An Explanation of the Twelve Nidānas in the Āgama Sutras

Chapter One  Saṃyuktāgama, Volume Twelve

Section One  The Cause of the Arising of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination 

(283) The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination Arising from the Dharma Bound by Fetters

Original text: 如是我闻。一时。佛住舍卫国。祇树给孤独园。尔时世尊。告诸比丘。若于结所系法。随生味着。顾念心缚。则爱生。爱缘取。取缘有。有缘生。生缘老病死。忧悲恼苦。如是如是。纯大苦聚集。

Explanation: When the World-Honored One taught the dharma of dependent origination at a dharma assembly in the Jeta Grove of Anāthapiṇḍada's Park in the country of Śrāvastī, He told the bhikṣus: If, with regard to the dharmas bound by fetters (such as the realms of the six sense objects—wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep), you follow them and give rise to relishing and attachment, and with remembrance and mindfulness your mind becomes bound, then craving arises. Craving conditions grasping; grasping conditions existence; existence conditions birth; birth conditions old age, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress. Thus, thus, the mass of great suffering alone gathers together.

When one relishes and wallows in the dharmas bound by the fetters of afflictions, constantly thinking of them, craving love arises; because of craving love for the dharmas bound by the fetters of afflictions, the mind will give rise to grasping and thus seize and cling without letting go; because one grasps and refuses to relinquish, the mind inevitably does not part from these dharmas, and the karmic seeds for future lives are thereby stored, so there must be the five-aggregate world of future lives; when the karmic seeds of future lives mature, the five-aggregate body will be born again, not separated from these dharmas; because there is birth, there will be old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress accompanying the five-aggregate body, and thus the immense suffering of birth and death gathers together again.

A fetter (saṃyojana) is a bond, an affliction, a tie, a shackle imprisoning the mind. There are nine fetters: the fetter of craving, the fetter of aversion, the fetter of delusion, the fetter of jealousy, the fetter of the view of self, the fetter of grasping, the fetter of doubt, the fetter of stinginess, and the fetter of conceit. Where do these fetters bind oneself? They bind one within the cycle of rebirth in the three realms and six paths. What is the dharma bound by fetters? It is the realms of the six sense objects—people, affairs, and phenomena—the worldly dharmas of the three realms. What does "following with relishing and attachment" mean? It means believing that worldly mundane dharmas have flavor and interest, that they can satisfy one's greed and other afflictions, so the mind yearns for them, and then remembrance arises. What does remembrance mean? The mind keeps thinking of, dwelling on, and longing for them, wanting to obtain and possess them, and thus one keeps grasping.

What is the bondage of mind? The mind is entangled and tied up by these dharmas, and after being bound, afflictions such as craving love arise. What manifestation follows once craving love arises? One will grasp, seize, cherish, and cling without letting go. Who grasps whom, who binds whom? On the surface it is one's own mind that grasps and seizes the dharmas of the six sense objects, but in reality the mind is grasped and bound by the dharmas of the six sense objects. Therefore, the most serious consequence of the bondage of mind is grasping, then storing karmic seeds, which produce the dharmas of three-realm existence in future lives.

If a bhikṣu, or any practitioner, with regard to the fetters of birth and death that can bind his own mind, gives rise to craving love following those fetters, believing that the dharmas bound by these fetters are very flavorful, very enjoyable, very comfortable, and always keeps thinking of these dharmas, then his mind will be bound by these fetters, and in that case craving love arises. After craving love arises, the mind will give rise to a grasping mind, and then grasp these fetters; as long as sentient beings have any grasping in their minds, the conditions—or causes—or seeds for future birth are formed; after the seeds for future birth are formed, when the causes and conditions mature or the seeds mature, a living being will be born; after the living being is born, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress will appear accompanying it. What are the causes and conditions for the birth of a future living being? It is the receptacle-world existence of the three realms: the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm, as well as the livelihood necessities of the desire realm.

