Section Six   The Dharma of Dependent Arising and Dependently Arisen Phenomena

(296) The Dharma of Dependent Arising and Dependently Arisen Phenomena

Original Text: At that time, the World-Honored One addressed the bhikṣus: "I shall now explain the Dharma of Dependent Arising and the Dependently Arisen Phenomena. What is the Dharma of Dependent Arising? It is: because this exists, that exists. That is, conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; conditioned by volitional formations, consciousness arises; and so on up to... such is the arising of this great mass of suffering."

Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: "I shall now explain the Dharma of Dependent Arising and the Dependently Arisen Phenomena. What is the Dharma of Dependent Arising? It is: because this exists, that exists. That is, conditioned by ignorance, bodily, verbal, and mental actions arise; conditioned by bodily, verbal, and mental actions, the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses arise; conditioned by the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses, name-and-form arises; conditioned by name-and-form, the six sense bases arise; conditioned by the six sense bases, contact arises; conditioned by contact, feeling arises; conditioned by feeling, craving arises; conditioned by craving, clinging arises; conditioned by clinging, becoming arises; conditioned by becoming, birth arises; conditioned by birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair arise, up to the arising of such a great mass of suffering."

Original Text: "What are the Dependently Arisen Phenomena? They refer to [the sequence]: ignorance and volitional formations. Whether a Buddha appears in the world or not, this Dharma eternally abides. The Dharma abides in the Dharma realm. The Tathāgata, having personally awakened to this, attained perfect enlightenment, and expounded it to others, revealing and elucidating it. That is, conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; ... conditioned by birth, aging and death arise. Whether a Buddha appears in the world or not, this Dharma eternally abides. The Dharma abides in the Dharma realm."

Explanation: What are the Dependently Arisen Phenomena? The Dependently Arisen Phenomena refer to the sequence: conditioned by ignorance, bodily, verbal, and mental actions arise; conditioned by bodily, verbal, and mental actions, the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses arise; conditioned by the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses, name-and-form arises; conditioned by name-and-form, the six sense bases arise; conditioned by the six sense bases, contact arises; conditioned by contact, feeling arises; conditioned by feeling, craving arises; conditioned by craving, clinging arises; conditioned by clinging, becoming arises; conditioned by becoming, birth arises; conditioned by birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair arise. Whether a Buddha appears in the world or not, these principles eternally abide in the world; this Dharma abides within the inherent Dharma realm.

Those Tathāgatas who achieved realization by practicing according to this Dharma all awakened personally, personally realized, and became perfectly enlightened. Afterwards, they expounded it everywhere to others, revealing and elucidating the Dependently Arisen Phenomena. That is, conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; conditioned by volitional formations, the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses arise; ... conditioned by birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair arise, and such a great mass of suffering. Whether a Buddha appears in the world or not, this principle eternally exists in the world; the Dependently Arisen Phenomena eternally abide in the Dharma realm.

The Dharma of Dependent Arising is not the Dharma of true reality; it is a false, impermanent Dharma arising from the ālaya-vijñāna. Without the ālaya-vijñāna, there would be no Dharma of Dependent Arising, nor would there be birth and death, nor a great mass of suffering. The truth revealed by the twelve links of dependent origination is only the truth of the mundane world, not the ultimate truth of the supramundane. This truth is an illusion. Only the principle of the ālaya-vijñāna is the most truly existent; all dharmas depend on the ālaya-vijñāna for their existence. Dharmas possessing conventional characteristics are false dharmas. The Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths as truth, but this truth is a superficial truth; the ultimate truth is the ālaya-vijñāna, the tathāgatagarbha. Without the ālaya-vijñāna, there would be no Four Noble Truths nor the twelve links of dependent origination. Although these two are also called truth, they are only truth within the scope of conventional dharmas and are not ultimate.

