- Interdependent Origination
- Dr. Peter Della Santina
In this chapter, I take up a very important topic in Buddhist studies:
the teaching of interdependent origination. I am aware of the fact that many people
believe that interdependent origination is a very difficult subject, and I would not say
that there is no truth in that belief. When Ananda once remarked that, despite its
apparent difficulty, the teaching of interdependent origination is actually quite simple,
the Buddha rebuked him, saying that in fact this teaching is very deep. The teaching of
interdependent origination is certainly one of the most important and profound teachings
in Buddhism. Yet I sometimes feel that our fear of interdependent origination is to some
extent unwarranted. To begin with, there is nothing particularly difficult about the term
itself. After all, we all know what "interdependence" means, and what
"birth," "origination," or "arising" means. Only when we
begin to examine the function and contents of interdependent origination do we recognize
the fact that it is a very profound and significant teaching. Some indication of this can
be gained from the Buddha's own statements. The Buddha very frequently 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 interdependent origination.
Conversely, he often said that, in order to attain enlightenment, one has to understand
the meaning of these truths.
On the basis of the Buddha's own statements, we can see a very close
relation between the Four Noble Truths and interdependent origination. What is it that
these two formulas have in common? The principle they have in common is the principle of
causality--the law of cause and effect, of action and consequence. In Chapters 4 and 7, I
mentioned that the Four Noble Truths are divided into two groups--the first two (suffering
and the cause of suffering) and the last two (the end of suffering and the path to the end
of suffering). In both these groups, it is the law of cause and effect that governs the
relationship. In other words, suffering is the effect of the cause of suffering, and the
end of suffering is the effect of the path to the end of suffering.
Here, too, with interdependent origination, the fundamental principle
at work is that of cause and effect. In interdependent origination, we have a more
detailed description of what actually takes place in the causal process. Let us take a few
examples that illustrate the nature of interdependent origination used by the Buddha
himself. The Buddha said the flame in an oil lamp burns dependent on the oil and the wick:
when the oil and wick are present, the flame burns, but if either is absent, the flame
will cease to burn. Let us also take the example of the sprout: dependent on the seed,
earth, water, air, and sunlight, the sprout arises.There are innumerable examples of
interdependent origination because there is no existing phenomenon that is not the effect
of interdependent origination. All these phenomena arise dependent on a number of causal
factors. Very simply, this is the principle of interdependent origination.
Of course, we are particularly interested in the principle of
interdependent origination insofar as it concerns the problem of suffering and rebirth. We
are interested in how interdependent origination explains the situation in which we find
ourselves here and now. In this sense, it is important to remember that interdependent
origination is essentially and primarily a teaching that has to do with the problem of
suffering and how to free ourselves from suffering, and not a description of the evolution
of the universe.
Let me briefly list the twelve components, or links, that make up
interdependent origination: (1) ignorance, (2) volition, (3) consciousness, (4) name and
form, (5) the six sense spheres, (6) contact, (7) feeling, (8) craving, (9) clinging, (10)
becoming, (11) birth, and (12) old age and death. There are two principal ways we can
understand these twelve components. One way to understand them is sequentially, over the
course of three lifetimes--the past life, the present life, and the future life. In this
case, ignorance and volition belong to the past life. They represent the conditions
responsible for the occurrence of this life. The eight components of consciousness, name
and form, the six sense spheres, contact, feeling, craving, clinging, and becoming belong
to this life. In brief, these eight components constitute the process of evolution within
this lifetime. The last two components, birth and old age and death, belong to the future
life.
With the help of this first scheme, we can see how the twelve
components of interdependent origination are distributed over the three lifetimes--how the
first two, ignorance and volition, result in the emergence of this life, with its psycho
physical personality from the past, and how, in turn, the actions performed in this life
result in rebirth in a future life. This is one popular and authoritative way of
interpreting the twelve components of interdependent origination. The other interpretation
of the relations among the twelve components of interdependent origination is also
authoritative and has the support of recognized Buddhist masters and saints. It might be
called a cyclical interpretation because it does not distribute the twelve components over
the course of three lifetimes. Rather, it divides the twelve components into three
categories: (1) afflictions, (2) actions and (3) sufferings.