After craving love arises, there are bodily, verbal, and mental actions of grasping and possession; karmic seeds remain in the Ālayavijñāna, and in future lives the dharmas of three-realm existence will arise; the survival conditions for the future five-aggregate body are complete, the dharmas of the three realms will arise, and life will be produced within the dharmas of the three realms; after life is born, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress will accompany it, and the mass of great suffering alone is produced. If afflictions such as craving love are extinguished, the knots of the mind are untied; without bondage, one is no longer bound by the three realms and the five desires and six sense objects, and thus the mind is liberated.

Original text: 如人种树。初小软弱。爱护令安。壅以粪土。随时溉灌。冷暖调适。以是因缘。然后彼树。得增长大。如是比丘。结所系法。味着将养。则生恩爱。爱缘取。取缘有。有缘生。生缘老病死。忧悲恼苦。如是如是。纯大苦聚集。

Explanation: It is like people planting a tree: when the sapling is first planted it is still weak and frail, and the slightest carelessness will cause it to die; it needs constant human care and protection—piling soil around it, watering it, fertilizing it, adjusting the temperature at the proper times—so that it grows healthily; only when all the causes and conditions for normal growth are complete can the sapling gradually grow large. Bhikṣus, the same principle as the sapling's growth applies: with the dharmas bound by the fetters of afflictions, if when they first appear you relish, cherish, protect, and nurture them, craving love will arise in the mind; with craving love, a grasping mind arises; with continuous grasping, the three-realm world is produced; when the conditions of the three realms are complete, the five-aggregate body will be born; after the five-aggregate body is born, the mass of great suffering—old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress—will gather together.

The Buddha used the sapling as a metaphor for the fetters of afflictions of sentient beings. When the fetters of afflictions have just arisen, sentient beings not only fail to subdue and eliminate them, but instead cultivate them, making the afflictions ever more solid, and they sink ever deeper into the cycle of birth and death. Practice should consist of constantly introspecting one's own mind; upon discovering one has afflictions, one should subdue and eliminate them, not nurture, cultivate, and cherish them. Those who have not awakened, those with insufficient awareness, and those accustomed to their afflictions do not easily discover their own fetters of affliction, and often act in accordance with their afflictions. If one always follows one's afflictions, the afflictions grow heavier and heavier, and one sinks ever deeper in birth and death. When afflictions first arise, if one neither awakens to them nor curbs them, the afflictions grow heavier and heavier; once deeply rooted afflictive habits have formed, they become very difficult to eradicate in the end.

Original text: 若于结所系法。随顺无常观。住生灭观。无欲观。灭观舍观。不生顾念。心不缚着。则爱灭。爱灭则取灭。取灭则有灭。有灭则生灭。生灭则老病死忧悲恼苦灭。如是如是。纯大苦聚灭。

Explanation: If, with regard to the dharmas bound by one's own fetters of affliction (the realms of the six sense objects), one contemplates the impermanent nature of arising and ceasing of these dharmas, and the mind accords with the impermanence and arising-ceasing nature of the dharmas, one will have no desire or seeking toward the dharmas, knowing that they can be extinguished and relinquished; one will no longer have a mind of remembrance toward the dharmas, and will want to extinguish and abandon them. Thus the mind is not bound by the dharmas, and craving love is extinguished; after craving love is extinguished, the grasping mind no longer exists and ceases accordingly; when the grasping mind is extinguished, the existence of the three realms will no longer arise, and existence is extinguished; when three-realm existence is extinguished, life will no longer be born, and birth is extinguished; when birth is extinguished, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress will not appear—old age, sickness, and death are extinguished—and thus the gathering of the great suffering of birth and death in the six paths is extinguished.