Original Text: "The Tathāgata personally awakened to it, attained perfect enlightenment, and expounded it to others, revealing and elucidating it. That is, because of being dependently arisen, there is aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair. These various dharmas abide in the Dharma, are empty in the Dharma, are suchness in the Dharma, are the natural state of the Dharma. The dharmas do not depart from suchness; the dharmas are not different from suchness. They are truly real upon careful examination, without inversion. Thus, following the sequence of dependent arising—this is called the Dependently Arisen Phenomena."

Explanation: Those Tathāgatas who achieved realization by practicing according to this Dharma all awakened personally, personally realized, and became perfectly enlightened. Afterwards, they expounded it everywhere to others, revealing and elucidating the Dependently Arisen Phenomena, which is: conditioned by birth, the phenomenon of aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair arises. These Dependently Arisen Phenomena eternally abide in the world. Although this is so, these dharmas are also empty; they are originally thus; the principle is just so. These dharmas also do not exist apart from suchness, nor are they different from suchness. Upon careful examination, they are all true principles, not inverted. Dharmas arising dependently in this way, following the sequence, are the Dependently Arisen Phenomena.

Original Text: "That is, ignorance, volitional formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, clinging, becoming, birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair—this is called the Dependently Arisen Phenomena."

Explanation: Specifically, it is: conditioned by ignorance, bodily, verbal, and mental actions arise; conditioned by bodily, verbal, and mental actions, the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses arise; conditioned by the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses, name-and-form arises; conditioned by name-and-form, the six sense bases arise; conditioned by the six sense bases, contact arises; conditioned by contact, feeling arises; conditioned by feeling, craving arises; conditioned by craving, clinging arises; conditioned by clinging, becoming arises; conditioned by becoming, birth arises; conditioned by birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair arise. This is the Dependently Arisen Phenomena.

The Four Noble Truths, the twelve links of dependent origination, ignorance, birth, aging, death—these worldly Dependently Arisen Phenomena all eternally abide within the world. However, these dharmas exist only in appearance; in essence, they are non-existent, they are empty. They are all manifested by the eighth consciousness and are also the eighth consciousness—this is the meaning of "dharmas are suchness." They are not different from the eighth consciousness; they arise from the eighth consciousness, carrying its attributes, hence "not different from suchness." These principles are originally thus, called "the natural state of the Dharma." All dharmas of the five aggregates, the six faculties, the six objects, the six consciousnesses, the Four Noble Truths, and the twelve links of dependent origination do not depart from suchness. Only suchness is real; other dharmas are born dependent on suchness, therefore they are false, impermanent, and subject to arising and ceasing. Here the Buddha clearly states that the Dependently Arisen Phenomena do not depart from suchness, do not depart from the eighth consciousness.

Original Text: "A learned noble disciple, regarding this Dharma of Dependent Arising and the Dependently Arisen Phenomena, possesses right knowledge and proper view. He does not seek the past, saying, 'Did I exist in the past or not? What kind of being was I in the past? What was I like in the past?' He does not seek the future, 'Shall I exist in the future or not? What kind of being shall I be? How shall I be?' Internally, he has no doubts such as, 'What kind of being is this? Why was there such an identity before? Who will ultimately become what? From where did this sentient being come? After departing from here, where will he go?'"

Explanation: A learned noble disciple possesses right knowledge and proper view regarding this Dharma of Dependent Arising and the Dependently Arisen Phenomena. He does not cling to the past, saying "I seemed to exist in the past," or "I seemed not to exist," or "What kind of being was I in the past," or "What was my status, what did I do in the past." He also does not crave the future, saying "Will I exist in the future or not," or "What kind of being will I be," or "How will my life be." The learned noble disciple harbors no such doubts internally, such as "What kind of being is this," or "Why was there such an identity before," or "What will this being ultimately become," or "From what place did this sentient being come," or "After dying in this world, where will he go."

