THE DEPENDENT ARISING (PATICCASAMUPPADA)
Translated by U Cakkinda
and Dr. Jenny Ko Gyi
The verse
Two roots, two truths, four continuum, twelve factors, the dhamma body, three links, two roots, three rounds, three periods, twenty modes:-
These eight, easily learn them, know them, this is the way of escape from the samsara.
Two roots – ignorance and craving (avijja and tanha)
Two truths – the truth of cause of suffering, the truth of suffering, the truth of cause of suffering, the truth of suffering (samudaya sacca, dukkha sacca, samudaya sacca, dukkha sacca).
Four continuum – past causal continuum, present resultant continuum, present causal continuum, future resultant continuum.
Twelve factors – ignorance (avijja), conditional activities (sankhara), rebirth consciousness (vinnana), mind and matter (namarupa), sense bases (salayatana), contact (phassa), feeling (vedana), craving (tanha), clinging (upadana), kammic deeds (kamma bhava), rebirth (in the future existence) (jati), ageing, death (jara marana).
The dhamma body – beginning with ignorance, ending in ageing and death.
The three links – between conditional activities and rebirth consciousness, there is one link.
Between feeling and craving, there is one link;
between kammic deeds and (future) rebirth there is one link.
The two roots – craving and ignorance.
The three rounds (vatta) – the round of defilements (kilesa vatta), the round of deeds (kamma vatta), the round of results (vipaka vatta).
Three periods – the past period,
the period taking place at this moment, in the present period,
the future period.
Twenty modes – five factors in the past causal continuum,
five factors in the present resultant continuum,
five factors in the present causal continuum,
five factors in the future resultant continuum.
THE
(To be studied together with the diagram of the Paticcasamuppada circle)
The First Round
Phase 1
Mention the five past causal continuum.
They are ignorance, conditional activities, craving, clinging, and deeds (avijja, sankhara, tanha, upadana, bhava).
What round (vatta) do ignorance, conditional activities, craving, clinging, deeds come under?
Under the round of defilement and the round of deeds (kilesa vatta and kamma vatta).
Differentiate and point out kilesa and kamma vatta.
Ignorance, craving, clinging are the round of defilements. Conditional activities and kammic deeds are the round of deeds.
Which continuum are kilesa and kamma vatta put into?
Into the five past causal continuum.
What are the five past causal continuum?
They are ignorance, conditional activities, craving, clinging, deeds.
What noble truths are ignorance, conditional activities, craving, clinging, deeds?
The noble truth of cause of suffering (samudaya sacca).
In which phase (or segment)?
In phase 1.
Phase 3
Mention those in the five present causal continuum.
They are craving, clinging, deeds, ignorance, conditional activities.
What rounds do craving, clinging, deeds, ignorance, conditional activities come under?
They are the round of defilements and the round of deeds (kilesa vatta and kamma vatta).
Differentiate and point out kilesa vatta and kamma vatta.
Craving, clinging, ignorance are kilesa vatta (round of defilements), kammic deeds and conditional activities are kamma vatta (round of deeds).
Which continuum are kilesa and kamma vatta put into?
Into the five present causal continuum.
What are the five present causal continuum?
They are craving, clinging, kammic deeds, ignorance, conditional activities.
What truths are craving, clinging, kammic deeds, ignorance, conditional activities?
They are the truth of cause of suffering (samudaya sacca).
In which phase (or segment)?
In the third phase.
Are not the samudaya sacca in phase 1 and the samudaya sacca in phase 3 the same in names?
They are the same in names.
Though they are the same in names, is it not different in that they are in the past and in the present?
They are different.
The past being over, can it be used (in the practice to be liberated from suffering)?
It cannot be.
What governs the samudaya sacca of the past?
Ignorance governs it.
What governs the samudaya sacca of the present?
Craving governs it.
Is it not necessary to know the difference?
It is.
Phase 2
Mention those in the five present resultant continuum.
They are (rebirth) consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling (vinnana, namarupa, salayatana, phassa, vedana).
What rounds are consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling put into?
Into the round of results (or resultant round) (vipaka vatta).
What are the resultant rounds?
They are (rebirth) consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling.
What continuum are consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling put into?
Into the five present resultant continuum.
What are the five present resultant continuum?
They are consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling.
Do not consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling comprise the five aggregates (khandha)?
They do.
What noble truth (sacca) are the five aggregates?
It is the noble truth of suffering (dukkha sacca).
In which phase (or segment)?
In the second phase.
Phase 4
Mention those in the five future resultant continuum.
They are (rebirth) consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling (vinnana, namarupa, salayatana, phassa, vedana).
Which rounds (vatta) are (rebirth) consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling put into?
Into the round of results (vipaka vatta).
What are the round of results (vipaka vatta)?
They are consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling.
What continuum are consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling put into?
Into the five future resultant continuum.
What are the five future resultant continuum?
They are (rebirth) consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling.
Do not consciousness, mind-matter, sense-bases, contact, feeling comprise the five aggregates (khandha)?
They do.
What noble truth do the five aggregates make?
The noble truth of suffering (dukkha sacca).
What are the characteristics of the noble truth of suffering (dukkha sacca)?
Rupakkhandha (the aggregate of matter) that has the nature of changing and decay, that arises and passes away.
Vedanakkhandha (the aggregate of feeling) that has the nature of arising and passing away.
Sannakkhandha {the aggregate of perception (or remembering)} that has the nature of arising and passing away.
Sankharakkhandha {the aggregate of volition (or prompting)} that has the nature of arising and passing away.
Vinnakkhandha (the aggregate of consciousness) that has the nature of arising and passing away.
Do not the five aggregates arise and pass away?
They do.
What noble truth is arising and passing away?
It is the noble truth of suffering (dukkha sacca).
In which phase?
In phase 4.
Do not the dukkha sacca in phase 4 and the dukkha sacca in phase 2 have the same name?
They do.
Though they are the same in names, are not the present and the future different?
They are.
Is the future here yet?
It is not.
If (the future) is not here yet, can it be used (in the endeavour to be liberated from suffering)?
It cannot be.
In what phase is it now?
It is in phase 2.
How many phases (segments) are there in the Paticcasamuppada circle?
There are four.
How many factors are there in each phase?
There are five.
Five times four make?
Twenty.
These eight:-
Easily learn them, know them, this is the way of escape from samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------