- Dependent Origination
- The Buddhist Law of Conditionality
- P. A. Payutto
- Translated from the Thai by Bruce Evans
X
Appendix
A note on interpreting the principle of
Dependent Origination
It has been mentioned that in the commentary to the Abhidhamma Pitaka (Sammohavinodani),
the principle of Dependent Origination is shown occurring entirely within the space of one
mind moment. This point needs to be reiterated because modern study of the teaching (at
least in traditional scholastic circles) interprets it completely on a
lifetime-to-lifetime basis. Accordingly, when there are attempts to interpret the
Dependent Origination cycle as a process occurring in everyday life, those who adhere to
the traditional interpretations are want to dismiss them as baseless and in contradiction
to the scriptures. For mutual comfort and ease of mind, therefore, I have included this
reference to show that such an interpretation is not without scriptural basis.
Indeed, it is worth noting that what evidence there is for this
interpretation is possibly only a shadow from the past which has become well-nigh
forgotten, and which is still in existence only because the Tipitaka stands as an
irrefutable reference.
The commentarial description of the cycle of Dependent Origination
as a lifetime-to-lifetime process, which is generally taken to be the authority, comes
from the Visuddhimagga, written by Acariya Buddhaghosa around the fifth century
AD. However, there is another commentary which deals with the principle of Dependent
Origination and that is the Sammohavinodani mentioned above. The explanation here
is divided into two sections, the first dealing with the principle of Dependent
Origination on a lifetime-to-lifetime basis, as in the Visuddhimagga, and the
second explaining it as an event occurring within one mind moment.
The Sammohavinodani is also the work of Acariya
Buddhaghosa, and is believed to have been written after the Visuddhimagga. The
difference between the two is that whereas the Visuddhimagga was authored by
Acariya Buddhaghosa himself, the Sammohavinodani is a commentary by him on the
Abhidhamma Pitaka. In his introduction to the Sammohavinodani, Buddhaghosa
writes, "I will glean this work from the ancient commentaries."[Vibh.A.1
(approx.)] Even in the Visuddhimagga, when it comes to the section dealing with
the principle of Dependent Origination, he reveals, "An explanation of Dependent
Origination is extremely difficult," and "Now I would like to expound on the paccayakara
(principle of conditionality), even though I haven't a foot to stand on, like a man
stepping into a flowing river with no stepping stone. However, the Dependent Origination
is rich with teachings, not to mention the commentaries handed down from the ancient
teachers in an unbroken line. Relying on these two sources, I will now expound the
principle of Dependent Origination."[Vism.522; identical to Vibh.A.130 (approx.)]
The explanation of the principle of Dependent of Origination given
in the Visuddhimagga, unlike the Sammohavinodani, contains only an
explanation of the principle on a lifetime-to-lifetime basis. This explanation is almost
identical to that given in the Sammohavinodani. This being the case, it may be
asked, "Why is there no explanation of the principle of Dependent Origination in one
mind moment given in the Visuddhimagga?" It may be that even in the time of
Buddhaghosa scholastic circles generally described the principle of Dependent Origination
on a lifetime-to lifetime basis. It may also be that the author felt more comfortable with
this interpretation because, difficult as it was, as he noted in his introduction, still
there existed the commentaries of the teachers handed down till that time. The
one-mind-moment interpretation, on the other hand, was not only very difficult, but had
also disappeared form scholastic circles. This can be surmised from the Sammohavinodani
itself, where the description of this interpretation is extremely brief. That any
explanation of it occurs at all may be simply due to the fact that it is mentioned in the
Tipitaka and as such demanded an explanation. The author was able to make use of the
traces of commentary still remaining to formulate his own commentary.
Now let us consider the explanation given in the Sammohavinodani
itself. The Sammohavinodani is a commentary to the Vibhanga, which is
the second volume of the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The section of the Vibhanga which
describes the principle of Dependent Origination is called the Paccayakara Vibhanga.