A practitioner seeking tranquil liberation does not consider what identity he had in the past, nor does he seek what will happen in the future. All thoughts about the past are gone; all delusions about the future are gone. He only seeks to end suffering and attain liberation in this present life. If he still thinks about what he will do in future lives, he is not a person seeking liberation. However, a Bodhisattva practitioner on the path must consider how to practice in future lives, how to liberate sentient beings, and how to achieve Buddhahood. Therefore, the liberation of an Arhat seeking liberation does not include the five aggregates, whereas the mental liberation of a Mahāyāna Bodhisattva must include the five aggregates.

Original Text: "If śramaṇas or brāhmaṇas were previously bound by the views of worldly conventions—that is, bound by the view of self, bound by the view of a being, bound by the view of life, bound by views of taboos and auspiciousness—at that time [upon realizing the Dharma of Dependent Arising], all these are completely severed and known. Their root is severed, like cutting off the top of a tala tree. In the future, they become the non-arising dharmas. This is called a learned noble disciple who, regarding the Dharma of Dependent Arising and the Dependently Arisen Phenomena, possesses true knowledge, proper view, proper awakening, proper cultivation, and proper entry."

Explanation: If śramaṇas or brāhmaṇas were previously bound by worldly, conventional views arising from their own minds—that is, bound by the view of self, bound by the view of a being, bound by the view of a life span, bound by various irrational views concerning taboos and auspiciousness—upon realizing the Dharma of Dependent Arising, these views are all eradicated. The root of the view of self and the view of what belongs to self is severed, like cutting off the top of a tala tree, causing these irrational views never to arise again in the future. Thus, the learned noble disciple truly and correctly understands the Dharma of Dependent Arising and the Dependently Arisen Phenomena, and is able to skillfully perceive their true principle, skillfully awaken to the true principle, skillfully cultivate the path, and skillfully enter the path.

(297) The Sūtra of the Great Emptiness Dharma

Original Text: At that time, the World-Honored One addressed the bhikṣus: "I shall explain the Dharma to you all—good in the beginning, good in the middle, good in the end; good in meaning, good in flavor; pure, singular, with pure conduct, stainless. It is called the Sūtra of the Great Emptiness Dharma. Listen attentively, consider well, and I shall explain it to you. What is the Sūtra of the Great Emptiness Dharma? It is: because this exists, that exists; because this arises, that arises. That is, conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; ... up to the great mass of suffering."

Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: "I shall explain the Dharma to you. The Dharma I speak is good at the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end; not only is its meaning good, but its flavor is also good; pure and singular, possessing pure conduct, stainless and undefiled. This Dharma is called the Sūtra of the Great Emptiness Dharma. Listen attentively and consider well; I shall now explain it to you.

What is the Sūtra of the Great Emptiness Dharma? The Sūtra of the Great Emptiness Dharma explains that because this dharma exists, it causes that dharma to exist; because this dharma arises, it causes that dharma to arise accordingly. This is the so-called: conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; conditioned by volitional formations, the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses arise; conditioned by the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses, name-and-form arises; conditioned by name-and-form, the six sense bases arise; conditioned by the six sense bases, contact arises; conditioned by contact, feeling arises; conditioned by feeling, craving arises; conditioned by craving, clinging arises; conditioned by clinging, becoming arises; conditioned by becoming, birth arises; conditioned by birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair arise, up to the great mass of suffering."

Original Text: "[Regarding] 'conditioned by birth, aging and death arise,' if someone asks, 'Who is it that ages and dies? To whom does aging and death belong?' Then one should answer, 'I am aging and death. Now aging and death belong to me. Aging and death are me.' Some say life is the body. Or they say life is different, the body is different. This is one meaning, yet spoken of in various ways. If one holds the view that life is the body, that is not held by those who practice the brahmacarya. If one holds the view that life is different and the body is different, that is also not held by those who practice the brahmacarya."

