Post # 40 -Patticca Saumuppada – Dependent Origination or Co-Arising- Part 2

Are you visiting this Blog for the first time? It would be good if you could visit the 1^st Post to know about this Blog and then read the others in sequence.  

In Post # 39 you will find  some introductory comments on this teaching. In this Post I will deal with the balance details.

Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamso-..http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books3/Ajahn_Brahm_Paticca_Samuppa... goes on to say – 'The Buddha has stated that - one who has entered the stream may be considered as possessing five attributes. They are         un-shakeable faith in the Buddha, un-shakeable faith in the Dhamma, un-shakeable faith in the Sangha ( the Enlightened members of the monastic community), a very high standard of morality and an accurate understanding of Dependent Origination, and its corollary Idappaccayata (Causality)’.

Continuing he says - 'Therefore it is fair to say that the correct understanding of Dependent Origination can only be known by the Enlightened Ones. That is by the Stream-winners, Once Returners, Non Returners and Arahants. According to the Law of Dependent Origination, every phenomenon owes its origin to another phenomenon prior to it. It may simply be expressed as “depending on this, this originates”. The most interesting question is "Why did The Buddha place such importance on Dependent Origination? What is its purpose? "
"I will propose that the function of Dependent Origination is threefold. They are: to explain how there can be rebirth without a soul; to answer the question -What is life; to understand why there is suffering; and where suffering comes to an end".

Ven. Thanissaro Bhikku a German Monk, in his English translation of Paticca-samuppada-Vibhanga Sutta, says that - Dwelling at Savatthi, Buddha has said "Monks, I will describe & analyze dependent co-arising for you! -"And what is dependent co-arising? From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications( translated as Sankara). From fabrications as a requisite condition comes consciousness. From consciousness as a requisite condition comes name &form. From name &form as a requisite condition come the six sense media. From the six sense media as a requisite condition comes contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, there comes into being aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair. Such is the origination of this entire mass of stress & suffering". 

I will try to bring in explanations to these terms shortly. But before that I would like to highlight the following.

As all these scholars use Vibhanga Sutta as the basis, the contents of their discourses are somewhat similar, except for the emphasis they place on certain aspects. I have tried to cite them above. I will not therefore elaborate any more on these discourses but will take out some sections to highlight the essence of the teaching that is of relevance to the objectives of this Blog.

It must be borne in mind that Paticca Samuppada is only a discourse on the process of birth and death and not a theory of the ultimate origin of life. It deals with the cause of rebirth and suffering, but it does not in the least attempt to show the evolution of the world from primordial matter.

Ignorance (Avijja) is the first link or cause of the wheel of life. It clouds all right understanding. Dependent on ignorance of the Four Noble Truths, arise activities/fabrications (Sankhara), both moral and immoral. The activities/fabrications whether good or bad, rooted in ignorance, which must necessarily have their due effects, only tend to prolong life's wandering. Nevertheless, good actions are essential to get rid of the ills of life and realize a favourable re-becoming.

Dependent on activities/fabrications, arise rebirth-consciousness (Pattisandhi Vinnana). This links the past with the present. Simultaneous with the arising of rebirth-consciousness there come into being mind and body (Nama-rupa). The six sense faculties (Salayatana) are the inevitable consequences of arising of mind and body. Because of the six senses, contact (Phassa) sets in. Contact then leads to feeling (Vedana). These five -- viz., consciousness, mind and body, six senses, contact and feeling -- are the effects of past actions and are called the passive side of life.

Dependent on feeling arises craving (Tanha). Craving results in grasping (Upadana). Grasping is the cause of  Bhava (the re-becoming cause conditioned by Kamma) and , which in its turn conditions future birth (Jati). These form the future effects. As a result of Birth the inevitable consequences of old age, illness and death (Jara-viyaji-marana) happens. This is the present. If on account of cause, effect comes to be, then if the cause ceases, the effect also must cease.

The reverse order of the Paticca Samuppada will make the matter clearer. Old age and death are possible in and with a psycho-physical organism. Such an organism must be born; therefore it pre-supposes birth. But birth is the inevitable result of past deeds or Kamma. Kamma  conditions grasping which is due to craving. Such craving can appear only where feeling exists. Feelings are the outcome of contact between the senses and objects. Therefore it pre-supposes organs of senses which cannot exist without a mind and body. Where there is a mind there is consciousness. It is the result of past good and evil. The acquisition of good and evil is due to ignorance of things as they truly are. This process of cause and effect thus continues ad infinitum. The beginning of this process cannot be determined as it is impossible to say whence this life-flux was caused by ignorance. But when this ignorance is turned into knowledge and the life-flux is diverted into Nibbana-dhatu, then the end of the life process of Samsara comes about. With the true understanding of this, the cessation of this entire aggregate of suffering will result.

The meaning of the elements of this process of life-flux is given by Thanissaro Bhikkhu in his English translation of Paticca-samuppada-Vibhanga Sutta  as follows:

"Now what is aging and death? Whatever decay, brokenness, graying, wrinkling, decline of life-force, weakening of the faculties of the various beings is called aging. Whatever deceasing, passing away, disappearing, dying, completion of time, breakup of the aggregates, casting off of the body, interruption in the life faculty of the various beings is called death.

"And what is birth? Whatever taking birth, descent, coming-to-be, coming-forth, appearance of aggregates, & acquisition of [sense] media of the various beings is called birth.

"And what is becoming? These three are becomings: sensual becoming, form becoming, & formless becoming. This is called becoming.

"And what is clinging/sustenance? These four are clinging: sensuality clinging, view clinging, precept & practice clinging, and doctrine of self clinging. This is called clinging.

"And what is craving? These six are classes of craving: craving for forms, craving for sounds, craving for smells, craving for tastes, craving for tactile sensations, craving for ideas. This is called craving.

"And what is feeling? These six are classes of feeling: feeling born from eye-contact, feeling born from ear-contact, feeling born from nose-contact, feeling born from tongue-contact, feeling born from body-contact, feeling born from intellect-contact. This is called feeling.

"And what is contact? These six are classes of contact: eye-contact, ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, intellect-contact. This is called contact.

"And what are the six sense media? These six are sense media: the eye-medium, the ear-medium, the nose-medium, the tongue-medium, the body-medium, the intellect-medium. These are called the six sense media.

"And what is name-&-form? Feeling, perception, intention, contact, & attention: This is called name. The four great elements, and the form dependent on the four great elements: This is called form. This name & this form are called name &form.

"And what is consciousness? These six are classes of consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, intellect-consciousness. This is called consciousness.

"And what are fabrications? These three are fabrications: bodily fabrications, verbal fabrications, mental fabrications. These are called fabrications.

"And what is ignorance? Not knowing stress, not knowing the origination of stress, not knowing the cessation of stress, not knowing the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress: This is called ignorance.

This outline I hope will bring more clarity to the explanations given on this doctrine and help focus on the importance of this Dhamma. The Samma Samkkapa (right intentions) factor in the Panna (wisdom) Part of the Noble Eightfold Path has three sub factors of Nekkamma Sankalpana (intention for letting go or renunciation), Aviyapada Samkalpana (intention for being free of ill will) and Avihinsawada Sankalpana (intention for being free of cruelty). Here the intention for letting go refers to: letting go of attachment to lust and worldly possessions, attachment for a re-becoming in a realm with a form, or attachment to a re-becoming in a formless realm. 

Paticca-samuppada teaching will help us to see the fallacy of these desires and attachments and help us to deal with these defilements appropriately. That is the craving and desire for them will gradually fade and die. By including a practice to contemplate on this teaching as above in our regular meditation will help us to develop the Wisdom Part of Noble Eightfold Path and in particular the ‘Right View’   factor. 

