Dependent Origination is one of the most important teachings of
the Buddha, and it is also very profound. The Buddha has often
expressed His experience of Enlightenment in one of two ways,
either in terms of having understood the Four Noble Truths, or in
terms of having understood the nature of the dependent origination.
However, more people have heard about the Four Noble Truths and can
discuss it than the Law of Dependent Origination, which is just as
important. Although the actual insight into dependent origination
arises with spiritual maturity, it is still possible for us to
understand the principle involved. The basis of dependent
origination is that life or the world is built on a set of
relations, in which the arising and cessation of factors depend on
some other factors which condition them. This principle can be
given in a short formula of four lines: <dir> <dir>
<dir> <dir>
When this is, that is This arising, that arises When this is
not, that is not This ceasing, that ceases.
</dir> </dir> </dir> </dir> On this
principle of interdependence and relativity rests the arising,
continuity and cessation of existence. This principle is known as
the Law of Dependent Origination in Pali, Paticca-samuppada. This
law emphasizes an important principle that all phenomena in this
universe are relative, conditioned states and do not arise
independently of supportive conditions. A phenomenon arises because
of a combination of conditions which are present to support its
arising. And the phenomenon will cease when the conditions and
components supporting its arising change and no longer sustain it.
The presence of these supportive conditions, in turn, depend on
other factors for their arising, sustenance and disappearance. The
Law of Dependence Origination is a realistic way of understanding
the universe and is the Buddhist equivalent of Einstein's Theory of
Relativity. The fact that everything is nothing more than a set of
relations is consistent with the modern scientific view of the
material world. Since everything is conditioned, relative, and
interdependent, there is nothing in this world which could be
regarded as a permanent entity, variously regarded as an ego or an
eternal soul, which many people believe in. The phenomenal world is
built on a set of relations, but is this the way we would normally
understand the world to be? We create fictions of its permanency in
our minds because of our desires. It is almost natural for human
beings to cling to what they consider as beautiful or desirable,
and to reject what is ugly or undesirable. Being subjected to the
forces of greed and hatred, they are misled by delusion, clouded by
the illusion of the permanency of the object they cling to or
reject. Therefore, it is hard for us to realize that the world is
like a bubble or mirage, and is not the kind of reality we believe
it to be. We do not realize that it is unreal in actuality. It is
like a ball of fire, which when whirled around rapidly, can for a
time, create the illusion of a circle. The fundamental principle at
work in dependent origination is that of cause and effect. In
dependent origination, what actually takes place in the causal
process is described in detail. To illustrate the nature of
dependent origination of the things around us, let us consider an
oil lamp. The flame in an oil lamp burns dependent upon the oil and
the wick. When the oil and the wick are present, the flame in an
oil lamp burns. If either of these is absent, the flame will cease
to burn. This example illustrates the principle of dependent
origination with respect to a flame in an oil lamp. Or in an
example of a plant, it is dependent upon the seed, earth, moisture,
air and sunlight for the plant to grow. All these phenomena arise
dependent upon a number of causal factors, and not independently.
This is the principle of dependent origination. In the Dhamma, we
are interested to know how the principle of dependent origination
is applied to the problem of suffering and rebirth. The issue is
how dependent origination can explain why we are still going round
in Samsara, or explain the problem of suffering and how we can be
free from suffering. It is not meant to be a description of the
origin or evolution of the universe. Therefore, one must not be
mistaken into assuming that ignorance, the first factor mentioned
in the dependent origination, is the first cause. Since everything
arises because of some preceding causes, there can be no first
cause.
According to the Law of Dependent Origination, there are twelve
factors which account for the continuity of existence birth after
birth. The factors are as follows:
Through ignorance are conditioned volitional actions or
kamma-formations. Through volitional actions is conditioned
consciousness. Through consciousness are conditioned mental and
physical phenomena. Through mental and physical phenomena are
conditioned the six faculties(i.e., five physical sense-organs and
mind). Through the six faculties is conditioned (sensorial and
mental) contact. Through (sensorial and mental)contact is
conditioned sensation. Through sensation is conditioned desire,
'thirst". Through desire ('thirst') is conditioned clinging.
Through clinging is conditioned the process of becoming. Through
the process of becoming is conditioned birth. Through birth are
conditioned decay, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and
despair.
This is how life arises, exists and continues, and how suffering
arises. These factors may be understood as sequentially spanning
over a period of three life-times; the past life, the present life,
and the future life. In the dependent origination, ignorance and
mental formation belong to the past life, and represent the
conditions that are responsible for the occurrence of this life.
The following factors, namely, consciousness, mental and physical
phenomena, the six senses, contact, sensation, desire, clinging and
becoming, are factors involved in the present life. The last two
factors, birth and decay and death, belong to the future life. In
this law, the first factor of Ignorance gives rise to Volitional
Activities (or kamma). Ignorance means not knowing or understanding
the true nature of our existence. Through Ignorance, good or evil
deeds are performed which will lead a person to be reborn. Rebirth
can occur in various planes of existence: the human world, the
celestial or higher planes, or even suffering planes depending of
the quality of a person's kamma. When a person dies, his Volitional
Activities will condition the arising of Consciousness, in this
case to mean the re-linking Consciousness which arises as the first
spark of a new life in the process of re-becoming. Once the
re-linking Consciousness has taken place, life starts once again.
Dependent on the Consciousness, there arise Mind and Matter, that
is, a new 'being' is born. Because there are Mind and Matter, there
arise the six Sense-organs (the sixth sense is the mind itself).
With the arising of the Sense-organs, there arises Contact. Contact
with what? Contact with sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile
objects, and mental objects. These sights, sounds, smells, tastes,
tactile objects, and mental objects can be beautiful, pleasing and
enticing. On the other hand, they can be ugly and distasteful.
Therefore, dependent on Contact arises Sensations: feelings that
are pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. Because of these feelings, the
laws of attraction (greed)and repulsion (aversion) are now set in
motion. Beings are naturally attracted to pleasant objects and
repelled by unpleasant objects. As a result of Sensation, Desire
arises. A person desires and thirsts for forms that are beautiful
and enticing; sounds that are beautiful and enticing; tastes,
smells, touch, and objects which the mind regards as beautiful and
enticing. From these Desires, he develops very strong Clinging to
the beautiful object (or strongly rejects the repulsive object).
Now because of this Clinging and attachment, the next life is
conditioned and there arises Becoming. In other words, the
processes of Becoming are set in motion by Clinging.
The next link in this chain of Dependent Origination is that
Becoming conditions the arising of Birth. And finally, dependence
on Birth arise Decay and Death, followed by Sorrow, Lamentation,
Pain, Grief and Despair. The process can be ceased if the formula
is taken in the reverse order: Through the complete cessation of
ignorance(through the cultivation of Insight), volitional
activities or kamma-formations cease; through the cessation of
volitional activities, consciousness ceases; °‚ through the
cessation of birth, the other factors of decay, death, sorrow,
etc., cease. Therefore, one can be free from the rounds of rebirth
through the eradication of ignorance. To re-iterate what was
mentioned earlier, this doctrine of Dependent Origination merely
explains the processes of Birth and Death, and is not a theory of
the evolution of the world. It deals with the Cause of re-birth and
Suffering, but in no way attempts to show the absolute Origin of
Life. Ignorance in Dependent Origination is the ignorance of the
Four Noble Truths. It is very important for us to understand the
Four Noble Truths because it is the ignorance of these Truths that
has trapped us all in the endless cycle of birth and death.
According to the Buddha, while He was speaking to Ananda: It is by
their not being able to comprehend the Dependent Origination, that
people are entangled like a ball of cotton, and not being able to
see the Truth, are always afflicted by Sorrow, --born often into
conditions that are dismal and dreary, where confusion and
prolonged suffering prevail. And, they do not know how to
disentangle themselves to get out. == Eternalism and Nihilism
==
The Buddha rejected both extremes of eternalism and
nihilism. To develop Right View or Perfect View,
we must first be aware of two views which are considered imperfect
or wrong. The first view is eternalism. This doctrine or belief is
concerned with eternal life or with eternal things. Before the
Buddha's time, it was taught that there is an abiding entity which
could exist forever, and that man can live the eternal life by
preserving the eternal soul in order to be in union with Supreme
Being. In Buddhism, this teaching is called sassata ditthi
----the view of eternalists. Such views still exist even in the
modern world owing to man's craving for eternity. Why did the
Buddha deny the teaching of eternalism? Because when we understand
the things of this world as they truly are, we cannot find anything
which is permanent or which exists forever. Things change and
continue to do so according to the changing conditions on which
they depend. When we analyse things into their elements or into
reality, we cannot find any abiding entity, any everlasting thing.
This is why the eternalist view is considered wrong or false.