Explanation: Regarding the question of aging and death arising conditioned by birth, if someone asks, "Who has aging and death? To whom does aging and death belong?" you should answer: "I am aging and death; now aging and death belong to me; aging and death are me." Some say life is the physical body, or say that when life changes and ceases, the physical body changes and ceases. These statements express the same meaning but appear in many forms. If someone says life is the physical body, yet those who practice the brahmacarya ultimately have no aging, death, or physical body. If someone says when life changes, the physical body changes, yet those who practice the brahmacarya ultimately have no aging and death, no change of life and physical body.

Original Text: "The mind does not follow these two extremes, but turns directly towards the Middle Way. The noble ones, having arisen in the world, possess true knowledge without inversion, proper view. That is, conditioned by birth, aging and death arise. Similarly, conditioned by becoming, birth arises; conditioned by clinging, becoming arises; conditioned by craving, clinging arises; conditioned by feeling, craving arises; conditioned by contact, feeling arises; conditioned by the six sense bases, contact arises; conditioned by name-and-form, the six sense bases arise; conditioned by consciousness, name-and-form arises; conditioned by volitional formations, consciousness arises; conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise."

Explanation: Departing from the two extremes concerning the existence or non-existence of life and the body, the mind does not follow them, then it can single-mindedly turn directly towards the Middle Way Nirvāṇa. After noble ones arise in the world, they possess true knowledge of these phenomena without inverted views regarding the twelve links of dependent origination. That is, conditioned by birth, aging and death arise; conditioned by becoming, birth arises; conditioned by clinging, becoming arises; conditioned by craving, clinging arises; conditioned by feeling, craving arises; conditioned by contact, feeling arises; conditioned by the six sense bases, contact arises; due to name-and-form, the six sense bases arise; conditioned by the six consciousnesses, name-and-form arises; conditioned by volitional formations, the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses arise; conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise.

Original Text: "If someone further asks, 'Who is it that engages in volitional formations? To whom do the volitional formations belong?' Then one should answer, 'The volitional formations are me. The volitional formations belong to me.' If someone says thus that life is the body, or that life is different and the body is different, [you should note that] the view that life is the body is not held by those who practice the brahmacarya. Or the view that life is different and the body is different is also not held by those who practice the brahmacarya."

Explanation: If someone further asks: "Who is it that engages in volitional formations? To whom do the volitional formations belong?" You should answer: "The volitional formations are me; the volitional formations belong to me." If someone says life is the physical body, or says when life changes, the physical body changes, you see that life is the physical body, yet those who practice the brahmacarya have no life and physical body, no aging and death. Or if someone says when life changes, the physical body changes, yet those who practice the brahmacarya have no phenomena of change in life and physical body, no aging and death.

Original Text: "Departing from these two extremes, turning directly towards the Middle Way, the noble ones, having arisen in the world, possess true knowledge without inversion, proper view and knowledge. That is, conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; ... up to conditioned by birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair, the great mass of suffering."

Explanation: Departing from views concerning the existence, non-existence, or change of life and the body, not clinging to any extreme, one can turn directly towards the Middle Way Nirvāṇa. After noble ones arise in the world, they possess true knowledge without inversion, able to have right knowledge and proper view, knowing that conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; conditioned by volitional formations, the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses arise; up to conditioned by birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair, the great mass of suffering arises.

Original Text: "Bhikṣus, if, through the abandoning of desire, ignorance is abandoned and wisdom arises, then regarding 'Who is it that ages and dies? To whom does aging and death belong?'—then aging and death are severed. One knows that its root is severed, like cutting off the top of a tala tree. In the future, it becomes the non-arising Dharma. If a bhikṣu, through the abandoning of desire, ignorance is abandoned and wisdom arises, then regarding 'Who is it that is born? To whom does birth belong?' ... up to 'Who is it that engages in volitional formations? To whom do the volitional formations belong?'—then volitional formations are severed. One knows that their root is severed, like cutting off the top of a tala tree. In the future, it becomes the non-arising Dharma."