In this second scheme, the three components of ignorance, craving, and
clinging are viewed as belonging to the group of afflictions; volition and becoming, to
the group of actions; and the remaining seven components--consciousness, name and form,
the six sense spheres, contact, feeling, birth, and old age and death--to the group of
sufferings. By means of this interpretation, we can see both how the teaching of the Four
Noble Truths--and particularly the teaching of the second truth, that of the cause of
suffering--is conjoined with the teaching of karma and rebirth, and how these two
important teachings together explain, in a more complete way, the process of rebirth and
the origination of suffering.
You may recall that, in the context of discussing the Four Noble
Truths, we said that ignorance, attachment, and ill-will are the causes of suffering. Now,
if we look here at the three components of interdependent origination that are included in
the group of afflictions, we find ignorance, craving, and clinging. Here, too, ignorance
is the most basic. It is because of ignorance that we crave pleasures of the senses,
existence, and nonexistence. Similarly, it is because of ignorance that we cling to
pleasures of the senses, to pleasant experiences, to ideas, and most significantly, to the
idea of an independent, permanent self. Thus ignorance, craving, and clinging are the
cause of actions.
The two components of interdependent origination that are included in
the group of actions are volition and becoming. Volition refers to the impressions, or
habits, that we have formed in our stream of conscious moments, or conscious continuum.
These impressions are formed by repeated actions. We can illustrate this with an example
from geology. We know that a river forms its course by a process of repeated erosion. As
rain falls on a hillside, that rain gathers into a rivulet, which gradually creates a
channel for itself and grows into a stream. Eventually, as the channel of the stream is
deepened and widened by repeated flows of water, the stream becomes a river, with
well-defined banks and a definite course.
In the same way, our actions become habitual. These habits become part
of our personality, and we take these habits with us from life to life in the form of what
we call volition, mental formation, or "habit energy." Our actions in this life
are conditioned by the habits we have formed over countless previous lifetimes. To return
to the analogy of the channel of a river and the water in it, we might say that mental
formations are the channel of the river, while the actions that we perform in this life
are the fresh water that flows through the eroded channel created by previous actions. The
actions that we perform in this life are represented by the component known as becoming.
Hence we have the habits that we have developed over the course of countless lives,
combined with new actions performed in this life, and these two together result in rebirth
and suffering.
To summarize, we have the afflictions, which may be described as
impurities of the mind--namely, ignorance, craving, and clinging. These mental impurities
result in actions--both actions done in previous lives, which result in the formation of
habit energy, or volition, and actions done in the present life, which correspond to the
component known as becoming and which are liable to conform to the patterns established in
previous lives.
Together, these impurities of the mind and these actions result in
rebirth. In other words, they result in consciousness, in name and form, in the six sense
spheres, in contact between the six senses and the objects of the six senses, in feeling,
which is born of that contact, in birth, and in old age and death. In this interpretation,
the five components of interdependent origination included in the groups of afflictions
and actions--ignorance, craving, clinging, volition, and becoming--are the causes of
rebirth and suffering. The other seven components--consciousness, name and form, the six
sense spheres, contact, feeling, birth, and old age and death--are the effects of the
afflictions and actions. Together, the afflictions and actions explain the origin of
suffering and the particular circumstances in which each of us finds him- or herself, the
circumstances in which we are born. You may recall that, in Chapter 8, I referred to the
fact that, whereas the afflictions are common to all living beings, karma differs from
person to person. In other words, although the afflictions account for the fact that all
of us are prisoners within samsara, our actions account for the fact that some are born as
human beings, others as gods, and still others as animals. In this sense, the twelve
components of interdependent origination present a picture of samsara with its causes and
its effects.
There would be no point in painting this picture of samsara if we did
not intend to use it to change our situation, to get out of the round of birth and death.
Recognizing the circularity of samsara, the circularity of interdependent origination, is
the beginning of liberation. How is this so? As long as afflictions and actions are
present, rebirth and suffering will occur. When we see that ignorance, craving, clinging,
and actions repeatedly lead to rebirth and suffering, we will recognize the need to break
this vicious circle.
