Pratītyasamutpāda

Translations of paṭiccasamuppāda
English	dependent origination, dependent arising, interdependent co-arising, conditioned arising, etc.
Pali	paṭiccasamuppāda (Dev: पटिच्चसमुप्पाद)
Sanskrit	pratītyasamutpāda (Dev: प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद)
Bengali	[প্রতীত্যসমুৎপাদ prôtityôsômutpadô] error: {{lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
Burmese	ပဋိစ္စ သမုပ္ပါဒ် IPA: [bədeiʔsa̰ θəmouʔpaʔ]
Chinese	緣起 (Pinyin: yuánqǐ)
Japanese	縁起 (rōmaji: engi)
Sinhalese	පටිච්චසමුප්පාද
Tibetan	རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེ ལ་བར་འབྱུང་བ་ (Wylie: rten cing 'brel bar 'byung ba THL: ten-ching drelwar jungwa)
Thai	ปฏิจจสมุปบาท
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Pratītyasamutpāda (Sanskrit: प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद pratītyasamutpāda; Pali: पटिच्चसमुप्पाद paṭiccasamuppāda), commonly translated as dependent origination, or dependent arising, is the principle that all dharmas ("phenomena") arise in dependence upon other dharmas: "if this exists, that exists; if this ceases to exist, that also ceases to exist". The principle is applied in the twelve links of dependent origination doctrine in Buddhism, which describes the chain of causes which result in rebirth and dukkha (suffering). By breaking the chain, liberation from suffering can be attained. Additionally, one could be seen to reach a level of consciousness associated with ascendance.^[1] Everything except nirvana (nibbana) is conditioned by Pratītyasamutpāda, asserts Buddhism. This principle complements its teachings of anicca and anatta.^[2]

Etymology and meaning[edit]

Pratityasamutpada (Sanskrit: प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद) consists of two terms:

• pratitya: "having depended";^[3] it appears in various Vedas and Upanishads, such as hymns 4.5.14, 7.68.6 of the Rigveda and 19.49.8 of Atharvaveda, in the sense of "confirmation, dependence, acknowledge origin".^[4][5] The Sanskrit root of the word is prati* whose forms appear more extensively in the Vedic literature, and it means "to go towards, go back, come back, to approach" with the connotation of "observe, learn, convince oneself of the truth of anything, be certain of, believe, give credence, recognize". In other contexts, a related term pratiti* means "going towards, approaching, insight into anything".^[5]
• samutpada: "arising",^[3] "rise, production, origin"^{[web 1]} In Vedic literature, it means "spring up together, arise, come to pass, occur, effect, form, produce, originate".^[6]

The term has been translated into English variously as dependent origination, dependent arising, interdependent co-arising, conditioned arising, and conditioned genesis.^{[7][8][note 1]}

The term may also refer to the Twelve Nidānas, the twelvefold chain that describes the chain of endless rebirth in Saṃsāra (Buddhism).^{[quote 2]} Generally speaking, in the Mahayana tradition, pratityasamutpada (Sanskrit) is used to refer to the general principle of interdependent causation, whereas in the Theravada tradition, paticcasamuppāda (Pali) is used to refer to the twelve nidanas.

According to Alex Wayman, the idea of "dependent origination" may precede the birth of the Buddha, and the first four causal links starting with Avidya in the Twelve Nidanas are found in cosmic development theory of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and other older Vedic texts.^[13][14] Terms synonymous to Pratītyasamutpāda are Apekṣhasamutpāda and Prāpyasamutpāda.^[15]

Conditioned causality, not Newtonian causality[edit]

The concept of causality and causal efficacy where "cause produces an effect because a property or svadha (energy) is inherent in something", appears extensively in the Indian thought in the Vedic literature of the 2nd millennium BCE, such as the 10th mandala of the Rigveda and the Brahmanas layer of the Vedas.^{[16][note 2]} The Pratityasamutpada doctrine is an extension of this, however pratityasamutpada doctrine asserts neither direct Newtonian-like causality nor a single causality. Rather, it asserts an indirect conditioned causality and a plural causality.^[19][20]