Explanation: Bhikṣus, if, by abandoning desire, ignorance is extinguished and wisdom arises, then regarding the question "Who has aging and death? To whom does aging and death belong?" one knows that if aging and death are severed, if aging and death belong to no one, then birth and death are severed from the root, like cutting off the top of a tala tree, never to arise again in the future. If a bhikṣu abandons desire, extinguishes ignorance, and gives rise to wisdom, then regarding the questions "Who has birth? To whom does birth belong?" up to "Who has volitional formations? To whom do the volitional formations belong?" one knows that birth up to volitional formations are severed, birth and death are severed from the root, like cutting off the top of a tala tree, never to arise again in the future.

Original Text: "If a bhikṣu, through the abandoning of desire, ignorance is abandoned and wisdom arises, then with the cessation of ignorance, volitional formations cease; ... up to the cessation of the great mass of suffering. This is called the Sūtra of the Great Emptiness Dharma."

Explanation: If bhikṣus abandon desire, extinguish ignorance, and give rise to wisdom, then with the cessation of ignorance, volitional formations cease; with the cessation of volitional formations, the seeds of the six consciousnesses cease; with the cessation of the seeds of the six consciousnesses, name-and-form ceases; with the cessation of name-and-form, the six sense bases cease; with the cessation of the six sense bases, contact ceases; with the cessation of contact, feeling ceases; with the cessation of feeling, craving ceases; with the cessation of craving, clinging ceases; with the cessation of clinging, becoming ceases; with the cessation of becoming, birth ceases; with the cessation of birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair cease; up to the cessation of the great mass of suffering. This is called the Sūtra of the Great Emptiness Dharma.

(298) The Dharma of Dependent Origination

Original Text: At that time, the World-Honored One addressed the bhikṣus: "I shall now explain the Dharma of Dependent Origination—the explanation of the Dharma and the explanation of the meaning. Listen attentively, consider well, and I shall explain it to you. What is the Dharma explanation of the Dharma of Dependent Origination? It is: because this exists, that exists; because this arises, that arises. That is, conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; ... up to the great mass of suffering. This is called the Dharma explanation of the Dharma of Dependent Origination."

Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: "I shall now explain the Dharma of Dependent Origination. There are two kinds: the explanation of the Dharma and the explanation of the meaning. Listen attentively and consider well. Now I shall explain to you what is the Dharma explanation of the Dharma of Dependent Origination. The Dharma explanation of the Dharma of Dependent Origination is the so-called 'because this exists, that exists; because this arises, that arises.' That is, conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise; conditioned by volitional formations, the karmic seeds of the six consciousnesses arise; up to conditioned by birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair, the great mass of suffering arises. This is the Dharma explanation of the Dharma of Dependent Origination."

Original Text: "What is the meaning explanation? That is, 'conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise.' What then is ignorance? If one does not know the past, does not know the future, does not know the past and future; does not know the internal, does not know the external, does not know the internal and external; does not know karmic actions, does not know retribution, does not know karmic cause and effect; does not know the Buddha, does not know the Dharma, does not know the Saṅgha;"

Explanation: What is the meaning explanation of the Dharma of Dependent Origination? It is: conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise. What is ignorance? If sentient beings do not know there is a past life, do not know there is a future life, do not know past and future lives; do not know internal dharmas, do not know external dharmas, do not know internal and external dharmas; do not know karmic actions, do not know karmic results, do not know karmic cause and effect; do not know the Buddha, do not know the Dharma, do not know the Saṅgha;

Original Text: "does not know suffering, does not know the origin [of suffering], does not know cessation [of suffering], does not know the path [to cessation]; does not know cause, does not know dharmas arisen from causes; does not know the wholesome and unwholesome, the blameworthy and blameless, the practiced and unpracticed, the inferior and superior, the defiled and pure, the discriminated and dependently arisen—all are unknown. Regarding the six sense-spheres of contact, one does not truly know them. Regarding those various [dharmas], one does not know, does not see. There is no direct realization. There is stupidity, darkness, ignorance, great obscurity. This is called ignorance."

