The Dharma of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination

The dharma of the twelve links of dependent origination: ignorance conditions volitional formations, volitional formations condition consciousness, and so on. Here, "formations" refers to bodily formations, verbal formations, and mental formations, and "consciousness" refers to the six consciousnesses. Therefore, ignorance must refer to the ignorance of the manas, because the ignorance of the manas drives the continual arising and operation of bodily, verbal, and mental actions, so that the six consciousnesses have no choice but to engage in bodily, verbal, and mental actions, and thus cannot cease.

What does the ignorance here include? It must include all forms of ignorance: the six fundamental afflictions—greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, doubt, and wrong view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi)—as well as the twenty secondary afflictions. Because of these afflictions of ignorance, the manas continually drives the arising and manifestation of bodily, verbal, and mental actions, causing the six consciousnesses to engage in ceaseless activity; the six consciousnesses then cannot become pure, cannot attain the unconditioned, and cannot cease.

"The six turning consciousnesses call it the basis of defilement and purity"—this also means the same thing. All dharmas arise and operate entirely because of the manas, without exception and without special cases. The manas is the driving force and fundamental cause for the arising of all dharmas in the threefold world. Once the ignorance of the manas is completely extinguished and there is no power of vows, the world of the five aggregates immediately ceases.

When the manas is free from afflictions of ignorance, the six consciousnesses have no reason to create karma born of ignorance and affliction, because they lack self-mastery and cannot be their own master.

All dharmas are interconnected; there is no dharma that exists independently or that contradicts other dharmas. It is only in one's own practice that the question arises whether one has thoroughly penetrated these dharmas. When one has not penetrated them, this dharma is just this dharma and that dharma is just that dharma, and they interfere with one another. When one has penetrated them, every dharma is perfectly harmonious, mutually complementary and supportive, all closely linked with one another. When the Buddha-dharma is thoroughly penetrated, from any single aspect one can prove this dharma and also prove that dharma, and can discover even more facts and truths; the wisdom becomes perfectly harmonious and unobstructed.