by
Yongdzin Yeshe Gyentsen
I bow down to you, Buddha Shakyamuni, peerless guide
And compassionate teacher whose love,
Especially in times of strife, tamed beings
When they could not be tamed by countless Buddhas.
I bow with respect at your feet, Jamgön Lama,
Compassionate one like a second Buddha
In the way you spread the Victor’s teachings
In this northern land at the end of this age of degeneration.
I bow at your feet with heartfelt sincerity,
Lama Amitabha, Lord of Sukhavati, refuge and protector,
Who, to advance the teachings of the second Buddha
Willingly show yourself as a spiritual guide.
Subtle and profound are the points of
interdependent origination,
But inept as I am at analyzing and explaining its exact nature,
I write this brief account
only to comply with the wishes of friends.
The sole purpose of each and every batch of Dharma that the Compassionate Teacher taught is to place disciples in a higher rebirth and the state of definite goodness. So, since the method to achieve a higher rebirth is by contemplating the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination in terms of how we enter the bad realms and disengage ourselves from them, once we have gained a very good understanding through this contemplation, we should make a special effort to take refuge in the Three Jewels, avoid doing bad deeds, and try to gain virtue.
The holy method for achieving definite goodness is by gaining an understanding of how we engage in samsaric activities and how we may disengage ourselves from them through contemplating the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination and the Four Arya Truths. Once we’ve gained that understanding and have generated a wish to achieve liberation from samsara, we must then school ourselves in the path of the three higher trainings [of morality, concentration, and wisdom]. Since I have written a concise account elsewhere on the Four Arya Truths dealing with what activities we should adopt and what to discard, here I shall write a little bit on the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination, which reveals how we engage in and disengage ourselves from samsara.
The twelve links of the so-called “Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination” are the following: 1) ignorance, 2) formative karmic impulses, 3) consciousness, 4) name and form, 5) the six sources of perception, 6) contact, 7) feeling, 8) thirsty craving, 9) grasping, 10) becoming, 11) rebirth, and 12) old age/death.
An individual identification of these twelve links
Ignorance
Generally speaking, there are two kinds of ignorance: ignorance that is a type of confusion about actions and their results and the ignorance that is a type of confusion about the meaning of the true nature of reality, [this last one being the ignorance that is the root of cyclic existence].
Apparently there are many ways to posit ignorance—this first link of the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination—as the root of cyclic existence: father Arya Nagarjuna and his spiritual son, Aryadeva, explain the root of cyclic existence as ignorance that signifies grasping at the true existence of persons and phenomena whereas Acharya Dharmakirti for his part, asserts that the ignorance that is the root of samsara is the incorrect view of the transitory heaps (’jig lta).
Formative Karmic Impulses
Formative karmic impulses are karma per se consisting of non-meritorious karma, which is responsible for casting one into lower rebirths, meritorious karma of the desire realm, which is responsible for casting one into higher rebirths, and immutable karma, which is responsible for casting one into the upper realms of higher rebirths.
Consciousness
Consciousness refers to mental consciousness, which consists of two types: causal time’s consciousness and result time’s consciousness. This first is a type of consciousness that occurs when the karmic propensity of any action that is collected sticks [to that consciousness]. The second is a type of consciousness that is a result of the said action and consists of taking conception in whatever realm that being is to be reborn.
Name and Form
Name in this context refers to feeling, discrimination, formative karmic impulses, and consciousness.
Form refers to the form that exists from the very first stage [oval shaped] of the fetus from the moment of conception in the womb up to the completion of the form aggregate. As for rebirths in the formless realm, form must be posited as merely the seed of form.
The Six Sources of Perception
The six sources of perception refer to the six sense powers, from the visual sense power [auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile] up to the mental sense power.
Contact
Contact refers to the convergence of the three: object, sense power, and consciousness and the consequent determination of an object as attractive, unattractive, or neutral.
Feeling
Feeling refers to the experiencing of happiness, suffering, or neutrality.
Thirsty Craving
Thirsty craving refers to those situations in which happiness arises and we crave not to be separate from it or those occasions in which suffering arises and we crave to be separate from it.
When thirsty craving is classified, there are three types in accord with the three different realms [thirsty craving of the desire realm, thirsty craving of the form realm, and thirsty craving of the formless realm]. These are also explained in the Pramanavarttika [by the great logician Dharmakirti] as: “craving desire, craving the transitory, and craving for existence.”