The second false view is nihilism or the view held by the
nihilists who claim that there is no life after death. This view
belongs to a materialistic philosophy which refuses to accept
knowledge of mental conditionality. To subscribe to a philosophy of
materialism is to understand life only partially. Nihilism ignores
the side of life which is concerned with mental conditionality. If
one claims that after the passing away or ceasing of a life, it
does not come to be again, the continuity of mental conditions is
denied. To understand life, we must consider all conditions, both
mental and material. When we understand mental and material
conditions, we cannot say that there is no life after death and
that there is no further becoming after passing away. This nihilist
view of existence is considered false because it is based on
incomplete understanding of reality. That is why nihilism was also
rejected by the Buddha. The teaching of kamma is enough to prove
that the Buddha did not teach annihilation after death; Buddhism
accepts 'survival' not in the sense of an eternal soul, but in the
sense of a renewed becoming. Throughout the Buddha's long period of
teaching the Dhamma to His followers, He actively discouraged
speculative arguments. During the 5th century B.C. India
was a veritable hive of intellectual activity where scholars,
yogis, philosophers, kings and even ordinary householders were
constantly engaged in the philosophical arguments pertaining to
human existence. Some of these were either ridiculously trivial or
totally irrelevant. Some people wasted valuable time arguing at
great length about all manner of subjects. They were far more
concerned about proving their powers in mental gymnastics than
seeking genuine solutions to the problems that beset humanity. (In
the 18th century Jonathan Swift satirized a similar
pastime in England when he showed the Lilliputians in
'Gulliver's Travels' waging a war to decide whether an egg
should be broken on its sharp end or its broad end).
The Buddha also refused to get involved in speculations
regarding the universe. He stated very clearly that the problem
facing mankind is not in his past or his future but in the
immediate present. Knowledge about Eternalism or Nihilism can in no
way help man to break the present fetters which bind him to
existence and which are the source of all his feelings of
discontent which arise from his inability to completely satisfy his
cravings. The Buddha stated that before one can begin to tread the
path which leads to Nibbana one must have Right View. Only when one
knows clearly what one is seeking will one be able to attain it. ==
Can the First Cause be Known? ==
It is rather difficult for us to understand how the world
came into existence without a first cause. But it is very much more
difficult to understand how that first cause came into existence at
the beginning.
According to the Buddha, it is inconceivable to find a first
cause for life or anything else. For in common experience, the
cause becomes the effect and the effect becomes the cause. In the
circle of cause and effect, a first cause is incomprehensible. With
regard to the origin of life, the Buddha declares, 'Without
cognizable end is this recurrent wandering in Samsara(cycle of
birth and death). Beings are obstructed by ignorance and fettered
by craving. A first beginning of these beings is not to be
perceived. (Anamatagga Samyutta in Samyutta
Nikaya). This life-steam flows on ad infinitum, as
long as it is fed by the muddy waters of ignorance and craving.
When these two are cut off, only then does the life-steam cease to
flow, only then does rebirth come to an end.
It is difficult to conceive an end of space. It is difficult to
conceive an eternal duration of what we call time. But it is more
difficult for us to understand how this world came into existence
with a first cause. And it is more difficult to understand how that
first cause came into existence at the beginning. For if the first
cause can exist though uncreated, there is no reason why the other
phenomena of the universe must not exist without having also been
created. As to the question how all beings came into existence
without a first cause, the Buddhist's reply is that there is no
answer because the question itself is merely a product of man's
limited comprehension. If we can understand the nature of time and
relativity, we must see that there could not have been any
beginning. It can only be pointed out that all the usual answers to
the question are fundamentally defective. If it is assumed that for
a thing to exist, it must have had a creator who existed before it,
it follows logically that the creator himself must have had a
creator, and so on back to infinity. On the other hand, if the
creator could exist without a prior cause in the form of another
creator, the whole argument falls to the ground. The theory of a
creator does not solve any problems, it only complicates the
existing ones. Thus Buddhism does not pay much attention to
theories and beliefs about the origin of the world. Whether the
world was created by a god or it came into existence by itself
makes little difference to Buddhist. Whether the world is finite or
infinite also makes little difference to Buddhists. Instead of
following this line of theoretical speculations, the Buddha advises
people to work hard to find their own salvation. Scientists have
discovered many causes which are responsible for the existence of
life, plants, planets, elements and other energies. But it is
impossible for anyone to find out any particular first cause for
their existence. If they go on searching for the first cause of any
existing life or thing, they point certain causes as the main cause
but that never becomes the first cause. In the process of searching
for the first cause one after the other, they will come back to the
place where they were. This is because, cause becomes the effect
and the next moment that effect becomes the cause to produce
another effect. That is what the Buddha say, 'It is
incomprehensible and the universe is beginningless.' == face="Times
New Roman" Is there an Eternal Soul? ==
Belief in an eternal soul is a misconception of the human
consciousness. The Soul Theory With regard to
the soul theory, there are three kinds of teachers in the world: -
The first teacher teaches the existence of an eternal ego-entity
that outlasts death: He is the eternalist. - The second teacher
teaches a temporary ego-entity which becomes annihilated at death:
He is the materialist. - The third teacher teaches neither an
eternal nor a temporary ego-entity: He is the Buddha.
