Explanation of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination in the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra (17)

Original text: Question: If [the sensation arises] due to one's own compulsion, or due to compulsion by others, or due to the change of circumstances, or induced by previous karma, in all these cases, sensation is produced. Why then is contact exclusively shown here as its condition? Answer: Because contact is its proximate cause. Sensation is induced by contact. Furthermore, sensations arising from other conditions also originate from contact. Sensation necessarily cannot arise apart from contact. Therefore, it is specifically stated [that contact is the condition].

Explanation: Question: If it is due to compulsion by one's own conditions, or compulsion by external forces, or due to the change of temporal conditions, or due to the karmic actions created in previous lives exerting their influence – all these conditions can give rise to sensation. Why is it shown here that only contact serves as the condition for producing sensation? Answer: Because contact is the most immediate condition for producing sensation (the others are remote causes), as sensation is induced by contact. Moreover, sensations arising from other conditions also originate from the condition of contact. Without contact, sensation cannot arise even if other conditions are present. The arising of sensation is necessarily inseparable from contact. Therefore, it is specifically stated that contact is the condition for sensation.

Original text: Question: The sutras also state that craving arises dependent on ignorance as its condition. Agreeable objects that accord with craving can also serve as conditions. Why then is sensation exclusively stated here as the condition? Answer: Due to the force of sensation, one either seeks union with similar agreeable objects or seeks separation from them. Due to the force of ignorance, one fails to truly understand the characteristics such as the arising and cessation of all sensations. Consequently, one cannot control one's mind.

Explanation: Question: The sutras also say that craving arises dependent on ignorance as its condition; ignorance is the condition for craving. Agreeable sense-objects that accord with craving are also conditions for craving and can produce craving. Why is sensation exclusively stated here as the condition for producing craving? Answer: Due to the force of the condition of sensation, when encountering objects perceived as agreeable, one either seeks union with the object (because of pleasant sensation) or seeks to escape and separate from it (because of painful sensation). Due to the force of the condition of ignorance, one fails to truly understand the characteristics such as the arising and cessation of sensations. Consequently, one cannot subdue one's mind, and thus craving arises. Therefore, it is stated that sensation is the condition for craving.

Dedication Verse: May the merit from all Dharma propagation and group practice on our online platform be dedicated to all sentient beings throughout the Dharma realm and to the people of the world. We pray for world peace, the absence of war; the cessation of conflict and the eternal end of strife; may all disasters completely subside! May the people of all nations unite in mutual aid, treating each other with compassion; may favorable weather prevail and the nations be prosperous and the people at peace! May all sentient beings deeply believe in cause and effect, harbor compassion and refrain from killing; widely cultivate good affinities and perform wholesome deeds; believe in the Buddha, learn the Dharma, and increase their wholesome roots; recognize suffering, abandon its causes, aspire for cessation, and cultivate the path; close the door to the evil destinies and open the path to Nirvana! May Buddhism flourish forever and the true Dharma abide eternally; may the fiery house of the three realms be transformed into the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss!