The twelve links of dependent origination explain the cycle of suffering in existence, usually listed in a forward order. This shows what the causes are that establish and lead up to suffering. For this post, I’d like to accentuate the twelve links in reverse order. This is to show that each part is caused by the arising of the previous in the 12 links of the chain of dependent origination (paticca samuppada) and more importantly, when the links of dependent origination are broken, how the cycle of suffering in existence ceases:
12. OLD AGE [AGEING] and DEATH (jaramarana)
“And what, monks, is old age? If there is old age for all kinds of beings in whatever kind of existence, their getting frail and decrepit, the breaking [of their teeth], their becoming grey and wrinkled, the running down of their life span, the deterioration of their sense faculties—this, monks, is called old age.” — Mahasatipatthana Sutta
“And what is ageing and death, what is the origin of ageing and death, what is the cessation of ageing and death?
The ageing of beings in the various orders of beings, their old age, brokenness of teeth, greyness of hair, wrinkling of skin, decline of life, weakness of faculties.
The passing of beings out of the various orders of beings, their passing away, dissolution, disappearance, dying, completion of time, dissolution of the aggregates, laying down of the body.
With the arising of birth there is the arising of ageing and death. With the cessation of birth there is the cessation of ageing and death.”— MN I.49
11. BIRTH (jati)
“And what, monks, is birth? If there is birth for all kinds of beings in whatever kind of existence, their conception, their being born, their becoming, the coming into manifestation of their aggregates, the acquisition of their sense faculties— this, monks, is called birth.” — Mahasatipatthana Sutta
“And what is birth, what is the origin of birth, what is the cessation of birth?
The birth of beings in the various orders of beings, their coming to birth, precipitation [in a womb], generation, manifestation of the aggregates, obtaining the bases for contact.
With the arising of being [becoming] there is the arising of birth. With the cessation of being there is the cessation of birth.” — MN I.50
10. BEING [BECOMING] (bhava)
“And what is being, what is the origin of being, what is the cessation of being?
There are these three kinds of being:
With the arising of clinging there is the arising of being. With the cessation of clinging there is the cessation of being.” — MN I. 50
9. CLINGING (upadana)
“And what is clinging, what is the origin of clinging, what is the cessation of clinging?
There are these four kinds of clinging:
With the arising of craving there is the arising of clinging. With the cessation of craving there is the cessation of clinging.” — MN I.51
8. CRAVING (tanha)
“And what is craving, what is the origin of craving, what is the cessation of craving?
There are these six classes of craving:
With the arising of feeling there is the arising of craving. With the cessation of feeling there is the cessation of craving.” — MN I.51
7. FEELING (vedana)
“And what is feeling, what is the origin of feeling, what is the cessation of feeling?
There are these six classes of feeling:
With the arising of contact there is the arising of feeling. With the cessation of contact there is the cessation of feeling.” — MN I. 51
6. CONTACT (phassa)
“And what is contact, what is the origin of contact, what is the cessation of contact?
There are these six classes of contact:
With the arising of the six-fold sense bases there is the arising of contact. With the cessation of the sixfold base there is the cessation of contact.” — MN I.52
5. THE SIX-FOLD SENSE BASES (salayatana)
“And what are the six-fold sense bases, what is the origin of the six-fold sense bases, what is the cessation of the six-fold sense bases?
There are these six bases:
With the arising of mentality-materiality there is the arising of the six-fold sense bases. With the cessation of mentality-materiality there is the cessation of the six-fold sense bases.” — MN I.52
4. MENTALITY [NAME] - MATERIALITY [FORM] (nama-rupa)
“And what is mentality-materiality, what is the origin of mentality-materiality, what is the cessation of mentality-materiality?
Feeling, perception, volition, contact, and attention — these are called mentality. The four great elements and the material form derived from the four great elements — these are called materiality.
So this mentality and this materiality are what is called mentality-materiality.
With the arising of consciousness there is the arising of mentality-materiality. With the cessation of consciousness there is the cessation of mentality-materiality.” — MN I.53
3. CONSCIOUSNESS (vinnana)
“And what is consciousness, what is the origin of consciousness, what is the cessation of consciousness?
There are these six classes of consciousness:
With the arising of formations there is the arising of consciousness. With the cessation of formations there is the cessation of consciousness.” — MN I.53
2. [KARMA] FORMATIONS (sankhara)
“And what are formations, what is the origin of formations, what is the cessation of formations?
There are these three kinds of formations:
With the arising of ignorance there is the arising of formations. With the cessation of ignorance there is the cessation of formations.” — MN I.54
1. IGNORANCE (avijja)
“And what is ignorance, what is the origin of ignorance, what is the cessation of ignorance?
This is called ignorance.
With the arising of the taints there is the arising of ignorance. With the cessation of the taints there is the cessation of ignorance.” — MN I.54
8. TAINTS (asava)
“And what are the taints, what is the origin of the taints, what is the cessation of the taints?
There are these three taints:
With the arising of ignorance there is the arising of the taints. With the cessation of ignorance there is the cessation of the taints.” — MN I.55
The complexity of dependent origination is quite clear, and the Buddhist teachings themselves acknowledge this, as it has been described as “difficult to see, difficult to awake to”, as well as “beyond the realm of logicial thought” (atakkavacaro). The difficulty stems from the fact that breaking through to the Dhamma [liberation] was a principle realized in a spiritual meditative sense, and the solution was not possible to be put into words affirmatively. The only way to communicate it was by using the Indian method of negation-without-affirmation (neti-neti), as in explaining something what it is not.
The Four Noble Truths: THINGS to DEVELOP and THINGS to AVOID