The keen learner may now use this platform to go into a more comprehensive study of Paticca-samuppada.

May you have the necessary inspiration? With Metta.

Post # 39 -Patticca Saumuppada – Dependent Origination or Co-Arising- Part 1

Are you visiting this Blog for the first time? It would be good if you could visit the 1^st Post to know about this Blog and then read the others in sequence.  

In Post # 38 I mentioned that I will post something on Patticca Saumuppada – Dependent Origination in the Blog, as this is important for our  discussion on lay Buddhist practice. So here I am!

Patticca Saumuppada – Dependent Origination is a unique teaching only found in Buddha-Dhamma. It is so fundamental to Buddha’s teaching and comes out as a core factor to explain the common phenomena of the universe. Its significance in context to the entire Dhamma taught by the Buddha has to be fully appreciated. However I will attempt here as best as I can, to only deal with the aspects relevant to what we are discussing in this Blog, viz. Dhamma Practice by Lay Buddhists.

 In our exercise to gain liberation or shorten the Samsaric process, we engage in a practice of developing the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path. See      Post # 17 up to Post # 20. While dealing with developing the Noble Eightfold Path, through a practice of the Arjeewa Astamaka Seela, we saw how Samma Sankkappa the right intention, was developing.  Here we saw that the sub factor Nekkamma  Sankalpana or letting go or renunciation can be developed by contemplation on Patticca Saumuppada .  Further under developing right view, see Post # 36, we dealt with Chatu Sathya Samma Ditthi (deeper understanding about the four noble truths with Nibbana as the focus). This is the understanding of the truth or reality  about life, the reasons behind those realities, the possibility of change and the way of life that can lead to change and gaining freedom from suffering, ie. Nibbana. Here we saw that developing a deep understanding of the truth of suffering (dukka sathya) or the unsatisfactory nature of existence, the basic aspect of this truth, is realized through the Pattika Saumuppada teaching. This was seen as - ‘due to avidya (not knowing or ignorance), one develops a craving and an attachment to have an existence. This craving for an existence, results in an existence-seeking consciousness (a pattisandhi vinnana). This consciousness conditioned by the nature of the craving, causes a new becoming in an appropriate abode with a new 'life’ resulting in the consequential unsatisfactory state of life (Dukka). Besides these specific aspects, a deep knowledge on this fundamental teaching is also important to understand and benefit from the practice of developing the Noble Eightfold Path. 

There are many discourses given by learned monks with Patticca Saumuppada as the focus. The following extracts from the work of some such dhamma scholars will give us an insight to this important teaching.

Ven. Dhammajeeva thero the meditation teacher monk at Jhana Grove Sri Lanka (Feb 2013), stated the following based on the Maha Nidhana Sutta.

When Ven. Ananda uttered that "although this dependent co arising is profound and difficult to see, I find it simple enough to understand"?  Thereupon Buddha advised him saying - "do not say so Ananda as this Dhamma is indeed profound and difficult to understand. If someone were to ask, what is the particular cause of old age, sickness and death, the answer you must give is, it’s the birth". This is an important aspect to reflect upon and to contemplate on, even in everyday living. Most do not see it this way and are chasing at finding proximate causes outside. They tend to neglect the root cause, which is birth. People are used to thinking birth as something auspicious and desirable and old age and death as inauspicious. So long as this ignorance prevails the journey in Samsara continues.

Bhikku Bodhi the scholar monk from US, says that the meaning can be extracted from the name itself Patticca Saumuppada, which is a compound of two Pali words . Patticaca means -depending on; because of; conditioned by etc. Sammuppada means –arising or more accurately, interconnectedness characterizing the process of arising. So the meaning comes out as Dependent Arising.