Buddhist thought, states Gethin, does not understand causality in terms of Newtonian mechanics, where "billiard balls rebound off each other in an entirely predictable manner once the relevant information is gathered".^[19] The "causal link" propositions in Buddhism is very different from the idea of causality that developed in Europe.^[21][22] Instead, the concept of causality in Buddhism is referring to conditions created by a plurality of causes that necessarily co-originate phenomena within and across lifetimes, such as karma in one life creating conditions that lead to rebirth in one of realms of existence for another lifetime.^[23][24][25]

Dependent origination[edit]

According to Peter Harvey, Pratityasamutpada is an ontological principle; that is, a theory to explain the nature and relations of being, becoming, existence and ultimate reality. Buddhism asserts that there is nothing independent, except the state of nirvana.^[8] All physical and mental states depend on and arise from other pre-existing states, and in turn from them arise other dependent states while they cease.^[26] The 'dependent arisings' have a causal conditioning, and thus Pratityasamutpada is the Buddhist belief that causality is the basis of ontology, not a creator God nor the ontological Vedic concept called universal Self (Brahman) nor any other 'transcendent creative principle'.^[27][28]

The Pratītyasamutpāda principle asserts that the dependent origination is necessary and sufficient condition in both directions. This is expressed in Majjhima Nikaya as "When this is, that is; This arising, that arises; When this is not, that is not; This ceasing, that ceases."^[30][31]

The Pratītyasamutpāda ontological principle in Buddhism is applied not only to explain the nature and existence of matter and empirically observed phenomenon, but also to the nature and existence of life.^[32] In abstract form, according to Peter Harvey, "the doctrine states: 'That being, this comes to be; from the arising of that, this arises; that being absent, this is not; from the cessation of that, this ceases'."^[8] There is no 'first cause' from which all beings arose.^[33]

Against Harvey's ontological interpretation, Eviatar Shulman argues that

"dependent-origination addresses the workings of the mind alone. Dependent-origination should be understood to be no more than an inquiry into the nature of the self (or better, the lack of a self). Viewing pratitya-samutpada as a description of the nature of reality in general means investing the words of the earlier teachings with meanings derived from later Buddhist discourse."^[34]

Shulman grants that there are some ontological implications that may be gleaned from dependent origination, but that at its core it is concerned with "identifying the different processes of mental conditioning and describing their relations".^[35]

According to Stephen Laumakis, pratītyasamutpāda is also an epistemological principle; that is, a theory about how we gain correct and incorrect knowledge about being, becoming, existence and reality.^[36] The 'dependent origination' doctrine, states Peter Harvey, "highlights the Buddhist notion that all apparently substantial entities within the world are in fact wrongly perceived. We live under the illusion that terms such as 'I', self, mountain, tree, etc. denote permanent and stable things. The doctrine teaches this is not so."^[37] There is nothing permanent (anicca), nothing substantial, no unique individual self in the nature of becoming and existence (anatta), because everything is a result of "dependent origination".^[37][31][38] There are no independent objects and independent subjects, according to the Pratītyasamutpāda doctrine, there is fundamental emptiness in all phenomena and experiences.^[36]

Application in Buddhist teachings[edit]

The 'dependent origination' doctrine is presented in Vinaya Pitaka 1.1–2, in abbreviated form in Samyutta Nikaya 2.1, 2.19 and 2.76.^[39][40] The doctrine is a key element in other Buddhist teachings.

Four Noble Truths[edit]

The Four Noble Truths are an expression of the principle of dependent origination, states Bhikkhu Thanissaro, because they explain the arising of dukkha which is dependently originated, and the cessation of dukkha by removing the "causes."^[12] Others, such as Étienne Lamotte offer a more nuanced view, stating that only the second and third truths in the Four Noble Truths are related to the principle of dependent origination, the first and the fourth truths are mere statements and do not illustrate or apply pratītyasamutpāda doctrine.^[41]

Even in the case of those two truths where dependent origination is applied, the order is different; more specifically, the second truth applies dependent origination in a direct order, while the third truth applies it in inverse order.^[41] Thus, the Four Noble Truths and the pratītyasamutpāda doctrines are connected, but independent and separate, not implied.^[41][42]