The Buddha teaches that what we call ego, self, soul,
personality, etc., are merely conventional terms that do not refer
to any real, independent entity. According to Buddhism there is no
reason to believe that there is an eternal soul that comes from
heaven or that is created by itself and that will transmigrate or
proceed straight away either to heaven or hell after death.
Buddhists cannot accept that there is anything either in this world
or any other world that is eternal or unchangeable. We only cling
to ourselves and hope to find something immortal. We are like
children who wish to clasp a rainbow. To children, a rainbow is
something vivid and real; but the grown-ups know that it is merely
an illusion caused by certain rays of light and drops of water. The
light is only a series of waves or undulations that have no more
reality than the rainbow itself. Man has done well without
discovering the soul. He shows no signs of fatigue or degeneration
for not having encountered any soul. No man has produced anything
to promote mankind by postulating a soul and its imaginary working.
Searching for a soul in man is like searching for something in a
dark empty room. But the poor man will never realize that what he
is searching for is not in the room. It is very difficult to make
such a person understand the futility of his search. Those who
believe in the existence of a soul are not in a position to explain
what and where it is. The Buddha's advice is not to waste our time
over this unnecessary speculation and devote our time to strive for
our salvation. When we have attained perfection then we will be
able to realize whether there is a soul or not. A wandering ascetic
named Vacchagotta asked the Buddha whether there was an
Atman (self) or not. The story is as follows: Vacchagotta
comes to the Buddha and asks:
'Venerable Gotama, is there an Atman? The Buddha is
silent. 'Then Venerable Gotama, is there no Atman? Again
the Buddha is silent. Vacchagotta gets up and goes away.
After the ascetic has left, Ananda asks the Buddha why He did
not answer Vacchagotta's question. The Buddha explains His
position: 'Ananda, when asked by Vacchagotta, the Wanderer: 'Is
there a Self?, if I had answered: 'There is a Self'. Then, Ananda,
that would be siding with those recluses and brahmanas who hold the
eternalist theory (sassata-vada).'
'And Ananda, when asked by the Wanderer: 'Is there no Self?, if
I had answered: 'There is no Self', then that would be siding with
those recluses and brahmanas who hold the annihilationist theory
(uccedavada)'. 'Again, Ananda, when asked by Vacchagotta:
'Is there a Self? If I had answered: 'There is a Self', would that
be in accordance with my knowledge that all dhammas are without
Self?
'Surely not, Sir.' 'And again, Ananda, when asked by the
Wanderer: 'Is there no Self?', if I had answered: 'There is no
Self', then that would have created a greater confusion in the
already confused Vacchagotta. For he would have thought: Formerly
indeed I had an Atman (Self), but now I haven't got one.'
(Samyutta Nikaya).
The Buddha regarded soul-speculation as useless and illusory. He
once said, 'Only through ignorance and delusion do men indulge in
the dream that their souls are separate and self-existing entities.
Their heart still clings to Self. They are anxious about heaven and
they seek the pleasure of Self in heaven. Thus they cannot see the
bliss of righteousness and the immortality of truth.' Selfish ideas
appear in man's mind due to his conception of Self and craving for
existence.
Anatta: The Teaching of No-Soul The Buddha
countered all soul-theory and soul-speculation with His
Anatta doctrine. Anatta is translated under
various labels: No-soul, No-self, egolessness, and soullessness. To
understand the Anatta doctrine, one must understand that
the eternal soul theory _ 'I have a soul' _ and the material theory
_ 'I have no soul' _are both obstacles to self-realization or
salvation. They arise from the misconception 'I AM'.
