dependent arising

PowerPoint presentation on Bhikkhu Bodhi’s recorded lectures on ‘Buddha’s Teaching As It Is’. Materials for the presentation are taken from the recorded lectures (MP3) posted at the website of Bodhi Monastery and the notes of the lectures posted at beyondthenet.net

Originally prepared to accompany the playing of

Bhikkhu Bodhi’s recorded lectures on ‘Buddha’s Teaching

As It is’ in the Dharma Study Class at PUTOSI Temple,

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

This series of weekly study begins in November, 2010.

Buddha’s Teaching As It Is –Bhikkhu Bodhi

Lect

ure

4: D

ependent

Ari

sing

Dependent Arising

Paticca Samuppada

Bhikkhu Bodhi

Lecture 4

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa

Dependent Arising – Paticcasamuppada

‘Paticcas’ means dependent on, conditioned by.

‘Samuppda’ means arising, interconnectedness or interrelatedness

that characterises the arising

A satisfactory translation for the term paticcasamuppada would

be dependent co-arising. The more general translation, ‘

dependent arising’ is used here. Other translations are

dependent origination, conditioned co-production, conditioned

genesis.

The doctrine of dependent arising is the dynamic counterpart of

the doctrine of anatta (non-self).

Dependent Co-arising

Law of Conditionality


Imasmim sati idam hoti; Imassuppada idam uppajjati.Imasmim asati idam na hoti; Imassa nirodha idham nirujjhati.

No Single or First Cause

Wheel of Existence (Becoming) -

Samsara

Wheel of Existence - Samsara

Image from P.A. Payutto, Dependent Origination

Such is the Arising of Sufferings

Past, Present & Future Lives

To clarify the working of the twelve

factors, the Buddha explained

them as distributed over three

successive lives. They can be

applied to any three lives.

If we take the main portion from

consciousness through to existence

(No. 3 to 10) as applying to the

present life, the first two factors

pertain to the past life, to the

immediately preceding life, and

the last two factors, birth, and

ageing and death represent the

next life, our future existence.Image from P.A. Payutto, Dependent Origination

Past, Present & Future Lives

Image from P.A. Payutto, Dependent Origination

Present Life is the Result of Past Life

i. Ignorance (Avijja)

The Buddha starts the sequence of factors with ignorance, 'Avijja'. In

our past lives our minds were obscured by a basic ignorance. No

first point can be found to this ignorance. No matter how far back

we go through our past lives, one always finds that our minds have

been obscured by ignorance. What is ignorance? The Buddha

defines ignorance as not knowing, not seeing the Four Noble Truths;

the truth of suffering, its origin, its cessation and the way to its

cessation. Ignorance does not mean the mere lack of conceptual

understanding of these, but spiritual blindness, not understanding

the Four Noble Truths in their full depth and range.

Through beginningless, times ignorance has led us to see things as

being permanent, pleasurable, attractive and self, and prevented

i. Ignorance (Avijja)

us from seeing them in their real characteristics of impermanence,

suffering and selflessness. Out of this ignorance come all other

defilements, such as greed, aversion, pride, wrong views, jealousy,

selfishness etc.. It has to be emphasised that ignorance is not the

'uncaused' first cause of things. It also arises through conditions. As a

mental factor it depends on the minds and bodies of these beings.

Though it arises through conditions, ignorance is the most fundamental

condition. Therefore the Buddha takes this as a starting point for

explanation. This ignorance controls our mind until we are perfectly

enlightened, leading us into actions which bring about renewed birth in

the future. This brings us to the first proposition, which connects together

the first two factors "Dependent on ignorance volitional formations

arise."

ii. Volitional Formations (Sankhara)

Dependent on our spiritual blindness, ignorance, we engage in actions. We activate our will.

‘Sankhara’ means forming, constructing, creating, putting together and here it refers specifically to mental formations.

The factor of sankhara is equivalent to kamma.

Kamma means volitional formations or acts of will, which are expressed outwardly through the body and speech; or thoughts (in the mind).

ii. Volitional Formations (Sankhara)

Whenever there is a volitional action that arises in the mind

encompassed by ignorance, that action leaves an imprint in the mind, a

formation with the capacity to mature, to fructify in the future. It is

deposited in the mind as a seed with a potency, a power of

germinating in the future and of producing results. In the context of

dependent arising, the most important aspect of volitional formations is

their power to generate a new existence in the future, its power to

bring about rebirth. These volitional formations, depending on whether

they are wholesome or unwholesome volitions, will bring about a good

or bad rebirth.