It is divided into two sections: the first is called Suttantabhajaniya
(definition according to the Suttas), the second, the Abhidhammabhajaniya
(definition according to the Abhidhamma). The Sammohavinodani , the commentary to
this volume, is likewise divided into two sections. It describes the difference between
the two sections thus:
"The Fonder expounded the paccayakara in terms of
numerous moments of consciousness in the Suttantabhajaniya, but as the paccayakara
is not limited to numerous minds, but can occur even in one mind moment, he now seeks to
explain the paccayakara as it occurs in one mind moment, and this is the Abhidhammabhajaniya."[Vibh.A.199
(approx.)] And elsewhere: "In the Suttantabhajaniya the paccayakara
is divided into different lifetimes. In the Abhidhammabhajaniya it is expounded
in one mind moment."[Vibh.A.200 (approx.)] In regard to the principle of cause and
effect as it functions in one mind moment in everyday life, it is said, "...birth,
(aging and death) for example, here refer to birth (aging and death) of arupa
(immaterial) things, not to the decaying of the teeth, the graying of the hair, the
wrinkling of the skin, dying, the action of leaving existence."[Vibh.A.208 (approx.)]
One final point deserves a mention: In the Vibhanga
of the Tipitaka, the section which describes the lifetime-to-lifetime interpretation
occupies only five pages of material. The section which describes the principle of
Dependent Origination in one mind moment contains seventy-two pages.[26]
But in the Sammohavinodani, Buddhaghosa's commentary, it is the reverse. Namely,
the section dealing with the lifetime-to-lifetime interpretation is long, containing 92
pages, whereas the section dealing with the one-mind-moment interpretation contains only
19 pages.[27] Why the commentary on the one-mind-moment version of
Dependent Origination is so short is possibly because the author did to have much to say
about it. Or perhaps he thought it had already been explained sufficiently in the
Tipitaka, there being no need for further commentary. Whatever the case, we can affirm
that the interpretation of Dependent Origination in everyday life is one that existed from
the very beginning and is founded on the Tipitaka, but only traces of it remain in the
Commentaries.
Birth and death in the present
moment
Those who would like to see a reference to the cycle of rebirth in the present moment,
in the present life, might like to refer to the Sutta presented below:
""The deep-grained attachment to the feeling of self does not arise for one
who is endowed with these four conditions (pañña, wisdom; sacca,
integrity; caga, generosity; and upasama, calm.). With no perception of
self clouding one's consciousness one is said to be a muni, a peaceful one."
On what account did I say this? Perceptions such as 'I am,' 'I am not,' 'I will be,' 'I
will not be,' 'I will have form,' 'I will not have form,' 'I will have no form,' 'I will
have perception,' 'I will not have perception,' 'I will neither have nor not have
perception,' monks, are an affliction, an ulcer, a dart. By transcending these perceptions
one is a muni, a peaceful one.
"Monks, the muni is not born, does not age, does not
die; he is not confused, nor does he yearn. There are no longer any causes for birth in
him. Not being born, how can he age? Not aging, how can he die? Not dying, how can he be
confused? Not being confused, how can he be desirous? "The deep-grained attachment to
the feeling of self does not arise for one who is endowed with these four conditions. With
no perception of self clouding one's consciousness, one is a muni, a peaceful
one" -- It was on this account that this statement was made."[28]
Dependent Origination in the
Abhidhamma
In the Abhidhamma many different models of Dependent Origination are presented, sorted
according to the various kinds of skillful, unskillful and neutral mental states involved
in producing them. These are further analyzed according to the levels of mental state
involved, be they of the sensual realm (kamavacara), the realm of form (rupavacara)
the formless realm (arupavacara)or the transcendent realm (lokuttara).
This is because the Abhidhamma studies the mind on the level of "thought
moments," and thus analyses Dependent Origination according to the kind of specific
mental state involved. The factors occurring within these models will vary according to
the kind of mind-state.
For example, in some skillful mind states, the model might begin at sankhara,
volitional impulses, ignorance not being present, or it may even start with one of the
roots of skillfulness (non-greed, non-hatred and non-delusion) instead of ignorance.
Especially noteworthy is the fact that craving will only occur in the models based on
unskillful mental states. In some instances, craving is replaced by pasada,
inspiration, or is excluded altogether. Ignorance and craving are suppressed at these
times -- they do to appear in their standard forms but in other forms, if not excluded
altogether. Moreover, in the Abhidhamma Pitaka the various factors are presented as
components of a whole or as reversing actions (such as "ignorance conditions
volitional impulses, volitional impulses condition ignorance; volitional impulses
condition consciousness, consciousness conditions volitional impulses;" etc.) Here I
will present only the more important descriptions:
A. 12 unskillful mental states (akusala citta):
| Ignorance |
conditions |
volitional impulse |
| volitional impulse |
conditions |
consciousness |
| consciousness |
conditions |
mentality (nama) |
| mentality |
conditions |
sixth sense base[a] |
| sixth sense base |
conditions |
contact |
| contact |
conditions |
feeling |
| feeling |
conditions |
craving |
| (or) feeling |
conditions |
aversion[b] |
| (or) feeling |
conditions |
doubt |
| (or) feeling |
conditions |
restlessness |
| (or) craving |
conditions |
clinging |
| (or) craving |
conditions |
conviction[c] |
| (or) aversion |
conditions |
conviction |
| (or) restlessness |
conditions |
conviction |
| (or) clinging |
conditions |
becoming |
| (or) conviction |
conditions |
becoming |
| (or) doubt |
conditions |
becoming |
| or) becoming |
conditions |
birth |
| (or) birth |
conditions |
aging and death |
= the arising of the whole mass of suffering
B. Skillful mental states (only those occurring in the realms of
sensuality, form and formlessness):
| ignorance |
conditions |
volitional impulse |
| (or) skillful root[d] |
conditions |
volitional impulse |
| volitional impulse |
conditions |
consciousness |
| consciousness |
conditions |
mentality |
| mentality |
conditions |
sixth sense base |
| sixth sense base |
conditions |
contact |
| contact |
conditions |
feeling |
| feeling |
conditions |
inspiration[e] |
| inspiration |
conditions |
conviction |
| conviction |
conditions |
becoming |
| becoming |
conditions |
birth |
| birth |
conditions |
aging and death |
= the arising of the whole mass of suffering
C. Vipaka (resultant) and kiriya (functional) mental
states (only those occurring in the sensual, form and formless realms):
| (skillful root |
conditions |
volitional impulse) |
| volitional impulse |
conditions |
consciousness |
| conscousness |
conditions |
mentality |
| mentality |
conditions |
sixth sense base |
| sixth sense base |
conditions |
contact |
| contact |
conditions |
feeling |
| feeling |
conditions |
becoming |
| (or) feeling |
conditions |
conviction |
| conviction |
conditions |
becoming |
| (or) feeling |
conditions |
inspiration |
| inspiration |
conditions |
conviction |
| conviction |
conditions |
becoming |
| becoming |
conditions |
birth |
| birth |
conditions |
aging and death |
= the arising of the whole mass of suffering
D. Transcendent mental states (skillful and resultant):
Skillful
| ignorance |
conditions |
volitional impulse |
| (or) skillful root |
conditions |
volitional impulse |
Resultant
| (skillful root |
conditions |
volitional impulse) |
| volitional impulse |
conditions |
consciousness |
| consciousness |
conditions |
mentality |
| mentality |
conditions |
sixth sense base |
| sixth sense base |
conditions |
contact |
| contact |
conditions |
feeling |
| feeling |
conditions |
inspiration |
| inspiration |
conditions |
conviction |
| conviction |
conditions |
becoming |
| becoming |
conditions |
birth |
| birth |
conditions |
aging and death |
= the arising of all these dhammas
Note that the transcendent skillful mental state may begin at ignorance or a skillful
root, but the resultant transcendent mind state begins at a skillful root or, if not, then
at a volitional impulse. In addition, the final phrase "and thus is the arising of
this whole mass of suffering" becomes "and thus is the arising of all these dhammas."
A problem with the word
"nirodha"
The word nirodha has been translated as "cessation" for so long that
it has become standard practice, and any deviation from it leads to queries. Even in this
book I have opted for this standard translation for sake of convenience and to avoid
confusing it for other Pali terms (apart from lack of a better word). In fact, however,
this rendering of the word "nirodha" as "ceased" can in many instances
be a mis-rendering of the text.
Generally speaking, the word "cease" means to do away with
something which has already arisen, or the stopping of something which has already begun.