Original text: 犹如种树。初小软弱。不爱护。不令安隐。不壅粪土。不随时溉灌。冷暖不适。不得增长。若复断根截枝。段段斩截。分分解析。风飘日炙。以火焚烧。烧以成粪。或扬以疾风。或投之流水。比丘。于意云何。非为彼树断截其根。乃至焚烧。令其磨灭。于未来世成不生法耶。答言。如是世尊。

Explanation: (Eliminating the fetters of affliction) is like planting a tree: when the sapling is first very small and weak, one does not cherish it, does not nurture it, does not provide it a stable environment for growth, does not pile manure and soil around it, does not irrigate it at the proper times; with unsuitable cold and warmth, the sapling cannot grow and slowly withers and dies. If one then cuts off the sapling's roots, severs its branches, dismembers the sapling bit by bit, then exposes it to wind and sun, and finally burns it with fire; after burning it to powder and ash, either scatters it in the swift wind or pours it into flowing water to drift away. Bhikṣus, what do you think? In this way, has this sapling not been cut off at its roots, then burned, ground to obliteration so that it can never arise again in future lives? The bhikṣus replied: Yes, World-Honored One.

One should treat the fetters of affliction the same way: when we discover our afflictions manifesting, we must never accord with and nurture them; we must find ways to eliminate the afflictions and not let them continue to grow and spread, and slowly the afflictions will wither and vanish. Once craving love is extinguished, the afflictions are gone, and the suffering of future birth, old age, sickness, and death will not appear.

Original text: 如是比丘。于结所系法。随顺无常观。住生灭观。无欲观。灭观舍观。不生顾念。心不缚着。则爱灭。爱灭则取灭。取灭则有灭。有灭则生灭。生灭则老病死忧悲恼苦灭。如是如是。纯大苦聚灭。佛说此经已。诸比丘闻佛所说。欢喜奉行。

Explanation: It is thus, bhikṣus: with regard to the dharmas bound by the fetters of affliction, such as the six sense-object realms of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas, contemplate the impermanent, arising-and-ceasing nature of these dharmas, confirm their impermanence, and let the mind accord with that impermanent, arising-and-ceasing nature; give rise to the thought and view that all these dharmas arise and cease, and the mind will then have no desire or seeking, and will want to extinguish and abandon these impermanent dharmas, no longer cherishing, thinking of, dwelling on, grasping, or seizing these dharmas. Thus the mind is not bound, and craving love is severed; after craving love is extinguished, the grasping mind is extinguished; when the grasping mind is extinguished, the existence of the three realms is extinguished; when three-realm existence is extinguished, birth is extinguished; when birth is extinguished, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress are extinguished, and thus the gathering of the mass of great suffering within the birth and death of the six paths is extinguished.

All dharmas are constantly in the process of arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing; all are impermanent. Therefore, toward all dharmas we should accord with conditions and let go; after letting go there is no suffering—the more you grasp, the more you suffer. Let go of the conditioned dharmas of the three realms, live according to conditions, and the mind will not be bound, and one will be free and liberated. If you like and crave a dharma, you are controlled and bound by that dharma; when craving love is extinguished, when you no longer want to grasp and no longer cling to any dharma, the future three-realm existence and birth will not appear, and the suffering of birth, old age, sickness, and death will all disappear.

(284) The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination Arising from Grasped-at Dharmas

Original text: 尔时。世尊告诸比丘。若于所取法。随生味着。顾念缚心。其心驱驰。追逐名色。名色缘六入处。六入处缘触。触缘受。受缘爱。爱缘取。取缘有。有缘生。生缘老病死。忧悲恼苦。如是如是。纯大苦聚集。

Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: If, with regard to the dharmas you grasp at, you give rise to craving love, believing those dharmas are wonderful, wallowing in them unable to extricate yourselves, constantly recollecting, gazing after, and hoping, thereby binding the mind, then you rush toward them, chasing after nāma-rūpa (name-and-form, the five aggregates); after nāma-rūpa is born, the six sense bases (the six faculties) arise; with the six sense bases there arises contact (the contact of the six faculties with the six sense objects); the six faculties contacting the six sense objects give rise to feeling; with feeling, craving love arises; with craving love, grasping arises; after grasping, the three-realm existence of future lives arises; with three-realm dharmas, the five-aggregate body is produced; after the five-aggregate body is born, there will be old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress, and thus all the suffering of birth and death in the three realms gathers together.