Grasping
Grasping refers to aspiration toward and attachment to objects of attachment such as the objects of sensual pleasure.
There are four types of grasping: grasping at desirable things, grasping at views, grasping at a mistaken morality and rituals, and grasping at advocating an inherent self. The first of these four, grasping at desirable things, is the aspiration toward and attachment to objects of the sensual pleasures such as [beautiful] forms and the like, and so with the other three.
Becoming
Becoming refers to what has gained a powerful potentiality due to a previous formative karmic impulse’s being nurtured by thirsty craving and grasping.
Rebirth
Rebirth refers to conception in a place of birth.
Old Age/Death
Old age refers to a stage of life and the ripening of the aggregates. Death refers to the discarding of the aggregates of this life.
~ ~ ~
The Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination may be condensed into four salient points in terms of which the links are grouped: 1) the three propelling links, 2) the four propelled links, 3) the three actively manifesting links, and 4) the two fully manifested links.
The three propelling links refer to ignorance, the formative karmic impulses, and consciousness.
The four propelled links refer to name and form, the six sources of perception, contact, and feeling.
The three actively manifesting links refer to thirsty craving, grasping, and becoming.
The two fully manifested links refer to rebirth and old age/death.
~ ~ ~
If you wonder how circulation occurs within the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination
If you wonder how circulation occurs within the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination, it is as follows. There are two ways in which circulation occurs; the first consists of the way circulation occurs within the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination resulting in an unfortunate migration. Namely, by the power of ignorance that is confused about the nature of actions and their results non-meritorious karma is collected whereby a propensity for that action is planted in the causal time’s consciousness. Then, through that propensity’s being nourished over and over again by thirsty craving and grasping and the potentiality of that action grows powerful enough, this results in taking conception in one of the three bad realms. Once one has acquired such an unpleasant ripening of the aggregates, until that karma is exhausted one must experience harsh and unbearably horrid kinds of suffering such as tremendous heat or intense cold, or being exploited or made use of and so forth. When that karma is exhausted one dies only to take rebirth yet again in another place and is forced to experience more suffering and revolve continuously without respite like a bucket on a waterwheel.
The second way circulation occurs within the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination results in a fortunate migration. That is, due to the power of ignorance that is confused about the true nature of emptiness one may still collect meritorious karma, such as through charitable generosity and guarding one’s morality and the like, which propels one into a fortunate migration of the desire realm. Moreover, based on collecting any kind of immutable karma such as through single-pointed meditation one is propelled to the higher realms of a fortunate migration in which one takes a basis in that fortunate rebirth.
In order to gain a clearer understanding of how this circulating functions let’s use rebirth as a human being as an example. Due to the power of ignorance that is confused about the true nature of emptiness we may collect meritorious karma whereupon a propensity for that [meritorious] activity is placed on the consciousness. Then, when that very propensity gains a powerful potentiality through being nurtured once and again by thirsty craving and grasping there occurs the eventual conception in a mother’s womb whereby the aggregates of name and form are accomplished. Next, the [six] sources of perception, the visual sense power and so forth, gradually arise. These occasion the gradual coming into being of contact and feeling and so forth. Furthermore, there occurs the development of the fetus from the first “oval shaped” stage to the manifestation of the tactile sense power in just the space of nine months and ten days at which time the being is born and exits the womb. It is taught that during this process the being is forced to experience countless kinds of unbearable suffering. As one continues to progress in age, due to the power of desire, animosity, and confusion there is an increase in all kinds of suffering in the body and the mind. As one newly collects many virtuous and non-virtuous karma, the aggregates ripen by stages. Once one’s previous karma has become exhausted death occurs, which is the casting off of the aggregates of this life. It is taught that in the process of nurturing former virtuous and non-virtuous karma one is forced to continually experience rebirth in one of the six samsaric migrations while being afflicted by any of the three types of suffering without a moment’s respite.
If you wonder which of the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination refer to karma, which refer to the mental afflictions, and which to sufferings
Well then, if you wonder which of the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination refer to karma, which refer to the mental afflictions, and which to sufferings, they are as follows: formative karmic impulses and becoming are karma; ignorance, thirsty craving, and grasping are mental afflictions; causal time’s consciousness and result time’s consciousness, name and form, the six sources of perception, contact, feeling, rebirth, and age/death are sufferings.
