deconditioning process begins once one awakens to the suffering inherent in the twelvefold chain of dependent origination. The deconditioning itself unfolds in an orderly process which has been called the “twelve stages of transcendent dependent origination.” These stages are described by the Buddha in the following discourse: “Thus, monks, with ignorance as proximate cause, volitional formations [come to be]; with volitional formations as proximate cause, consciousness; with consciousness as proximate cause, name-and-form; with name-and-form as proximate cause, the six sense bases; with the six sense bases as proximate cause, contact; with contact as proximate cause, feeling; with feeling as proximate cause, craving; with craving as proximate cause, clinging; with clinging as proximate cause, becoming; with becoming as proximate cause, birth; with birth as proximate cause, suffering; with suffering as proximate cause, faith; with faith as proximate cause, gladness; with gladness as proximate cause, rapture; with rapture as proximate cause, tranquility; with tranquility as proximate cause, happiness; with happiness as proximate cause, concentration; with concentration as proximate cause, the knowledge and vision of things as they really are; with the knowledge and vision of things as they really are as proximate cause, revulsion; with revulsion as proximate cause, dispassion; with dispassion as proximate cause, liberation; with liberation as proximate cause, the knowledge of destruction. “Just as, monks, when rain pours down in thick droplets on a mountain top, the water flows down along the slope and fills the cleft, gullies, and creeks; these being full fill up the pools; these being full fill up the lakes; these being full fill up the streams; these being full fill up the rivers; and these being full fill up the great ocean; so too, with ignorance as proximate cause, volitional formations [come to be]; with volitional formations as proximate cause, consciousness ... with liberation as proximate cause, the knowledge of destruction.” (Ibid, pp. 555 - 556) The twelve stages of transcendent dependent origination consist of: (1) suffering which gives rise to (2) faith which gives rise to (3) gladness (or joy) which gives rise to (4) rapture which gives rise to (5) tranquility which gives rise to (6) happiness which gives rise to (7) concentration which gives rise to (8) the knowledge and vision of things as they really are which gives rise to (9) revulsion (or disenchantment) which gives rise to (10) dispassion which gives rise to (11) liberation (or emancipation) which gives rise to (12) the knowledge of the destruction of the defilements. Transcendent dependent origination begins with suffering because it is the pervasive nature of suffering which the twelvefold chain of dependent origination is attempting to point out. When caught up in the chain, the link of feeling seems to hold out the promise of acquiring pleasurable experiences and avoiding unpleasurable experiences. This false promise keeps us entangled in the process of endless birth and death, which is so full of suffering. The vicious circle of suffering can be broken, however, once the link of feeling can be discerned for what it truly is, either as outright suffering or as another moment of subtle disquiet, agitation or outright distraction which keeps us from discerning the truth about life. When we see through the illusion of satisfaction in transient sensations and cease to seek outside ourselves for answers, we have entered the spiritual path in which we seek a more profound truth. At this point, faith arises. Whereas the link of feeling in the twelvefold chain led to the response of craving, the response to suffering is to take faith in the means to escape suffering. It is important to note that in Buddhism faith does not imply blind belief. Instead, it means confidence in the Buddha Dharma. In other words, instead of ignoring suffering or giving up in despair or apathy, we trust that there is a way to put an end to suffering. In this way, we liberate ourselves and others from the suffering to which we have awakened. Through genuine faith, we are able to reorient our lives away from anxiety, suffering, and despair. Faith gives a renewed sense of hope, energy, and enthusiasm. This is the stage of joy, the initial response that we feel upon encountering the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Joy based on faith becomes the motivation for wholehearted practice which in turn leads to rapture. Rapture in this sense is a state of heightened enthusiasm and exaltation. It is one of the factors which are said to be present in the initial stages of meditation. The other factors which follow from this one are also involved in the cultivation of “tranquility and insight” meditation practice. Calm follows rapture as one becomes more stable and focused on the subject of meditation, whether it is the breath, visualization practice, mindfulness of the transcendent qualities of the Buddha, or some other subject among the many the Buddha taught as conducive to mental cultivation. Peaceful reflection then gives rise to happiness or bliss, which in turn leads to a state of “samadhi” or deep unshakeable concentration. With concentration, the cognitive and emotional factors fall away and the mind is in a state of clear undistracted awareness. At this point, the mind is a sharp tool that can be directed towards the attainment of genuine insight. This clear awareness makes possible the knowledge and vision of things as they really are. Without the usual distraction, confusion, and projections of the uncultivated mind, one is able to finally discern the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and contingent nature of all things. Once all phenomena are revealed for what they are in the light of clear awareness, one becomes disenchanted or even revolted by them. One no longer sees any objects or things worth clinging to, because one has awakened to their inability to bring lasting satisfaction. Dispassion follows this realization, and with dispassion one becomes free of all compulsion, frustration, anxiety, and confusion. With that freedom comes the knowledge of the destruction of the defilements, as one knows that the greed, anger, and ignorance have all been rooted out for good. Dependent origination has many sides, and innumerable implications. It is at the heart of what the Buddha awakened to beneath the Bodhi Tree. It is the Middle Way which was at the core of the Buddha’s lifelong teachings. It is a way of helping people to recognize and appreciate the contingent nature of things, and also the way in which actions and their consequences form the very fabric of our lives. Finally, it is a way whereby those bound up in the suffering of conditioned existence can attain to the unconditioned and discover true freedom.