Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra (296), Part One

(1) Original text:尔时。世尊告诸比丘。我今当说因缘法。及缘生法。云何为因缘法。谓此有故彼有。谓缘无明行。缘行识。乃至如是如是纯大苦聚集。云何缘生法。谓无明行。若佛出世。若未出世。此法常住。法住法界。彼如来自所觉知。成等正觉。为人演说。开示显发。谓缘无明有行。乃至缘生有老死。若佛出世。若未出世。此法常住。法住法界。

Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus, "I will now explain the dharma of causes and conditions and the dharma of conditioned arising. What is the dharma of causes and conditions? It is that when this exists, that exists; that is, conditioned by ignorance there are the volitional formations of the manas, conditioned by volitional formations there are the six consciousnesses, conditioned by the six consciousnesses there is nāma-rūpa, conditioned by nāma-rūpa there are the six sense bases, conditioned by the six sense bases there is contact, conditioned by contact there is feeling, conditioned by feeling there is craving, conditioned by craving there is grasping, conditioned by grasping there is existence, conditioned by existence there is birth, and conditioned by birth there are aging, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress (śoka-parideva-duḥkha-daurmanasyopāyāsa), and thus there is the gathering of such a great mass of suffering.

What is the dharma of conditioned arising? It is what is said to be: with ignorance as condition there are the volitional formations of the manas, with volitional formations as condition there are the six consciousnesses, with the six consciousnesses as condition there is nāma-rūpa, with nāma-rūpa as condition there are the six sense bases, with the six sense bases as condition there is contact, with contact as condition there is feeling, with feeling as condition there is craving, with craving as condition there is grasping, with grasping as condition there is existence, with existence as condition there is birth, and with birth as condition there are aging, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress. Whether a Buddha appears in the world or does not appear in the world, these principles abide permanently in the world; this dharma abides in the original dharmadhātu. Those Tathāgatas who cultivated in accordance with this dharma and achieved realization all awakened to it themselves and realized it themselves, attaining perfect and complete enlightenment, and thereafter everywhere expounded it for people, revealing and elucidating the dharma of causes and conditions and the dharma of conditioned arising—that is, conditioned by ignorance there are volitional formations, conditioned by volitional formations there are the six consciousnesses, and so on up to conditioned by birth there are aging, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress, as well as such a great mass of suffering. Whether a Buddha appears in the world or does not appear in the world, this principle abides permanently in the world, and the dharma of causes and conditions abides permanently in the dharmadhātu.

The dharma of causes and conditions is not the dharma of ultimate reality; it is a conditioned, false dharma that comes from the Ālayavijñāna. Without the Ālayavijñāna there would be no dharma of causes and conditions, there would be no birth and death, and there would be no great mass of suffering. The truth revealed by the twelve links of dependent origination is only a worldly truth, not the ultimate truth transcending the world. This kind of truth is an illusion; only the principle of the Ālayavijñāna is what truly exists. All dharmas exist in dependence upon the Ālayavijñāna, and all dharmas with worldly characteristics are false. The Four Noble Truths spoken by the Buddha are also truth, but this kind of truth is a truth of superficial appearance; the ultimate truth is the Ālayavijñāna. Without the Ālayavijñāna there would be no Four Noble Truths, nor would there be the twelve links of dependent origination. Although both of these are also called truth, they are only truths on the level of worldly dharmas.