Dependent Origination in Plain English

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Introduction

SUFFERING DOES NOT arise independently. It arises based on certain conditions, and when those conditions are eliminated, it ceases. This, in short, is the teaching of dependent origination, and it leads to the complete elimination of ignorance, the cause of suffering. As long as ignorance is there, suffering is there. As long as greed, hatred, and delusion are there, suffering is there. If you want to get rid of your suffering, remove greed, hatred, and delusion from your mind.

The Buddha’s teachings guide us to study ourselves in the minutest detail to understand accurately what is going on within us. Studying dependent origination leads us to self-exploration, to observing within our own body and mind the dependent arising and dependent ceasing of our psychosomatic responses to our experiences in the world. It is very applicable to our daily lives, but what exactly does the term dependent mean? When asked, for instance, if it is going to rain today, we would answer, “It depends.” But universal causation states that everything has a cause and an effect produced by that cause, and therefore the arising of one thing (the effect) depends upon the arising of another thing (the cause). And conversely if the cause does not arise, the effect also cannot arise.

According to Buddhist scriptures, while sitting under the Bodhi tree on the night of his enlightenment, the Buddha investigated the cause of suffering and saw how suffering arises and the way leading to its complete cessation. In the first watch of the night, he saw the sequences of causes and conditions leading to suffering, in the second watch the causes and conditions leading to the cessation of suffering, and in the third watch the ascending and descending order of the causes and conditions.

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The general belief during the Buddha’s lifetime, just as today, was that suffering just happened by accident or that it was created by oneself, others, or a combination of these. But dependent origination demonstrates that everything is conditioned, that nothing comes into existence independently, without causes and conditions. Conditioned means that the existence of whatever is observed, felt, experienced, and inferred depends upon another thing and that everything is interdependent and interconnected. The very word conditioned implies the dependent origination formula, which presents the causes and conditions leading from the root cause of suffering to its manifestation in twelve steps, connected by eleven links.

However, merely memorizing these twelve steps is neither knowing nor understanding dependent origination. It is a deep, elaborate, and comprehensive teaching that leads us to a profound understanding of ourselves and ultimately a state of absolute inner peace and serenity. In the broadest sense it applies to anything in the universe, for everything exists depending on something else: the formation of the earth is due to the formation of clumps of rocks from swirling gas and dust brought together by the force of gravity. No system in the universe can exist by itself but rather in dependence on other systems and natural phenomena that themselves occur based on natural causes and conditions. Dependent origination is a universal law that applies to nature as a whole, but in this book we only consider a segment of this all-inclusive topic, focusing on observing it in our mind-body complex according to the Buddha’s teachings as presented in the Buddhist suttas.

The Pali word for suffering, dukkha, means bearing with difficulty. Whatever we bear continuously with difficulty and without any respite is suffering. In his first sermon, The Discourse on Turning the Wheel of Dhamma, and in his teachings on dependent origination, the Buddha called the lump sum of the five aggregates (the basic constituents of our mind-body complex) a mountain of suffering. Without the aggregates there could be no suffering, for it can only be experienced through them. 3And as one cannot escape the aggregates, the suffering they bring about is inevitable. The goal of our spiritual practice is to be free from the burden of this mountain of suffering. It is a daily endeavor.

The development of wisdom and insight is sustained by right living, the guidelines of which are laid out in the noble eightfold path. The noble eightfold path consists of right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. The Buddha explains that this is the middle way between extreme asceticism and hedonism, a middle way that when followed with diligence gives vision and knowledge and leads to peace and enlightenment. Sustained effort is required to chip away at the mountain of suffering little by little every day. You must carry out the bulk of the work by developing your own practice.

THE DEPENDENT ORIGINATION FORMULA AND ITS TWELVE STEPS

The formula of dependent origination presents a causal relationship of origination and is presented following a forward order, a backward order, and a combination of both forward and backward orders.

In the forward order, the formula is “This being, this is; from the arising of this, this arises.” Note that the formula states this and not that, because this is what is happening now, in this present moment. It refers to what is happening at this very instant in our own body and mind. Understanding the distinction between this and that in the formula is of the utmost importance. This indicates a thing or a situation that is close, in the present moment, while that points to something that is farther away or out there in some future time. This is all right here and right now.