Hence, to understand the Anatta doctrine, one must not
cling to any opinion or views on soul-theory; rather, one must try
to see things objectively as they are and without any mental
projections. One must learn to see the so-called 'I' or Sour or
Self for what it really is : merely a combination of changing
forces. This requires some analytical explanation.
The Buddha taught that what we conceive as something eternal
within us, is merely a combination of physical and mental
aggregates or forces (pancakkhandha), made up of body or
matter (rupakkhandha), sensation (vedanakkhandha), perception
(sannakkhandha), mental formations (samkharakkhandha) and
consciousness (vinnanakkhandha). These forces are working together
in a flux of momentary change; they are never the same for two
consecutive moments. They are the component forces of the
psycho-physical life. When the Buddha analyzed the psycho-physical
life, He found only these five aggregates or forces. He did not
find any eternal soul. However, many people still have the
misconception that the soul is the consciousness. The Buddha
declared in unequivocal terms that consciousness depends on matter,
sensation, perception and mental formations and that is cannot
exist independently of them. The Buddha said, 'The body, O monks,
is not the Self. Sensation is not the Self. Perception is not the
Self. The mental constructions are not the Self. And neither is
consciousness the Self. Perceiving this, O monks, the disciple sets
no value on the body, or on sensation, or on perception, or on
mental constructions, or on consciousness. Setting no value of
them, he becomes free of passions and he is liberated. The
knowledge of liberation arises there within him. And then he knows
that he has done what has to be done, that he has lived the holy
life, that he is no longer becoming this or that, that his rebirth
is destroyed.' (Anatta-Lakkhana Sutta). The Anatta
doctrine of the Buddha is over 2500 years old. Today the thought
current of the modern scientific world is flowing towards the
Buddha's Teaching of Anatta or No-Soul. In the eyes of the modern
scientists, man is merely a bundle of ever-changing sensations.
Modern physicists say that the apparently solid universe is not, in
reality, composed of solid substance at all, but actually a flux of
energy. The modern physicist sees the whole universe as a process
of transformation of various forces of which man is a mere part.
The Buddha was the first to realize this.
A prominent author, W.S. Wily, once said, 'The existence of the
immortal in man is becoming increasingly discredited under the
influence of the dominant schools of modern thought.' The belief in
the immortality of the soul is a dogma that is contradicted by the
most solid, empirical truth.
The mere belief in an immortal soul, or the conviction that
something in us survives death, does not make us immortal unless we
know what it is that survives and that we are capable of
identifying ourselves with it. Most human beings choose death
instead of immortality by identifying themselves with that which is
perishable and impermanent by clinging stubbornly to the body or
the momentary elements of the present personality, which they
mistake for the soul or the essential form of life. About those
researches of modern scientists who are now more inclined to assert
that the so-called 'Soul' is no more than a bundle of sensations,
emotions, sentiments, all relating to the physical experiences,
Prof. James says that the term 'Soul' is a mere figure of speech to
which no reality corresponds.
It is the same Anatta doctrine of the Buddha that was introduced
in the Mahayana school of Buddhism as Sunyata or voidness. Although
this concept was elaborated by a great Mahayana scholar, Nagarjuna,
by giving various interpretations, there is no extraordinary
concept in Sunyata far different from the Buddha's original
doctrine of Anatta. The belief in soul or Self and the Creator God,
is so strongly rooted in the minds of many people that they cannot
imagine why the Buddha did not accept these two issues which are
indispensable to many religions. In fact some people got a shock or
became nervous and tried to show their emotion when they heard that
the Buddha rejected these two concepts. That is the main reason why
to many unbiased scholars and psychologists Buddhism stands unique
when compared to all the other religions. At the same time, some
other scholars who appreciate the various other aspects of Buddhism
thought that Buddhism would be enriched by deliberately
re-interpreting the Buddha word 'Atta' in order to introduce the
concept of Soul and Self into Buddhism. The Buddha was aware of
this unsatisfactoriness of man and the conceptual upheaval
regarding this belief.
All conditioned things are impermanent, All conditioned things
are Dukka -- Suffering, All conditioned or unconditioned things are
soulless or selfless. (Dhammapada 277, 278, 279)
There is a parable in our Buddhist texts with regard to the
belief in an eternal soul. A man, who mistook a moving rope for a
snake, became terrified by that fear in his mind. Upon discovery
that it was only a piece of rope, his fear subsided and his mind
became peaceful. The belief in an eternal soul is equated to the
rope of that man's imagination.