The pratītyasamutpāda doctrine connects the Four Noble Truths to the Twelve Nidanas doctrine of Buddhism, states Ian Harris.^[43] The second truth is compatible with the twelve 'dependently originated' links from Avidya to Jaramarana (old-age and death).^[43] The third truth is compatible with its reversal, which results from the broken link because of an end to Avidya.^[43]

The Twelve Nidanas[edit]

"Nidanas" refers causal events or phenomena which act as links on a chain (ie. they condition and depend on each other), and are used to describe the process of samsaric rebirth and the arising of suffering. In reverse order they also describe the way to liberation from samsara. Each of the links illustrate "dependent origination", and they explain the process of rebirth and the arising of dukkha.^{[43][web 2]} When certain conditions are present, they give rise to subsequent conditions, which in turn give rise to other conditions; these 'conditioned arising' result in the cyclical nature of rebirths and redeaths in Samsara.^[44][45][46]

The attainment of nirvana, in Buddhist belief, ends the process of rebirth and associated dukkha. It is achieved by breaking a link in the series of nidanas (links) of conditioned co-arising.^[46]

List of the twelve Nidanas[edit]

There are various Nidana lists throughout the Early Buddhist Texts and collections such as the Pali Nikayas, the most common of which is a list of Twelve Nidānas which appears in both Pali texts and Mahayana sutras such as the Salistamba Sutra.

Cause	Effect	Comments[47][48]
Ignorance - (Avijjā)	Constructing activities (any action of body, speech or mind) - (Saṅkhāra)[49]	Not knowing suffering, not knowing the origination of suffering, not knowing the cessation of suffering, not knowing the way of practice leading to the cessation of suffering: This is called ignorance. It leads to action, or constructing activities.[49]
Constructing activities - (Saṅkhāra)[49]	Consciousness (rebirth consciousness) - (Viññāṇa)	Any action, whether meritorious or harmful, and whether of body, speech or mind, creates karmic imprint on a being.[49] This includes will (cetana) and planning.[49] It leads to transmigratory consciousness.[49]
Consciousness (rebirth consciousness) - (Viññāṇa)	Name-and-form (mentality and corporeality) - (Nāmarūpa)	These six are classes of consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, intellect-consciousness. This is called consciousness.[47] As seen earlier,[50] consciousness and the organ cannot function without each other.
Name-and-Form (mentality and corporeality) - (Nāmarūpa)	Six-fold sense bases - (Saḷāyatana)	Feeling,[a] perception,[b] intention,[c] contact, and attention:[d] This is called name (i.e. mentality or mind). The four great elements,[e] and the body dependent on the four great elements: This is called form (i.e. corporeality or body).
Six-fold sense bases - (Saḷāyatana)	Contact[50] - (Phassa)	The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind are the six sense media.
Contact - (Phassa)	Feeling - (Vedanā)	The coming together of the object, the sense medium and the consciousness of that sense medium[f] is called contact.[g]
Feeling (Sensation) - (Vedanā)	Craving - (Taṇhā)	Feeling or sensations are of six forms: vision, hearing, olfactory sensation, gustatory sensation, tactile sensation, and intellectual sensation (thought). In general, vedanā refers to the pleasant, unpleasant and/or neutral sensations that occur when our internal sense organs come into contact with external sense objects and the associated consciousness.
Craving - (Taṇhā)	Clinging (attachment) - (Upādāna)	There are these six forms of cravings: cravings with respect to forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touch (massage, sex, pain), and ideas.[h]
Clinging (attachment) - (Upādāna)	Becoming (Karmic Force, similar to volitional formations) (Bhava (KamaBhava))	These four are clingings: sensual clinging,[i] view clinging,[j] practice clinging,[k] and self clinging[l]
Becoming (Karmic force, similar to volitional formations) - (Bhava (KammaBhava))	Birth (similar to rebirth consciousness) - (Jāti)	These three are becoming: sensual becoming,[m] form becoming,[n] formless becoming[o]
Birth (similar to rebirth consciousness)- (Jāti)	Aging, death, and this entire mass of dukkha) - (Jarāmaraṇa)	Birth[p] is any coming-to-be or coming-forth. It refers not just to birth at the beginning of a lifetime, but to birth as new person, acquisition of a new status or position etc.