We can observe the dependent origination formula at any time within ourselves. Take the example of anger. When we are angry, how do we feel? We get all hot and bothered, don’t we? It happens right now, doesn’t it? It is not something out there in a different time and place, where you get angry one day and then wake up the next morning agitated. Our bodies 4respond to anger right away: when anger rises, so does our blood pressure. From the arising of this, this arises.

In the reverse order, the formula is “This not being, this is not; from the ceasing of this, this ceases.” This order presents the sequence leading to the ultimate destruction of ignorance and as a result the total liberation from suffering.

While sitting under the Bodhi tree on the night of his enlightenment, the Buddha realized the formula of dependent origination. He saw himself being reborn in samsara, the endless cycle of birth and death, life after life, and he saw other beings also being reborn again and again. As he investigated the cause of this in the minutest details during the first watch of the night, he discerned the twelve steps of dependent origination in the forward order:

1.Dependent on ignorance, volitional formations arise.

2.Dependent on volitional formations, consciousness arises.

3.Dependent on consciousness, mentality and materiality arise.

4.Dependent on mentality and materiality, the sixfold base arises.

5.Dependent on the sixfold base, contact arises.

6.Dependent on contact, feeling arises.

7.Dependent on feeling, craving arises.

8.Dependent on craving, clinging arises.

9.Dependent on clinging, becoming arises.

10.Dependent on becoming, birth arises.

11.Dependent on birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair arise.

12.Thus, there is the arising of this whole mass of suffering.¹

In the second watch of the night, the Buddha discerned dependent origination in the reverse order:

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1.Through the entire cessation of this ignorance, volitional formations cease.

2.Through the cessation of volitional formations, consciousness ceases.

3.Through the cessation of consciousness, mentality and materiality cease.

4.Through the cessation of mentality and materiality, the sixfold base ceases.

5.Through the cessation of the sixfold base, contact ceases.

6.Through the cessation of contact, feeling ceases.

7.Through the cessation of feeling, craving ceases.

8.Through the cessation of craving, clinging ceases.

9.Through the cessation of clinging, becoming ceases.

10.Through the cessation of becoming, birth ceases.

11.Through the cessation of birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair cease.

12.Thus, there is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.²

In the following chapters we will explain how each of these twelve factors of dependent origination come to be and describe a method leading to the cessation of each one, culminating in the complete liberation from suffering.

As the sun rose in the early morning, the light chasing away darkness, the Buddha vanquished the ten armies of all attachments, clinging, cravings, and unwholesome traits that keep one bound to the endless cycle of rebirth, pain, sorrow, lamentations, and death. These are called the army of Mara, who represents “the personification of the forces antagonistic to enlightenment”: (1) desire for sensual pleasures; (2) discontent; (3) hunger and thirst; (4) craving; (5) dullness and drowsiness; (6) cowardice; (7) doubt; (8) denigration and pride; (9) gain, praise, honor, and wrongly attained fame; and (10) exalting oneself and looking down upon others.³ The first army, desire, exists because of ignorance, which is the first 6factor of dependent origination. When the Buddha saw dependent origination, then, he saw how to eliminate desire through eliminating ignorance. Once desire is destroyed so is ignorance, along with all the armies of Mara.

In the third watch of the night, the Buddha combined the forward and reverse orders. He observed a commonality in all twelve steps of dependent origination: rising and falling, or arising and vanishing. Craving arises and vanishes, volitional formations arise and vanish, and likewise for all phenomena in the twelve steps of dependent origination. He observed that whatever arises is subject to falling. He saw the arising and passing away of sensual pleasures and observed even the desire for sensual pleasures slowly fading away.

One should examine all this for oneself. Just watch what happens to desire. Watch it arising and slowly fading away. Then, the second obstacle comes: discontent and dissatisfaction with the practice. This comes and slowly fades away, too. Hunger and thirst come and fade away. And then cravings arise and fade away, first for sense pleasures, which are pleasures enjoyed through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. When this vanishes, this vanishes. Not one single aspect of this dependent origination stays the same. So, in short, what the Buddha saw is rising and falling—that is, impermanence.