How things arise/cease: Dependent Origination

Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly, Wiki edit D.O.

Theravada novice monastics studying in school, Southeast Asia (Teeradejtdl/flickr)

The 12 Links of the Chain

"Who sees D.O. sees the Buddha."

The 12 Nidānas are a series of causal links that explain the process of rebirth and the arising of suffering -- of samsara (endless cycling) and dukkha (constant disappointment) -- as well as the possibility of undoing this impersonal process to liberate oneself from the Wheel of Life and Death.

• 12 links explain process of rebirth and arising of suffering

Within the ancient living Theravada Buddhist tradition preserved in Southeast Asia, the twelve nidanas are considered to be the most significant application of the principle of Dependent Origination.

 

The relationship between the links is not a linear causal process, each link giving rise to the next link. Instead, each link in the process arises in dependence upon multiple "causes and conditions" (Bhikkhu Bodhi, In the Buddha's Words, 2005, p.316).

D.O.: Bhavachakra, "Wheel of Life"

For example, whenever there is ignorance, craving-and-clinging invariably follow. Craving and clinging themselves indicate ignorance (Ibid., p.314).

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 within the Wheel of Life and Death (through countless worlds within the 31 Planes of Existence) can be seen.

 

This is graphically illustrated in the Bhavacakra (Wheel of Life and Suffering), artistic depictions of the cycle we are trapped within.

 

The 12 links and their causal relationships can be expressed as follows:

ENGLISH	SANSKRIT	PALI
Ignorance conditions Formations	Avidyā/Saṃskāra	Avijjā/Saṅkhāra
Formations c's Consciousness	Saṃskāra/Vijñāna	Saṅkhāra/Viññāṇa
Consciousness c's Mind-Matter	Vijñāna/Nāma-rūpa	Viññāṇa/Nāmarūpa
Mind-Matter c's Sense Gates	Nāmarūpa/Ṣaḍāyatana	Nāmarūpa/Saḷāyatana
Sense Gates c Contact	Ṣaḍāyatana/Sparśa	Saḷāyatana/Phassa
Contact c's Feeling	Sparśa/Vedanā	Phassa/Vedanā
Feeling c's Craving	Vedanā/Tṛṣṇā	Vedanā/Taṇhā
Craving c's Clinging	Tṛṣṇā/Upādāna	Taṇhā/Upādāna
Clinging c's Becoming	Upādāna/Bhava	Upādāna/Bhava
Becoming c's Birth	Bhava/Jāti	Bhava/Jāti
Birth c's Aging+Dying	Jāti/Jarāmaraṇa	Jāti/Jarāmaraṇa

The Links

Tibetan lamas trainees, Lamayuru gompa, Ladakh, India (Dietmar Temps/flickr)

 

Theravada (Sasin Tipchai/Bugphai/flickr)

In the Theravada Buddhist tradition, these 12 links are considered the most significant application of the principle of Dependent Origination -- the explanation of how all things come into existence and depend on conditions for their continued existence.

The following key teachings on this principle regarding the arising of suffering/disappointment are found in the Pali language sutras (Rupert Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford U. Press):

• Śāriputra’s introduction to the teaching of the Buddha was in the form of the following summary verse recited to him by the wandering ascetic Ven. Aśvajit (Assaji): "Of those dharmas/phenomena which arise from a cause, the Tathāgata (Buddha) has stated the cause, and also the cessation; such is the teaching of the Great Ascetic."
• Idappaccayatā (translated as specific conditionality, this/that conditionality, etc.) is identified as a key expression of the doctrine of Dependent Origination (pratītyasamutpāda). It is expressed through this formula: ‘This existing, that exists; this arising, that arises; this not existing, that does not exist; this ceasing, that ceases’ [‘With the coming to be of this, that comes to be; without this, that does not come to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases.’] (MN 115, SN 55.27 or Dutiyānāthapiṇḍika Sutra, etc.) More