Transcendental Dependent Arising[edit]

Other texts in the Pali Nikayas such as the Upanisa Sutta (SN 12.23) outline a different list of dhammas (phenomena) to explain the process of dependent arising as one transcends suffering by practicing the Buddhist path. According to Bhikkhu Bodhi, the importance of the Upanisa Sutta which brings together the 12 Nidanas (as analysis of arising of suffering) and Transcendental Dependent Arising (as analysis of supramundane transcendence of suffering) is that:

In addition to giving a clear, explicit account of the conditional structure of the liberative progression, this sutta has the further advantage of bringing the supramundane form of dependent arising into immediate connection with its familiar samsaric counterpart. By making this connection it brings into prominence the comprehensive character of the principle of conditionality — its ability to support and explain both the process of compulsive involvement which is the origin of suffering and the process of disengagement which leads to deliverance from suffering. Thereby it reveals dependent arising to be the key to the unity and coherence of the Buddha's teaching.^[51]

The Pali treatise named the Nettipakarana, names this "transcendental dependent arising" (lokuttara-paticcasamuppada),^[52] The Upanisa Sutta outlines the process of transcendental dependent origination as follows

Stages of Transcendental Dependent Arising (according to Upanisa Sutta)

Link	Comments [53]
Faith (saddhā)	An attitude of trust directed at ultimate liberation and as refuge in the three jewels. The sutta states that "suffering is the supporting condition for faith", thereby linking it with the last nidana in the 12 nidana chain. As Bhikkhu Bodhi explains: "it is the experience of suffering which first tears us out of our blind absorption in the immediacy of temporal being and sets us in search of a way to its transcendence." Faith also comes about through the hearing of the exposition of true Dhamma (teaching). Faith also leads to the practice of morality (sila).
Joy (pāmojja)	From confidence in the sources of refuge and contemplation on them, a sense of joy arises
Rapture (pīti)	Generally, the application of meditation is needed for the arising of rapture or bliss, though some rare individuals might experience rapture simply from the joy which arises from faith and a clear conscience arising from moral living. The meditative states called jhanas are states of elevated rapture.
Tranquillity (passaddhi)	In the higher states of meditation, rapture gives way to a calm sense of tranquility.
Happiness (sukha)	A subtler state than rapture, a pleasant feeling.
Concentration (samādhi)	"The wholesome unification of the mind", totally free from distractions and unsteadiness.
yathābhūta-ñānadassana	"Knowledge and vision of things as they really are". With a peaceful and concentrated mind, one is now able to practice the development of insight (vipassana bhavana), the first phase of which is insight into the nature of the five aggregates. Only pañña, the wisdom which penetrates the true nature of phenomena, can destroy the defilements which keep beings bound to samsara. This wisdom is not mere conceptual understanding, but a kind of direct experience akin to visual perception which sees the impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness of all phenomena. In Northern Buddhist traditions and Mahayana works, insight into emptiness is further emphasized.
Disenchantment (nibbidā)	Noticing the passing away of phenomena, the fact that nothing is stable, reliable or permanent, gives rise to a sense of disenchantment towards them. B. Bodhi: "a conscious act of detachment resulting from a profound noetic discovery. Nibbida signifies in short, the serene, dignified withdrawal from phenomena which supervenes when the illusion of their permanence, pleasure, and selfhood has been shattered by the light of correct knowledge and vision of things as they are."
Dispassion (virāga)	The first truly transmundane (lokuttara) stage in the progression. B. Bodhi: "Whatever tends to provoke grasping and adherence is immediately abandoned, whatever tends to create new involvement is left behind. The old urges towards outer extension and accumulation give way to a new urge towards relinquishment as the one clearly perceived way to release."
Freedom (vimutti)	Having a twofold aspect: the emancipation from ignorance (paññavimutti) and defilements (cetovimutti) experienced in life, the other is the emancipation from repeated existence attained when passing away. Equivalent with Nibbana.
āsava-khaye-ñāna	"Knowledge of destruction of the Asavas". This is a stage termed retrospective cognition or "reviewing knowledge" (paccavekkhana ñana), which reviews and confirms that all defilements have been abandoned. B. Bodhi: "The retrospective cognition of release involves two acts of ascertainment. The first, called the "knowledge of destruction" (khaya ñana), ascertains that all defilements have been abandoned at the root; the second, the "knowledge of non-arising" (anuppade ñana), ascertains that no defilement can ever arise again."