What are grasped-at dharmas? The eye grasps forms, the ear grasps sounds, the nose grasps smells, the tongue grasps tastes, the body grasps tactile objects, and the manas grasps mental objects. The six faculties grasp the six sense objects; finding these grasped-at dharmas very flavorful and full of charm, craving love arises, and one wallows in them unable to extricate oneself. Toward the dharmas one grasps at, craving love without extrication makes the mind yearn for them; every thought is of the craved dharmas, the mind is bound fast, without liberation and freedom, and one cannot avoid being mired in birth and death, suffering immensely.

But a mind that is liberated and free does not seek out or grasp; there is nothing on its mind, nothing it dwells on or worries about; the eye sees forms without taking the mark of form, the ear hears sounds without taking the mark of sound, the nose smells scents without taking the mark of scent, the tongue tastes flavors without taking the mark of taste, the body feels touches without taking the mark of touch, and the manas knows dharmas without taking the mark of dharmas; every dharma is relinquished once used, not dwelt upon or entangled in the mind. Rushing after is also called grasping, seizing; every thought dwells on them, wanting to obtain them; with craving love as condition, grasping arises; having grasping is the karma of birth and death, and future birth cannot be avoided, and great suffering gathers together. Karmic suffering is all created by oneself and experienced by oneself; if you do not want to experience bitter retribution, do not create bitter karma; do not gather suffering, and there will be no bitter retribution.

Life after life, sentient beings blindly chase after the five aggregates of nāma-rūpa, blindly chase after worldly sense objects, never knowing to stop and deeply reflect on what benefit their pursuits really have, what real dharma there is in them, what direction they lead to, what results they can bring; nor do they know to ponder the origin of the birth and death of the five aggregates, what meaning there is in being born and dying again and again, how to avoid the suffering of the five aggregates' birth and death, and what else beyond the world of the five aggregates is more worth exploring.

When sentient beings chase after and reach nāma-rūpa, on that nāma-rūpa the six sense bases will arise; the external six entrances are the six sense objects about to enter the internal six faculties; the internal six entrances are the six faculties within the supreme faculty of the brain; when the external six entrances contact the six faculties, the six consciousnesses arise to discern the six sense objects; after the six consciousnesses know what the six sense objects are, feelings arise; after feeling the realms of the six sense objects, afflictions of craving love arise; once craving arises, one will certainly grasp incessantly, wanting to possess them forever; after grasping, one is inseparable from the six sense objects, together life after life, and thus future lives will inevitably keep appearing in the three realms; old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress follow, and great suffering gathers together. Such unceasing transmigration is truly unspeakably painful. This chain of birth and death is called the dharma of the twelve links of dependent origination.

Original text: 譬如大树。根干枝条。柯叶华果。下根深固。壅以粪土。溉灌以水。彼树坚固。永世不朽。如是比丘。于所取法。随生味着。顾念心缚。其心驱驰。追逐名色。名色缘六入处。六入处缘触。触缘受。受缘爱。爱缘取。取缘有。有缘生。生缘老病死。忧悲恼苦。如是如是。纯大苦聚集。

Explanation: It is like a great tree with roots, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit; its roots planted deep and firm in the ground, piled with manure and soil, irrigated with water—this tree grows solid and never decays or is destroyed for eternity. Bhikṣus, the same as the principle of planting trees: with regard to the dharmas you grasp at, such as the five aggregates, six faculties, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses, as the dharmas appear you wallow in them, every thought unforgotten, binding them to the mind. The mind is driven by the dharmas, chasing after the five aggregates of nāma-rūpa. Nāma-rūpa as condition produces the six sense bases; the six sense bases as condition produce contact; contact as condition produces feeling; feeling as condition produces craving; craving as condition produces grasping; grasping as condition produces existence; existence as condition produces future life; life as condition produces old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress—thus the mass of great suffering alone gathers together.

