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
How does Nagarjuna link co-arising with emptiness?
2
- By saying all phenomena that arise independently are empty
- Words come to an end because their message is false and because there is a Middle Way
enumerate:
2 Ways to Understand Volitional Action
- to live in order to experience pleasure for oneself alone or to oppress others
- to be present in order to help (boddhisattvas act here)
enumerate:
3 Times + 2 Levels of Cause and Effect
- past
- present
- future
1st level:
ignorance -> volitional actions (cause)
consciousness -> mind-body -> 5 ayatanas -> contact (effect)
2nd level:
feeling -> craving -> grasping -> coming to be (cause);
birth -> old age and death (effect)
How can the Twelve Links be likened to a tree’s leaves?
2
- leaves compost at the trees roots to nourish them
- each link conditions each other link
“Leaves are not just the children of the tree but the mother”
What three things cause the continuation of the wheel of the Twelve Links?
- Craving
- Grasping
- Coming to be
How do our six sense organs and six objects of these contain ignorance?
- because they are present in contact, feelings, grasping, coming to be, birth, old age/death
“As soon as my perception gets caught in the sign in the flower, ignorance is there”
We might wrongly believe that when ignorance ends there is nothing, but what in fact is there?
- Clear Understanding
“Can we live in a way that helps us see the causes that are present in the effects and the effects that are present in the causes?” Which insight and which of the Eight Noble Paths does this question point to?
2
- Interdependent Co-arising
- Right View
Why do we invoke Boddhisattvas?
5
- to generate positive volitional action
- to offer consciousness to suit the present moment
- to express willingness to help
- to help us know how to alleviate world’s suffering
- to see how the quality of these Buddha’s consciousnesses are different from ours
explain:
Avalokiteshvara, invocation of
- willingness and capacity of being there, listening, responding to suffering and helping beings
explain:
Samantabhadra, invocation of
- willingness and capacity of acting mindfully and joyfully to serve others
explain:
Manjushri, invocation of
2
- willingness and capacity of looking deeply, understanding and being the eyes of the world
- consciousness becomes an instrument of engagement in the world
How can we enjoy pleasant feelings like Boddhisattvas do?
- by recognising them as healing and rejuvenating without becoming attached
How do Boddhisattvas suffer?
3
- Like normal people do
- However feelings do not give rise to craving or aversion
- But rather than concern, a desire and willingness to stay in the midst of suffering and confusion and to act within it
Result Body
3
- fruit of deep practice
- body and mind contain clarity, boddhicitta, 4 Wisdoms, and no ignorance
- said to be marked by 32 signs
- see Sambhogakaya
How do we change hell into paradise?
- we only need to change the mind on which it is based
Why do boddhisattvas vow to come back again and again? And what does this mean for our own mindfulness practice
2
- not because of craving but because of a willingness to help
- mindful living is to serve
What is the inability to see the truth that there is nothing we can call self in the Five Aggregates?
- ignorance
How/when do we know that the object of our perception resides within our own consciousness?
2
- when we perceive the object or sign of a phenomenon
- all phenomena are objects of mind
sense consciousness
2
- whenever sense organ comes into contact with sense object
- ex: eyes + cloud
born of sparsha / contact / 6th link
lucid consciousness
- consciousness full of understanding, care and love
ex: pointing out to a friend what is lovely to look at
Why did the Buddha not want us to aspire to non-being?
- because being and non-being are creations of the mind
- wrong view: the purpose of practice is to destroy being to arrive at non-being
Where is the place beyond birth and death?
- in the midst of birth and death
enumerate:
2 Kinds of Mind
- true mind
- deluded mind
define:
True Mind
3
- wondrous nature of reality
- built in sanghas
- converting 12 Links with True Mind = peace and joy
define:
deluded mind
2
- suffering and affliction
- on its basis, the world, society, individuals have been formed by a cycle of conditions
What does equanimity mean we should do, knowing it is not indifference?
2
- we should see those we love and hate equally and try to make both happy
- we should not let go or abandon when it causes suffering
The Great Aspiration
- desire to act with love and compassion
Where is reality?
- somewhere in between being and non-being
What four things have consciousness as their base?
- Distinguishing
- Planning
- Helping
- Good work
From where do the conditions come from for us to exist and to change?
- from what is not us
How was the Buddha’s misguided practice of austerity favourable to the development of his path?
- having undertaken and failed in these practices, he later learned and taught the Middle Way
What does our store consciousness become after Transformation at the Base?
- Great Mirror Wisdom
enumerate:
12 Kinds of True Mind
- Clear Understanding
- Great Aspiration
- Four Wisdoms
- Transformation Body
- Result Body
- Mindfulness of Contact
- Mindfulness of Feeling
- Four Immeasurable Minds
- Freedom
- Wondrous Being
- Wisdom of No Birth
- Wisdom of No Death
enumerate:
deluded mind : ignorance
true mind : ?
Clear Understanding
enumerate:
deluded mind : volitional action
true mind : ?
Great Aspiration
enumerate:
deluded mind : consciousness
True Mind : ?
Four Wisdoms
enumerate:
deluded mind : mind-body
True Mind : ?
Transformation Body
enumerate:
deluded mind : 6 ayatanas
True Mind : ?
Result Body
enumerate:
deluded mind : contact
True Mind : ?
Mindfulness of Contact
enumerate:
deluded mind : feeling
True Mind : ?
Mindfulness of Feeling
enumerate:
deluded mind : craving
True Mind : ?
Four Immeasurable Minds
enumerate:
deluded mind : grasping
True Mind : ?
Freedom
enumerate:
deluded mind : coming to be
True Mind : ?
Wondrous Being
enumerate:
deluded mind : birth
True Mind : ?
Wisdom of No Birth
enumerate:
deluded mind : old age and death
True Mind : ?
Wisdom of No Death
Transformation Body
Nirmanakaya
- the bright side of mind/body
- no longer ignorance, volitional actions or wrong consciousness
- awakens and liberates living beings
see also “Nirmanakaya”
We may mistake the Buddha for a philosopher. How should we consider him instead?
- as a spiritual guide who wanted to help us put an end to our suffering
Can you find Nirvana in birth and death?
3
- yes, it is birth and death
- don’t abandon either to find it
- birth and death are waves on which Boddhisattvas ride
At what point will we be guided by our insight and not lose our practice?
- once the deep and subtle nature of interdependent co-arising is seen
How can we understand the arrows of the 12 links?
- One thing conditions the next
Ex: ignorance conditions volitional actions, volitional actions condition consciousness and so on
enumerate:
4 Invokable Boddhisattvas
- Avalokiteshvara
- Manjushri
- Samantabhadra
- Kshitigarbha
define:
Clear Understanding
2
- absence of ignorance
- desire to act with love and compassion
enumerate:
6 Ayatanas
- eyes and form
- ears and sound
- nose and smell
- tongue and taste
- body and touch
- mind and object of mind
eye consciousness = vision, etc