Now we come to the next link in the series:

"Dependent on volitional formations as condition consciousness arises."

iii. Consciousness (Vinnana)

If volitional formations are accumulated in the mind and ignorance is

still present, when death occurs, a new moment of consciousness will be

generated following death. This is the first moment of consciousness of

the new life.

From the Buddhist perspective, consciousness is not regarded as a

single persisting entity, a self or a soul which continues unchanged.

Consciousness is rather a series of acts of consciousness, each one

arising and breaking up like the waves of the ocean. When death

occurs the last act of consciousness in this life arises and passes away.

But through the force of ignorance and volitional formations, the final

act of consciousness generates a new act of consciousness which springs

up in the mother's womb, links up with the fertilized ovum, and thus

starts the new existence.


This first act of consciousness occurring at the moment of conception is

called the 'patisandhicitta', the "relinking consciousness", because it

links together the past life with the present life, the new being with his

entire past.

This rebirth consciousness springs up because of the wholesome or

unwholesome volitions performed and stored up in the past life. If

the kamma that determines rebirth is a wholesome one, then there will

follow a favourable type of rebirth with a superior type of relinking

consciousness. If the kamma that determines rebirth is an unwholesome

one, then there will take place a lower type of rebirth with an inferior

type of relinking consciousness. Whether it would be a high or low

rebirth, that rebirth would be conditioned by the volitional formation

that is underlaid by ignorance, the spiritual blindness.

DEPENDENT ARISING – PART II


When the rebirth consciousness arises it lasts for a brief moment and

breaks up.

But immediately after the rebirth consciousness, the same basic type

of consciousness begins to flow as a series of mental acts throughout

the entire life. It flows as a passive flow of consciousness underlying

all our active states of mind, continuing all the way to death. This

passive stream of consciousness is called 'bhavanga', the stream of

existence or the life continuum. This bhavanga is also determined by

the volitional formation of the past life.

iv. Materiality-Mentality (Nama-rupa)

"With, consciousness as a condition mentality-materiality arises."

Mentality-materiality is a term for the psycho-physical organism. When

the rebirth consciousness springs up at the time of conception it does not

arise in isolation. It arises in association with the totality of the psycho-

physical organism, which also comes into being at the time of

conception. A living being is a compound of five aggregates, the

material factor being form and four mental factors being feeling,

perception, mental formations and consciousness.

In the case of a human rebirth the materiality or form is the body of the

new-born organism, the single fertilized egg. On the mental side,

associated with the consciousness, are the other three factors - feeling,

perception and mental formations. These five aggregates continue all

the way to death dependent on each other.

v. Six Sense Bases (Salayatana)

"With mentality-materiality as condition the six sense faculties arise."

As the psycho-physical organism grows and evolves, the five physical

sense faculties appear; the eye, ear, nose, tongue and body. There is

also the sixth, the mind faculty (faculty of cognition), the organ of

thought, which coordinates the other sense data and also cognizes its

own objects - ideas, images, concepts, etc.

At the moment conception there are present the body faculty and the

mind (rebirth consciousness) faculty. The other four sense faculties

develop later as the embryo develops.

The six sense faculties serve as our means for gathering information

about the world. Each faculty can receive the type of sense data

appropriate to itself. The eye receives form, the ear sounds, nose smells

etc. Thus we come to the next link.

vi. Contact (Phassa)

"With six sense faculties as condition contact arises.“

Contact means the coming together of the consciousness with

the sense objects through the sense faculty, e.g. the eye

consciousness contacts form through the eye.

The six kinds of contact correspond to the six sense faculties.

vii. Feeling (Vedana)

"Dependent on contact as a condition feeling arises."

Feeling is the “affective tone" with which the mind experiences

the object. There can be six kinds of feeling as determined by the

organ through which the feeling arises e.g. there is feeling born of

eye contact, feeling born of ear contact, etc. By way of its

affective quality, feelings are of three types; pleasant or

agreeable, painful or disagreeable and neutral feelings. It is

through these feeling that our past kammas work themselves out

and bring their fruits.

viii. Craving (Tanha)

"Dependent on feeling as a condition craving arises."

With this link we take a major step forward in the movement of the

wheel of existence. All the factors we have mentioned so far -

consciousness, mentality-materiality, the six sense faculties, contact and

feeling - represent the results of past kamma. They arise through the

maturation of kamma from our past, from volitional formations.

But now with the arising of craving experience moves from the past to

the causes operating in the present, those causes which generate a new

existence in the future.

When we experience pleasant feelings we become attached to them.

We enjoy them, relish them, crave for a continuation of them. Thus

craving arises. When we experience painful feeling, this pain awakens

an aversion, a desire to eradicate its source, or to flee from them.

viii. Craving (Tanha)

But this pattern, by which feeling leads to craving, does not occur as a

necessity. This is a very important point. Between feeling and craving

there is a space, a gap which can become a battlefield where the

round of existence is brought to an end. The battle fought in this space

determines whether bondage will continue indefinitely into the future or

whether it will be replaced by enlightenment and liberation. For if,

instead of yielding to craving, we contemplate our feeling with

mindfulness and awareness and understand them as they really are,

then we can prevent craving from arising and from generating renewed

existence in the future.

ix. Clinging (Upadana)

"Dependent on craving as a condition, clinging arises."

Now we are dealing with the forward movement of the round.

Clinging is the intensification of craving.

There are four types of clinging:

(a) clinging to sense pleasures.

(b) clinging to views, theories and beliefs.

(c) clinging to rituals, rules and observances.

(d) cling to the notion of a self within the five aggregates

The difference between craving and clinging is illustrated by a simile.

Craving is like a thief extending his hand to grasp an object that he

intends to steal. Clinging is like the thief taking possession of it.

x. Existence (Bhava)

"Dependent on clinging as a condition existence (birth) arises."

Bhava is the "kammically" accumulative side of existence, the phase

of life in which we act and accumulate kamma, in which we

generate more volitional formations, in which we build up these

formations, accumulate them in the flow of consciousness. When

these kammas are accumulated after death they bring about a new

existence.

ageing , Death - Jaramarana

Dependent on birth as a condition ageing and death arises."

Because we take birth in the future, we pay the inevitable price with

ageing and death, and also sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and

despair.

xi. Birth (Jati),

& xii. Aging & Death (Jaramarana)

Three links

1. Link between past causes and present effects: connection

between volitional formations as the cause and consciousness

as the effect;

2. Link between present effects and present causes: connection

between feelings as the present cause and craving as the

effect – most important;

3. Link between present causes and future effects: connection

between existence or becoming as the cause and birth as the

effect.

12 factors arranged into 4 groups with 20 modes

Four groups in 20 modes

12 factors arranged into 4

groups with 20 modes in

the psychophysical process:

1. Five Causal factors of the

Past – ignorance, craving

and clinging, volitional

formations =and existence

or becoming (kamically

active phase);

Image from Mahasi Sayadaw, Paticcasamuppda


2. Five Present Effects =

consciousness, nama rupa,

sense faculties, contact and

feeling (subject to birth,

aging and death)

1. Five Present Causes =

craving, clinging,

ignorance, existence,

volitional formations;



3. Five Present Causes =

craving, clinging,

ignorance, existence,

volitional formations;

4. Five Future Effects = birth,

aging, death, consciousness,

nama rupa

Whole sequence repeats itself

endlessly


Three Phases That Drive Samsaric

Existence

Defilement or kilesa vatta or phase:

ignorance, craving and clinging; lead to

kamma phase

Kamma phase: engage in action that

accumulates kamma that leads to future

existence – volitional formations and

existence (becoming); lead to resultant

phase

Resultant (Vipaka) phase: consciousness,

mind and matter, sense-bases, contact,

and feeling; lead to defilement phase

Defilements kamma (causes) resultsImage from P.A. Payutto, Dependent Origination

Discovery of Enlightenment

Applying the Theory of Dependent

Arising

Additional Illustrations on dependent

origination, downloaded from various

websites on 12 DECEMBER, 2010.

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Source: S Chinawaro Bhikkhu,http://dhammabum.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/graphic-buddha-teaching.jpg

dependent arising

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