Karma[edit]

The Karma theory of Buddhism is integrated into its Twelve Nidanas doctrine, and has been extensively commented on by ancient Buddhist scholars such as Nagarjuna.^[54] Karma consists of any intentional action, whether of body or speech or in mind, which can be either advantageous (merit) or disadvantageous (demerit). Both good and bad karma sustain the cycle of samsara (rebirth) and associated dukkha, and both prevent the attainment of nirvana.^[55]

According to Nagarjuna, the second causal link (sankhara, motivations) and the tenth causal link (bhava, gestation) are two karmas through which sentient beings trigger seven sufferings identified in the Twelve Nidanas, and from this arises the revolving rebirth cycles.^[56]

To be liberated from samsara and dukkha, asserts Buddhism, the 'dependent origination' doctrine implies that the karmic activity must cease.^[55] One aspect of this 'causal link breaking' is to destroy the "deeply seated propensities, festering predilections" (asavas) which are karmic causal flow because these lead to rebirth.^[55]

Lives of a person[edit]

The Buddhist mechanistic theory of how karma impacts across multiple lives of a being are explained in medieval Buddhist texts by applying the "dependent origination" doctrine on one life of a single person, two lives of a single person, and three lives of a single person.^[57] The "three lives" idea was discussed by Buddhaghosa and Vasubandhu.^[58][59][60]

The first two nidanas, namely ignorance (nescience) and motivation relate to the previous life and forecast the destiny of the person.^[58][60] The next five dependent arising links in the Twelve Nidanas, go with the person's present destiny, and condition the present life's existence.^[58][60] The next three dependent originations, namely craving, indulgence and gestation foster the fruits of the present destiny, while the eleventh and twelfth nidanas, birth and death destine the next life in Buddhist thought.^[58][60][61]

The details of the three lives have historically varied between the Buddhist traditions, but they all accept the rebirth and dependent origination doctrines.^[58]

Understanding within the Buddhist traditions[edit]

The Pratītyasamutpāda doctrine, states Mathieu Boisvert, is a fundamental tenet of Buddhism and it may be considered as "the common denominator of all the Buddhist traditions throughout the world, whether Theravada, Mahayana or Vajrayana".^[62]

Theravāda and Sarvāstivāda[edit]

Within the Theravada Buddhist tradition, the twelve nidanas are considered to be the most significant application of the principle of dependent origination.^[32] One interpretation holds that the twelve nidanas span three temporal divisions, with the first two nidanas as chains of causation from past lives, the third to the tenth nidanas relate to present life beginning with the descent of consciousness into the womb, and the last two nidanas (birth and death) represent the future lives conditioned by the present causes.^[63] These twelve nidanas explain the dependent origination of Skandha (five aggregates).^[63] This model is associated with the Theravada scholar Buddhaghosa (c. fifth century AD) of the Sri Lankan Mahavihara tradition and is outlined in his influential Visuddhimagga. Because of his vast influence in the development of Theravada scholasticism, this model has been very influential in the Theravada school. According to Akira Hirakawa and Paul Groner, this "embryological" interpretation which links dependent origination with rebirth was also promoted by the Sarvastivadin school (a north Indian branch of the Sthavira nikāya) as evidenced by the Abhidharmakosa of Vasubandhu.^[64]

Another Theravada interpretation of the twelve links sees them as explaining psychological or phenomenological processes in the present moment. In Buddhaghosa's Sammohavinodani, a commentary to the Vibhanga of the Abhidhamma Pitaka, the principle of Dependent Origination is explained as occurring entirely within the space of one mind moment.^[65] According to Prayudh Payutto there is material in the Vibhanga which discusses both models, the three lifetimes model and the phenomenological mind moment model.

This thesis is also defended by Bhikkhu Buddhadasa's Paticcasamuppada: Practical Dependent Origination. In this interpretation, Birth and Death refer not to physical birth and death, but to the birth and death of our self-concept, the "emergence of the ego". According to Buddhadhasa: "dependent arising is a phenomenon that lasts an instant; it is impermanent. Therefore, Birth and Death must be explained as phenomena within the process of dependent arising in everyday life of ordinary people. Right Mindfulness is lost during contacts of the Roots and surroundings. Thereafter, when vexation due to greed, anger, and ignorance is experienced, the ego has already been born. It is considered as one 'birth'".^[66]

The Abhidharmakosa also outlines three other models of the 12 links that were used by the Sarvastivada schools apart from the three lifetimes model:^[64]

1. Instantaneous – All 12 links are present in the same instant.
2. Prolonged – The interdependence and causal relationship of dharmas or phenomenal events arising at different times.
3. Serial – The causal relationship of the twelve links arising and ceasing in continuous series of moments.

Discussing the three lifetimes model, Alex Wayman states that it is different from the Vajrayana view, because Theravadins denied bardo or an intermediate state between death and rebirth. This denial necessitated placing the first two nidanas of the "dependent origination" chain into the past life.^[67] The Tibetan Buddhism tradition allocates the twelve nidanas differently between various lives.^[68]

Mahayana[edit]

In the Madhyamaka philosophy, to say that an object is "empty" is synonymous with saying that it is dependently originated. Nāgārjuna equates emptiness with dependent origination in Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 24.18-19;^[69]

Whatever arises dependently

Is explained as empty.
Thus dependent attribution
Is the middle way.

Since there is nothing whatever
That is not dependently existent,
For that reason there is nothing
Whatsoever that is not empty.^[70]

In his analysis, svabhāva is somewhat redefined from the Sarvastivada-Vaibhāṣika interpretation to mean: inherent existence or self-characterization. Nagarjuna notably rejected the idea of dharmas containing svabhāva, meaning 'a self-sustaining, permanent, or unchanging identity.' If a dharma was inherently what-it-was from its own side, what need would there be for causes and conditions to bring that object into being? If any object was characterized by 'being-itself,' then it has no need to dependently rely on anything else. Further, such an identity or self-characterization would prevent the process of dependent origination. Inherence would prevent any kind of origination at all, for things would simply always have been, and things would always continue to be. Madhyamaka suggests that uncharacterized mere experiences—with no specific qualities—are designated by conceptual labels, and this brings them into being (See Prasaṅgika Merely Designated Causality). According to Nagarjuna, even the principle of causality itself is dependently originated, and hence it is empty.

Madhyamaka is interpreted in different ways by different traditions. In the Tibetan Gelug school, all dharmas are said to lack any 'inherent' existence, according to the Tibetan scholar Tsongkhapa in his Ocean of Reasoning.^[71]

Dzogchen[edit]

In the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the concept of dependent origination is considered to be complementary to the concept of emptiness. Specifically, this tradition emphasizes the indivisibility of appearance and emptiness—also known as the relative and absolute aspects of reality:^[72]

• Appearance (relative truth) refers to the concept that all appearances are dependently originated;
• Emptiness (absolute or ultimate truth) refers to the concept that the "nature" of all phenomena is emptiness—lacking inherent existence.

In Mipham Rinpoche's Beacon of Certainty, this relationship is explained using the metaphor of the reflection of the moon in water.^[72] According to this metaphor:^[72]

• The nature of all phenomena is like the reflection of the moon in water—completely lacking inherent existence. However,
• The appearance of the moon in the water is an expression of dependent origination—the appearance is completely dependent upon causes and conditions.