If you wonder in which of the vehicles—higher or lower—do these teachings belong
Well, if you also wonder in which of the vehicles—higher or lower—do these teachings that involve the engagement and disengagement from the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination belong, you should know that this is an extremely important point to be contemplated by all disciples of the higher and lower vehicles alike. On the one hand, given that practitioners of the Hinayana Vehicle seek liberation from cyclic existence for themselves alone, they cut the root of samsara by reflecting on the various stages involved in the engagement of samsara. On the other hand, once disciples belonging to the class of Mahayana practitioners gain a firm understanding of how they themselves engage in samsara they use their own situation as an analogy for contemplating how all other sentient beings are in a similar situation insofar as they too are revolving in samsara, Hence, they generate great compassion that cannot bear to see these beings turning in samsara and thus undertake training in bodhisattva activities for the purpose of achieving complete enlightenment so as to be of ultimate benefit.
How many lifetimes are necessary to complete an entire circuit of the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination?
Now, how many lifetimes are necessary to complete an entire circuit of the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination? The swiftest is to complete the circuit in the space of two lifetimes; that is, in one of those lifetimes there occur ignorance, formative karmic impulses, and causal time’s consciousness and in the following lifetime there occur thirsty craving, grasping, and becoming. This is possible only because name and form, and the other remaining links are accomplished as well in the space of these lifetimes. Although this process can be slowed or somewhat prolonged, still it cannot be prolonged any longer than three lifetimes. In one lifetime there can occur ignorance, formative karmic impulses, and causal time’s consciousness; in another lifetime there can occur thirsty craving, grasping, and becoming; and in a third lifetime can occur such links as name and form and the remaining links; thus the entire cycle [of the twelve links] must definitely be completed within the space of three lifetimes. Though it would be necessary to go into great detail to explain how this process is completed, I am going to desist from doing so here for fear of protracting this brief introduction. However, if you wish to learn more about these points, you’ll have to study them in greater detail in the works of the great Victor Tsong Khapa.
Proper contemplation of the way we engage in and disengage ourselves from samsara by means of this teaching on the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination is an extremely vital point and was the meditation used particularly by the great spiritual guide Puchungwa as his principal practice.
These teachings in relation to the three types of person
A further point is that reflection on the stages of how we enter and exit the unfortunate migrations through these Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination is a topic pertinent to persons of least capacity.
Reflection on the stages of how we enter and exit the fortunate migrations of a human or a god through these Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination is a topic pertinent to persons of medium capacity.
Finally, using one’s own situation as an analogy to contemplate how all other sentient beings are also turning in the cycle of samsara based on these Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination and practicing love, compassion, and bodhichitta and the comprehensive activities of a bodhisattva are what comprise the topic pertinent to persons of greatest capacity.
In brief, a training that accords with the true intent and commentaries of the complete teachings of the Buddha by condensing those teachings into stages of practice for a single person is what is exemplified by the stories of the spiritual lives of the old Kadampa masters and of Lord Tsong Khapa and his spiritual sons. Therefore, Wise Ones, make your intelligence meaningful and use these noble stories so pleasing to the Buddhas as your guide.
Reverend Lama of unequaled kindness,
Bowing again at your feet, please take care of me
And subdue me well with your love and great compassion
And grant me understanding of the essential meaning
of all the Conqueror’s words.
Though I’ve met with a Lord skilled in practice,
I’m still dominated by an inner demon
Who fantasizes about this life and upholds
This old world system so utterly void of meaning.
So please, Lord Lama, look upon this fool
In these times of five degenerations
when all is growing dim.
Though for others this work may be difficult
and poorly explained,
Thinking merely to satisfy my friends of childhood,
I’ve composed this brief account on how
To contemplate interdependent origination.
The faults of teaching false Dharma are very heavy.
So, to all who see with unobstructed eyes
I confess from the bottom of my heart
Any faults I’ve made in explaining.
Please make them right.
If any small part of this work has been well done
And I’ve accrued some merit,
By that may holy spiritual guides take care of me in all my lives
And may I never even for a instant be separated from the
noble unerring path.
~ ~ ~
This work was composed at the great monastic center of Tashi Lhunpo by the Gyelkampa Yongdzin Yeshe Gyentsen through the great insistence of Yeshe Jungnay, a proponent of this system, who, though bearing the title of “Kachen” says the need for such a teaching is great.
~ ~ ~
Translated from Tibetan
©Vincent Montenegro, translator
