Chapter 27 - The Twelve Links of Interdependent Co-arising Flashcards
explain:
Twelve Links of Interdependent Co-arising
3
- foundation of all of Buddhist practice
- “this is because that is”
- beyond concepts of space and time
enumerate:
Twelve Links of Interdependent Co-arising
- ignorance
- volitional action
- consciousness
- mind-body (or name and form)
- six ayatanas (sense organs)
- contact between sense organs, objects and consciousness
- feelings
- craving
- grasping
- coming to be (becoming)
- birth
- old age (decay) and death
explain:
ignorance / 1st Link
- lack of light and understanding
i.e. blindness
usually listed first but misleading as birth/death could also be first causes
explain:
volitional action / 2nd Link
5
- formations
- impulses
- motivating energy
- karma formations
- will to cling to being
anger, hatred, irritation, arise out of lack of understanding
explain:
consciousness / 3rd Link
2
- i.e. whole of consciousness (individual, collective, mind, store, subject, object)
- unwholesome and erroneous tendencies born of ignorance cause suffering
explain:
mind-body (name-form) / 4th Link
2
- mental and physical elements of our being
- mind and body = objects of consciousness ex: hand, anger, sadness
explain:
six ayatanas / 5th Link
- (six) sense organs + objects ex: eye + object = sight
5th Link is extension of 4th Link (mind-body) and is there for clarity
explain:
contact / 6th Link
- between sense organ, sense object, consciousness
basis for feelings (7th Link)
explain:
feelings / 7th Link
2
- pleasant, unpleasant or neutral
- when pleasant, attachments may form
explain:
craving / 8th Link
- aka desire … followed by grasping…
explain:
grasping (or attachment) / 9th Link
- when we are caught in the thralls of an object
explain:
coming to be / 10th Link
a.k.a. becoming
- because we desire something it comes to be
we have to look deeply to know what we really want
How did the Buddha explain Interdependent Co-arising and what did Thay add?
4 + 1
This is because that is
This is not because that is not
This comes to be because that comes to be
This ceases to be because that ceases to be
Thay: This is like this because that is like that
Do cause and effect co-arise or arise separately?
2
- they co-arise and inter-are
- everything is a result of multiple causes and conditions
Did chicken or egg come first?
2
- Chicken in egg, egg in chicken
- They arise in mutual independence
What does the one contain?
- the all
What’s the difference between Interdependent Co-arising, Interbeing and Interpenetration?
2
- Different terminology, same meaning
- Appellations that reflect early vs later vs even later Buddhism
How are the 12 Links empty?
- each would not exist without each of the others
Why is ignorance often taught as the first of the twelve links?
- teachers often began with ignorance after Buddha’s lifetime to help prove why there is birth and death
the Buddha in fact taught that no first cause could be found
Which of the Eight Noble Paths does Interdependent Co-arising relate to most closely?
- Right View
Which two of the Three Dharma Seals are most useful to understand Interdependent Co-arising?
- Impermanence
- Non-self
What tendency has caused the Twelve Links to be misunderstood?
- seeing the teachings of the Buddha as an explanation of how things are rather than as a support and guide to the practice
What is the following list?
1. root cause
2. object
3. predominance
4. priority
5. continuity
6. co-nascence
7. mutuality
8. support
9. decisive support
10. pre-nascence
11. post-nascence
12. repetition
13. karma
14. karma-result
15. nutriment
16. faculty
17. dhyana
18. path
19. association
20. dissociation
21. presence
22. absence
23. disappearance
24. non-disappearance
Buddhaghosa’s 24 Conditions
enumerate:
4 Kinds of Conditions + 6 Kinds of Causes (Sarvastivada)
- cause condition
- condition for development
- condition of continuity
- object as condition
1.motivating or creative force
2. concurrent condition
3 seed condition of the same kind
4. associated condition
5. universal condition
6. ripening condition
explain:
cause condition / Sarvastivada
or reed or root
- like how the seed is the cause condition of the flower
explain:
condition for development / Sarvastivada
2
- can help or obstruct seed development
- a life with obstacles is useful, it teaches us our strengths and weaknesses
explain:
condition of continuity / Sarvastivada
- moment-after-moment succession needed for something to exist
ex: daily practice needed to develop practice
explain:
object as condition / Sarvastivada
- without object, there can be no subject
ex: to have confidence, there has to be an object of our confidence, despair is despair about something, anger is anger about something
explain:
motivating or creative force / Sarvastivada
2
- each conditioned dharma is the general cause for all things except itself
- empowering function
explain:
concurrent condition / Sarvastivada
2
- when 2 cause conditions have to be present at the same time
ex: lamplight - coexistent dharmas mutually condition one another
explain:
seed condition of the same kind / Sarvastivada
2
- similars cause similars
ex: rice produces rice - wholesomeness causes wholesomeness
ex: faith/joy make stable practice possible
explain:
associated condition / Sarvastivada
- when a wholesome and unwholesome seed support each other to give rise to something
ex: donating money to church when there is guilt through wrong livelihood
applies only to mental events
explain:
universal condition / Sarvastivada
- cause present everywhere, in every part of body and throughout universe
ex: 6 elements
explain:
ripening condition / Sarvastivada
2
- not everything ripens at same time in our store consciousness
ex: bunched bananas, seeds of Dharma talk - seed of one kind can also transform and ripen into something different
ex: blossom —> orange
ex: agitation —> successful sitting meditation
define:
froglessness
- deciding to stay in one place until practice fully develops continuity
illustrates Condition of Continuity