Quoting different suttas Bhukku Bodhi says that Buddha gave great emphasis to Patticca Saumuppada, when he said that – ‘One who sees dependent arising sees the Dhamma and one who sees the Dhamma sees dependent arising’.  Dhamma is the truth discovered by the Buddha -the truth that subsists by itself, independent of all other influences. Buddha shows the explicit equation between this profound truth that he realized and dependent arising. In his own quest for enlightenment, Buddha had said that- immediately before his enlightenment when he was sitting in meditation he began inquiring into the chain of conditions seeking the causal origination of suffering. This inquiry led him to the discovery of dependent arising. Bhukku Bodhi says that from one angle we can equate the discovery of dependent arising with Buddha’s attainment of enlightenment itself.

After his enlightenment Buddha had said that he sat for several weeks meditating on Patticca Saumuppada, the sequence both forwards and backwards. He found that this Dhamma he discovered is deep and difficult to understand and can be realized only by the wise.

Bhikku Bodhi explains that this doctrine is the dynamic counter part of the doctrine of Annatha, the absence of soul or self. The structural principle of this doctrine represents the most fundamental law sustaining all phenomena. This is the law of conditionality. Everything that comes into being comes into being due to the force of conditions. This is expressed in an ancient Pali formula which goes as ‘Emmasmin  sathy edan hothi, emmas uppada  edan uppajjathi; imasmin sathi  edan  nahothi,  emmas nirodha  edan nirojjathi’ , meaning that, when there is this, that comes to be, with the arising of this, that arises;  when there is not this, that does not come into being, with the ceasing of this that ceases.

This law of conditionality is not a creation of the Buddha.  The Law is always operative, whether an enlightened one arises or does not arise. It’s the actual reality and unalterable. Western notion of causality operates as a succession of events moving in one direction. This law however does not recognize a single cause. Phenomena do not arise from one cause but due to many conditions. It’s not like points along a straight line or a succession of events. It is an interrelated network rather like a spider’s web. This interlocking network has no first cause or it is without any conceivable beginning or without any discoverable first point. The western notion of cause and effect recognizes a first cause.  The theistic religions associate the first cause to God, who created the world, the original beginning. Under this Patticca Saumuppada Law the first point of Samsara cannot be discovered no matter how far back you go. Although the Samsara has no beginning in time, with the elimination of conditions, the wheel of becoming can be brought to a stop.

 Ven. Ajahn Brahmavamavanso, English scholar monk living in Australia,  -..http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books3/Ajahn_Brahm_Paticca_Samuppa... says that:-

"this is the most crucial aspect of Buddha’s teaching. All of our happiness and distress that we undergo is due to a cause. This teaching of dependent origination is able to explain this and thereby help us to adjust our actions. Not only can this be understood intellectually and logically but this teaching can be experienced in our meditation practice". He goes on to say that it refers to how rebirth happens, show people where they came from, why and how they got here etc. Also how craving creates this world. He observes that we never stop, we do not know what we want to do, we try doing what other people do, we are conditioned to do what other people do, what we do is never finished,  even in death we have not finished what we want to do. As we have not finished even at death, we get reborn. Basically that is the force that keeps us going. At death if we can say that what’s done is finished then birth comes to an end. This is the story of life, and what this teaching explains. Furthermore, the understanding of Dependent Origination is an integral part of the delusion-shattering insight that brings one to the state of 'one who has entered the stream' (sotapanna), is destined for full Enlightenment.

 In another discourse found in the web; a monk  in his talk on Patticca Saumuppada refers to Vipaka Samuppadaya - the result of causes and conditions. He says that Aswadaya (the experiencing of feelings, sensations or enjoyment) is a Vipaka . We create these conditional formations due to Avidya (ignorance of the Four Noble Truths). Attachment to Aswadaya creates the Samsaric Process……Aswada Nirodaya - eliminating Aswada through meditation should be the attempt through the Patticca Saumuppada. 

I will include more comments from Ajahn Brahm and Thanissaro Bhikku on Patticca Saumuppada in my next Post.

These introductory comments from these learned monks, is the first part of my attempt to Post this topic in the Blog. I hope they will motivate you to read more on this  topic. I will deal with some more details in Part 2- Post #40