Forward and Reverse Contemplation of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination

The Dharma of the twelve links of dependent origination: ignorance conditions volitional formations (avidyā-pratyayāḥ saṃskārāḥ), volitional formations condition consciousness, consciousness conditions name-and-form, name-and-form conditions the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana), the six sense bases condition contact, contact conditions feeling, feeling conditions craving, craving conditions grasping, grasping conditions becoming, becoming conditions birth, and birth conditions aging, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress (śoka-parideva-duḥkha-daurmanasyopāyāsa). Because sentient beings have ignorance, their bodily actions continue unceasingly day after day, their verbal actions continue unceasingly, their mental actions continue unceasingly, and they refuse to let their actions and fabrications come to rest. Tracing this to its root, it is the ignorance deep within the mind. Because arhats and pratyekabuddhas have eliminated fundamental ignorance (avidyā), they know that all dharmas are illusory and that the self's five aggregates (pañcaskandha) are not real, so they are unwilling to fabricate any worldly affairs whatsoever, regarding bodily, verbal, and mental actions as meaningless. Their minds thus accord with emptiness, giving rise to the three meditative concentrations (samādhi) of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness.

Because their bodily, verbal, and mental actions diminish, their minds become tranquil and stilled, the six consciousnesses seldom arise, and there is little discrimination. When the manas severs its attachment to self, the seeds of birth-and-death in the three realms are severed, and in future lives there will be no more birth within the three realms. In this way one can escape the cycle of birth-and-death in the three realms, ending birth and liberating from death, and be freed from the suffering of birth-and-death. But because sentient beings' ignorance is unceasing, they regard the five aggregates as truly existent and the six sense objects of the external world as truly existent, and they constantly crave and grasp at the myriad dharmas of the six sense objects, so their bodily, verbal, and mental actions are constantly fabricated. Because bodily, verbal, and mental actions are constantly fabricated, the six consciousnesses continually arise, cooperating with the five sense faculties and the manas to fabricate and perform the functions of recognition and discernment. Thus the minds of the six consciousnesses cannot cease, the mind cannot become stilled, and the seeds of the bodily, verbal, and mental actions that are fabricated are continually stored into the tathāgatagarbha, creating the causes and conditions for rebirth in future lives.

Because the six consciousnesses of sentient beings continually manifest and their seeds are unceasing, the manas grasps at these seeds, and its attachment to the self's five aggregates is unceasing. In the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava), the manas drags the tathāgatagarbha into the womb to take conception, and thus name-and-form comes into being, and the five aggregates of the next life will appear. Because there is name-and-form—the fertilized egg—the five faculties of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body will be produced, and together with the manas that already exists, the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana) are thereby complete, the receptacle for receiving the six sense objects is fully equipped, and in the future one will be able to contact the six sense objects.

Because there are these receptacles of the six sense bases, they will inevitably come into contact with the six sense objects, and thus contact arises—this is precisely the function of the six sense bases. Because the six sense bases contact the six sense objects, the tathāgatagarbha produces the six consciousnesses to discern the dharmas of the six sense objects. After discernment comes knowing, and upon knowing, feelings arise within the mind, which will feel pleasure, pain, and neither-pain-nor-pleasure. Because there are feelings within the mind, the six consciousnesses become attached to these feelings, delighting in the realms of the six sense objects, and craving continually arises. Because of craving, in order for feelings to continue, the manas constantly grasps at the self of the five aggregates and grasps at the realms of the six sense objects, hoping that the five aggregates will continue to manifest and operate, and hoping that the six sense objects will exist forever.

Because the manas grasps and clings to self and grasps at the realms of the six sense objects, the six sense objects continually manifest, the conditions for existence in the three realms are complete, and becoming in the three realms is never cut off. Because the conditions for existence in the three realms are complete and becoming in the three realms is unceasing, sentient beings will continually be born in the three realms, the five aggregates will continually be born, and the activity of life will be unceasing. Then aging, death, and countless sorrows, griefs, sufferings, and distresses—immeasurable great suffering—accumulate, and sentient beings will transmigrate through birth-and-death endlessly amid immeasurable sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress.

The root of this is sentient beings' ignorance, their unceasing craving for the myriad dharmas of the three realms, and their unceasing craving for the five aggregates. When craving is severed, the manas's grasping is severed; when the manas does not grasp, the seeds of the five aggregates are not complete, and the conditions for existence in the three realms are not complete. Then the five aggregates will no longer be produced, and there will be no more sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and sentient beings will be liberated from the suffering of birth-and-death.

Because the manas has eliminated craving and attachment, the tathāgatagarbha no longer stores seeds of craving, no longer stores seeds of bodily, verbal, and mental actions, and no longer stores seeds of fundamental ignorance; the tathāgatagarbha will not produce the ignorance of the seven consciousnesses. When ignorance is severed, bodily, verbal, and mental actions are severed; when bodily, verbal, and mental actions are severed, the six consciousnesses are severed; when the six consciousnesses are severed, name-and-form is severed; when name-and-form is severed, the six sense bases are severed; when the six sense bases are severed, contact is severed; when contact is severed, feeling is severed; when feeling is severed, craving is severed; when craving is severed, grasping is severed; when grasping is severed, becoming is severed; when becoming is severed, birth is severed; and when birth is severed, aging, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress are severed.

What is meant by "severance" is that because the tathāgatagarbha stores no karmic seeds, it will not produce the various links of becoming; the chain of birth-and-death is thereby severed. Each link is produced by the tathāgatagarbha; without seeds, the tathāgatagarbha has no conditions to produce these links, and thus birth-and-death comes to an end, and sentient beings are liberated. However, this liberation is not yet ultimate and thoroughgoing; one must cultivate all the way to the stage of Buddhahood for it to be the ultimate and thoroughgoing great liberation.