Original text: 若于所取法。随顺无常观。住生灭观。无欲观。灭观厌观。心不顾念。无所缚着。识则不驱驰。追逐名色。则名色灭。名色灭则六入处灭。六入处灭则触灭。触灭则受灭。受灭则爱灭。爱灭则取灭。取灭则有灭。有灭则生灭。生灭则老病死。忧悲恼苦灭。如是如是。则纯大苦聚灭。

Explanation: Thus, bhikṣus: if with regard to the dharmas one grasps at one constantly contemplates their impermanence, can verify and accord with the impermanence of the dharmas, the mind will abide in the thought and view that all dharmas arise and cease; toward the previously grasped dharmas there will be no more desire or seeking, the mind will want to extinguish these dharmas and be weary of them, will no longer cherish them with every thought, and the mind will not be bound by these dharmas.

When the mind of the seven consciousnesses is not bound by the dharmas, it will no longer chase after the dharmas of nāma-rūpa, the five aggregates, and the eighteen realms, and the nāma-rūpa of future lives will cease and no longer manifest; after nāma-rūpa ceases, the six sense bases cease; after the six entrances cease, contact ceases; after contact ceases, feeling ceases; after feeling ceases, craving love ceases; after craving love ceases, grasping ceases; after grasping ceases, the existence of the three-realm world ceases; when existence ceases, life ceases; after the living being is no longer born, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress will cease, and thus sentient beings' greatest and most fundamental suffering will no longer gather, and the suffering of birth and death disappears.

Original text: 犹如种树。不随时爱护令其安隐。不壅粪土。不随时溉灌。冷暖不适。不得增长。若复断根．截枝。段段斩截。分分解析。风飘日炙。以火焚烧。烧以成粪。或扬以疾风。或投之流水。比丘。于意云何。非为彼树断截其根。乃至焚烧。令其磨灭。于未来世成不生法耶。答言。如是。世尊。

Explanation: (Extinguishing afflictions such as craving love) is like planting a tree: after the tree is just planted, do not always cherish it and let it grow in comfort, do not pile manure and soil around it, do not irrigate it at the proper times; let its cold and warmth be unsuitable, and thus the sapling cannot grow large. If one then cuts off the sapling's roots, severs its branches, cuts the whole tree apart section by section, chops it to pieces bit by bit, and after wind and sun exposure, burns it with fire; after burning it to ashes, either scatters it in the swift wind or throws it into the river. Bhikṣus, what do you think? If the sapling's roots are not severed and finally burned, obliterating the sapling entirely, how could the sapling not be born again in future lives? The bhikṣus said: Yes, World-Honored One.

Toward afflictions, toward the dharmas the mind is bound by, one should likewise treat them like the sapling: do not give them suitable conditions and environment for growth, and use skillful means to destroy the fetters of affliction from the root, finally severing all the fetters so that they leave no trace.

Original text: 如是。比丘。于所取法。随顺无常观。住生灭观。无欲观。灭观舍观。不生顾念。心不缚着。识不驱驰．追逐名色。则名色灭。名色灭则六入处灭。六入处灭则触灭。触灭则受灭。受灭则爱灭。爱灭则取灭。取灭则有灭。有灭则生灭。生灭则老病死。忧悲恼苦灭。如是纯大苦聚灭。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Thus, bhikṣus, if with regard to the dharmas one grasps at one contemplates their impermanence, verifies and accords with that impermanence, the mind will abide in the thought and view that all dharmas arise and cease; toward the previously grasped dharmas there will be no more desire or seeking, the mind will have the thought of wanting to extinguish these dharmas and be weary of them, will no longer cherish them with every thought, and the mind will no longer be bound by these dharmas.

If the mind of the seven consciousnesses no longer chases after the dharmas of nāma-rūpa, the five aggregates, and the eighteen realms, nāma-rūpa will cease and no longer manifest. After nāma-rūpa ceases, the six sense bases and contact will cease; after the six entrances cease, contact ceases; after contact ceases, feeling ceases; after feeling ceases, craving love ceases; after craving love ceases, grasping ceases; after grasping ceases, the existence of the three-realm world ceases; when existence ceases, life ceases; after the living being is no longer born, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress will cease, and thus sentient beings' greatest and most fundamental suffering will no longer gather, and the suffering of birth and death disappears.