One of the founders of Tibetan Buddhism, Padmasambhava, emphasized his respect for this relationship as follows:

Though my View is as spacious as the sky,

My actions and respect for cause and effect are as fine as grains of flour.^[73]

Sogyal Rinpoche states all things, when seen and understood in their true relation, are not independent but interdependent with all other things. A tree, for example, cannot be isolated from anything else. It has no independent existence, states Rinpoche.^[74]

Hua Yen school[edit]

The Huayan school taught the doctrine of the mutual containment and interpenetration of all phenomena, as expressed in Indra's net. One thing contains all other existing things, and all existing things contain that one thing. This philosophy is based in the tradition of the great Madhyamaka scholar Nagarjuna and, more specifically, on the Avatamsaka Sutra. Regarded by D.T. Suzuki as the crowning achievement of Buddhist philosophy, the Avatamsaka Sutra elaborates in great detail on the principal of dependent origination. This sutra describes a cosmos of infinite realms upon realms, mutually containing one another.

Zen[edit]

Thich Nhat Hanh states, "Pratitya samutpada is sometimes called the teaching of cause and effect, but that can be misleading, because we usually think of cause and effect as separate entities, with cause always preceding effect, and one cause leading to one effect. According to the teaching of Interdependent Co-Arising, cause and effect co-arise (samutpada) and everything is a result of multiple causes and conditions... In the sutras, this image is given: "Three cut reeds can stand only by leaning on one another. If you take one away, the other two will fall." In Buddhist texts, one cause is never enough to bring about an effect. A cause must, at the same time, be an effect, and every effect must also be the cause of something else. This is the basis, states Hanh, for the idea that there is no first and only cause, something that does not itself need a cause.^[30]

Scholarly interpretations[edit]

Jay L. Garfield states that Mulamadhyamikakarika uses the causal relation to understand the nature of reality, and of our relation to it. This attempt is similar to the use of causation by Hume, Kant, and Schopenhauer as they present their arguments. Nagarjuna uses causation to present his arguments on how one individualizes objects, orders one's experience of the world, and understands agency in the world.^[10]

The concept of pratītyasamutpāda has also been compared to Western metaphysics, the study of reality. Schilbrack states says that the doctrine of interdependent origination seems to fit the definition of a metaphysical teaching, by questioning whether there is anything at all.^[75] Hoffman disagrees, and asserts that pratītyasamutpāda should not be considered a metaphysical doctrine in the strictest sense, since it does not confirm nor deny specific entities or realities.^{[quote 3]}

Noa Ronkin states that while Buddha suspends all views regarding certain metaphysical questions, he is not an anti-metaphysician: nothing in the texts suggests that metaphysical questions are completely meaningless, instead Buddha taught that sentient experience is dependently originated and that whatever is dependently originated is conditioned, impermanent, subject to change, and lacking independent selfhood.^[77]

See also[edit]

• Twelve Nidānas
• Bhavacakra
• Five Skandhas
• Reality in Buddhism
• Three marks of existence
• Alan Watts

Notes[edit]

Quotes[edit]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

Printed sources[edit]

Web-sources[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Bucknell, Roderick S. (1999). Conditioned Arising Evolves: Variation and Change in Textual Accounts of the Paticca-samuppada Doctrine, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 23 (2), 311-342
• Geshe Sonam Rinchen (2006). How Karma Works: The Twelve Links of Dependent Arising. Snow Lion
• Gethin, Rupert (1998). Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Chapter 6, pp. 133–162)
• Khandro Rinpoche (2003). This Precious Life. Shambala
• Thrangu Rinpoche (2001). The Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination. Nama Buddha Publications.
• Walpola Rahula (1974). What the Buddha Taught. Grove Press.
• Christian Kohl (2014). http://philpapers.org/rec/KOHPIE

External links[edit]

• Maha-nidana Sutta
• The Shape of Suffering: A study of Dependent Co-arising, Bhikkhu Thanissaro (2008)
• The Doctrine of Paticcasamuppada by U Than Daing
• A Discourse on Paticcasamuppada by Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw
• Paticca-samuppada-vibhanga Sutta
• Upanisa Sutta translation by Bhikkhu Thanissaro
• A Translation and Exposition of the Upanisa Sutta by Bhikkhu Bodhi