The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination: The Chain of Birth and Death

Ignorance (the ignorance of the manas) — volitional formations (the deliberation (manasikāra/manana) mental factor of the manas that makes choices) — consciousness (the six consciousnesses) — name-and-form (the five aggregates (pañca-skandha)) — the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana) (the six faculties) — contact (the six faculties contacting the six sense objects) — feeling (the feeling of the six consciousnesses; the manas also has feeling) — craving (the craving of the six consciousnesses; the manas also has craving) — grasping (upādāna) (the grasping of the six consciousnesses, mainly the grasping of the manas) — existence (the three realms of existence) — birth — aging, sickness, death, and suffering.

Because of ignorance, the manas gives rise to mental activity and makes choices, wanting to create karmic actions; thus the six consciousnesses arise and create bodily, verbal, and mental actions, and thus karmic seeds of the three realms of existence are left behind. Once there are karmic seeds, there must be a future life; the neutrino‑body (antarā‑bhava)'s manas enters the womb in accordance with karma, and there is the initial name-and-form; subsequently the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana) gradually become complete, contact appears, and following contact, the feeling and awareness of consciousness appear; once there is feeling, craving does not cease, and thus feeling and sense objects are grasped, karmic seeds are stored, the existence of the future life must continue to arise and persist, the birth of the future life will appear, and aging, sickness, and death will inevitably appear.

Name-and-form, initially, is the manas and the fertilized egg, and ultimately, the body of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha). At the time of entering the womb, it is the manas and the Ālayavijñāna that enter the womb, together with the fertilized egg, becoming name-and-form; complete name-and-form is the six consciousnesses, the six faculties, plus the six sense objects — the eighteen realms. Then, upon which consciousness does name-and-form depend in order to arise? With the aid of which consciousness can it arise? It requires the aid of the six consciousnesses of past lives, because the creations of the six consciousnesses can leave behind karmic seeds for the five-aggregate body of future lives; only with seeds can there be a five-aggregate body. Only when name-and-form is complete can there be the contact of the inner and outer six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana), and afterward the six consciousnesses of this life will arise. Only when the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana) are complete can there be the six consciousnesses; when the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana) are complete, the five-aggregate body is complete, and the six consciousnesses can create bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Then karmic seeds are again left behind, moistening the five-aggregate body of future lives; thus sentient beings continue life upon life without end.

To attain liberation from the suffering of birth and death in saṃsāra, the six consciousnesses should no longer create and leave behind karmic seeds. Whether the six consciousnesses create or not is entirely determined by the deliberation (manasikāra/manana) mental factor of the manas; if the manas no longer wants to create karmic actions, the six consciousnesses will not leave behind seeds of bodily, verbal, and mental actions. For the deliberation (manasikāra/manana) mental factor of the manas to have no mental activity, the ignorance of the manas must be eradicated. To eradicate the ignorance of the manas, one must cultivate the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths, cultivate the twelve links of dependent origination, and practice meditative concentration (samādhi) and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā); after realizing that the world of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) is empty and without self, one will gradually attain liberation.