However, nirodha in the teaching of Dependent Origination (as also in dukkhanirodha,
the third of the Four Noble Truths) means the non-arising, or non-existence, of something
because the cause of its arising is done away with. For example, the phrase "when avijja
is nirodha, sankhara are also nirodha," which is usually
taken to mean "with the cessation of ignorance, volitional impulses cease," in
fact means "when there is no ignorance, or no arising of ignorance, or when there is
no longer any problem with ignorance, there are no volitional impulses, volitional
impulses do not arise, or there is no longer any problem with volitional impulses."
It does not mean that ignorance already arisen must be done away with before the
volitional impulses which have already arisen will also be done away with.
Where nirodha should be rendered as cessation is when it is
used in reference to the natural way of things, or the nature of compounded things. In
this sense it is a synonym for the words bhanga, breaking up, anicca,
transient, khaya, cessation or vaya, decay. For example, in the Pali it
is given: imam kho bhikkhave tisso vedana anicca sankhata paticcasamuppanna
khayadhamma vayadhamma viragadhamma nirodhadhamma: "Monks, these three kinds of
feeling are naturally impermanent, compounded, dependently arisen, transient, subject to
decay, dissolution, fading and cessation."[S.IV.214] (All of the factors occurring in
the Dependent Origination cycle have the same nature.) In this instance, the meaning is
"all conditioned things (sankhara), having arisen, must inevitably decay and
fade according to supporting factors." There is no need to try to stop them, they
cease of themselves. Here the intention is to describe a natural condition which, in terms
of practice, simply means "that which arises can be done away with."
As for nirodha in the third Noble Truth (or the Dependent
Origination cycle in cessation mode), although it also describes a natural process, its
emphasis is on practical considerations. It is translated in two ways in the Visuddhimagga.
One way traces the etymology to "ni" (without) + "rodha" (prison,
confine, obstacle, wall, impediment), thus rendering the meaning as "without
impediment," "free of confinement." This is explained as "free of
impediments, that is, the confinement of samsara." Another definition traces
the origin to anuppada, meaning "not arising", and goes on to say
"nirodha here does not mean bhanga, breaking up and
dissolution."
Therefore, translating nirodha as "cessation",
although not entirely wrong, is nevertheless not entirely accurate. On the other hand,
there is no other word which comes so close to the essential meaning as
"cessation." However, we should understand what is meant by the term. In this
context, the Dependent Origination cycle in its cessation mode might be better rendered as
"being free of ignorance, there is freedom from volitional impulses ..." or
"when ignorance is gone, volitional impulses are gone ..." or "when
ignorance ceases to give fruit, volitional impulses cease to give fruit ..." or
"when ignorance is no longer a problem, volitional impulses are no longer a
problem."
Even in the forward mode, there are some problems with definitions.
The meaning of many of the Pali terms are too broad to be translated into any single
English words. For instance, avijja paccaya sankhara also means "When
ignorance is like this, volitional impulses are like this; volitional impulses being this
way, consciousness is like this; consciousness being this way, body and mind are like
this; ..."
Footnotes:
a. Chatthayatana: the sixth sense base, which
is mano, mind. [Back to text]
b. Patigha: aversion. [Back
to text]
c. Adhimokkha: conviction. [Back to text]
d. Kusalamula: roots of skill; i.e.,
non-greed. non-aversion, non-delusion. [Back to text]
e. Pasada: inspiration, faith. [Back to text]
26. Suttantabhajaniya Vbh.135-138;
Abhidhammabhajaniya Vbh.138-191. [Back to text]
27. Suttantabhajaniya Vbh.A.130-198 (approx.);
Abhidhammabhajaniya Vbh.A. 199-213 (approx.). [Back to text]
28. M.III.246; see also M.III.225; S.III.228;
S.IV.14; (old age = degeneration or loss); Thag.247. [Back to text]
- A. = Anguttara Nikaya
- D. = Digha Nikaya
- D.A. = Digha Nikaya Atthakatha
- It. = Itivuttaka
- J. = Jataka
- M. = Majjhima Nikaya
- M.A. Majjhima Nikaya Atthakatha
- Nd1 = Maha Niddesa
- Nd2 = Cula Niddesa
- S. = Samyutta Nikaya
- Thag. = Theragata
- Vbh. = Vibhanga
- Vbh.A. = Vibhanga Atthakatha
- Vin. = Vinaya Pitaka
- Vism. = Visuddhimagga
Contents | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Appendix