Let us take a practical example. Suppose you are looking for the home
of an acquaintance you have never visited before. Suppose you have been driving about for
half an hour and have failed to find the home of your friend, and suppose suddenly you
recognize a landmark and it dawns on you that you passed it half an hour ago. At that
moment it will also dawn on you that you have been going around in circles, and you will
stop and look at your road map, or inquire the way from a passerby so as to stop going
around in circles and reach your destination.
This is why the Buddha said that he who sees interdependent origination
sees the Dharma, and he who sees the Dharma sees the Buddha. This is also why he said that
understanding interdependent origination is the key to liberation. Once we see the
functioning of interdependent origination, we can set about breaking its vicious circle.
We can do this by removing the impurities of the mind--ignorance, craving, and clinging.
Once these impurities are eliminated, actions will not be performed and habit energy will
not be produced. Once actions cease, rebirth and suffering will also cease.I would like to
spend a little time on another important meaning of interdependent origination--namely,
interdependent origination as an expression of the Middle Way. In Chapters 3 and 4, we had
occasion to refer to the Middle Way, but confined ourselves to
only the most basic meaning of the term. We said that the Middle Way
means avoiding the extreme of indulgence in pleasures of the senses and also the extreme
of self-mortification. In that context, the Middle Way is synonymous with moderation.
In the context of interdependent origination, the Middle Way has
another meaning, which is related to its basic meaning, but deeper. In this context, the
Middle Way means avoiding the extremes of eternalism and nihilism. How is this so? The
flame in an oil lamp exists dependent on the oil and the wick. When either of these is
absent, the flame will be extinguished. Therefore, the flame is neither permanent nor
independent. Similarly, this personality of ours depends on a combination of conditions:
the afflictions and karma. It is neither permanent nor independent.Recognizing the
conditioned nature of our personalities, we avoid the extreme of eternalism, that is, of
affirming the existence of an independent, permanent self. Alternatively, recognizing that
this personality, this life, does not arise by accident or mere chance but is conditioned
by corresponding causes, we avoid the extreme of nihilism, that is, of denying the
relation between actions and their consequences.Although nihilism is the primary cause of
rebirth in states of woe and is to be rejected, eternalism, too, is not conducive to
liberation. One who clings to the extreme of eternalism will perform wholesome actions and
be reborn in states of happiness, as a human being or even as a god, but he will never
attain liberation. Through avoiding these two extremes--through understanding the Middle
Way--we can achieve happiness in this life and in future lives by performing wholesome
actions and avoiding unwholesome actions, and eventually achieve liberation as well.
The Buddha constructed his teachings with infinite care. Indeed, the
way he taught is sometimes likened to the behavior of a tigress toward her young. When a
tigress carries her young in her teeth, she is most careful to see that her grip is
neither too tight nor too loose. If her grip is too tight, it will injure or kill her cub;
if it is too loose, the cub will fall and will also be hurt. Similarly, the Buddha was
careful to see that we avoid the extremes of eternalism and nihilism. Because he saw that
clinging to the extreme of eternalism would bind us in samsara, the Buddha was careful to
teach us to avoid belief in an independent, permanent self; seeing that the possibility of
freedom could be destroyed by the sharp teeth of belief in a self, he therefore asked us
to avoid the extreme of eternalism. Understanding that clinging to the extreme of nihilism
would lead to catastrophe and rebirth in the states of woe, the Buddha was also careful to
teach the reality of the law of cause and effect, or moral responsibility; seeing that we
would fall into the misery of the lower realms should we deny this law, he therefore
taught us to avoid the extreme of nihilism. This dual objective is admirably achieved
through the teaching of interdependent origination, which safeguards not only our
understanding of the conditioned and impermanent nature of the personality, but also our
understanding of the reality of the law of cause and effect.
In the context of interdependent origination, we have established the
conditioned and impermanent nature of the personality, or self, by exposing its dependent
nature. In the chapters that follow, we will arrive at the impermanence and impersonality
of the self through examining its composite nature and analyzing it into its constituent
parts. By these means, we will elucidate the truth of not-self that opens the door to
enlightenment.
-oOo-
[Taken from Peter Della Santina., The Tree of Enlightenment. (Taiwan:
The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 1997), pp. 96-105].
-oOo-
Sincere thanks to Ti.nh Tue^. for typing
this article.