Explanation: does not know the suffering of the five aggregates, does not know the arising of the suffering of the five aggregates, does not know how to extinguish the suffering of the five aggregates, does not know the path to extinguish suffering; does not know the cause of dharmas arising, does not know dharmas arisen from causes; does not know wholesome and unwholesome dharmas, does not know the blameworthy and blameless, does not know habitual tendencies and non-habitual tendencies; does not know the inferior and superior, does not know the defiled and pure, does not know discrimination and dependent arising—all these dharmas are unknown. Regarding the six sense-spheres of contact, one cannot truly know them. Regarding these dharmas, one does not know, does not see. Internally, there is uninterrupted stupidity, darkness, and the great obscurity of ignorance. This is called ignorance.

Original Text: "'Conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise.' What are volitional formations? There are three kinds: bodily formations, verbal formations, and mental formations. 'Conditioned by volitional formations, consciousness arises.' What is consciousness? It refers to the six consciousness bodies: the eye-consciousness body, ear-consciousness body, nose-consciousness body, tongue-consciousness body, body-consciousness body, mind-consciousness body. 'Conditioned by consciousness, name-and-form arises.' What is name? It refers to the four formless aggregates: the feeling aggregate, the perception aggregate, the formations aggregate, the consciousness aggregate. What is form? It refers to the four great elements and the form derived from the four great elements. This is called form. This form together with the name mentioned before is called name-and-form."

Explanation: Conditioned by ignorance, volitional formations arise. What are volitional formations? There are three kinds: bodily formations, verbal formations, and mental formations; conditioned by volitional formations, the karmic seeds of consciousness arise. What is consciousness? It is the six consciousness bodies: the eye-consciousness body, ear-consciousness body, nose-consciousness body, tongue-consciousness body, body-consciousness body, mind-consciousness body. Conditioned by the karmic seeds of consciousness, name-and-form arises. What is name? Name is the four formless aggregates: the feeling aggregate, perception aggregate, formations aggregate, consciousness aggregate; what is form? Form is the four great elements and the form derived from the four great elements, called form. Form together with the name mentioned before is called name-and-form.

The three kinds of formations—bodily, verbal, and mental—are all controlled by the mental formations of the mental faculty (manas). Because of ignorance, the mental faculty wishes to create bodily, verbal, and mental actions; then the six consciousnesses arise. Only after the six consciousnesses arise do actual bodily, verbal, and mental actions occur, leaving karmic seeds. Without the six consciousnesses, there are no bodily, verbal, or mental actions, and no karmic seeds. For example, when asleep without the six consciousnesses, there are no bodily, verbal, or mental actions; when unconscious, if the six consciousnesses disappear, there are no bodily, verbal, or mental actions; as in the state of non-perception (asaṃjñā-samāpatti) or cessation (nirodha-samāpatti), without the six consciousnesses, there are no bodily, verbal, or mental actions. Therefore, first there are the mental formations of the mental faculty, then the six consciousnesses and their bodily, verbal, and mental actions, then karmic seeds, and then name-and-form is born in future lives.

Original Text: "'Conditioned by name-and-form, the six sense bases arise.' What are the six sense bases? They are the six internal sense bases: the eye base, ear base, nose base, tongue base, body base, mind base. 'Conditioned by the six sense bases, contact arises.' What is contact? It is the six contact bodies: eye-contact body, ear-contact body, nose-contact body, tongue-contact body, body-contact body, mind-contact body."

"'Conditioned by contact, feeling arises.' What is feeling? It is the three feelings: pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. 'Conditioned by feeling, craving arises.' What is craving? It is the three cravings: craving for sensual desires, craving for form, craving for formlessness. 'Conditioned by craving, clinging arises.' What is clinging? There are four clingings: clinging to sensual desires, clinging to views, clinging to precepts and vows, clinging to a doctrine of self. 'Conditioned by clinging, becoming arises.' What is becoming? There are three becomings: sensual becoming, form becoming, formless becoming."

Explanation: Conditioned by name-and-form, the six sense bases arise. What are the six sense bases? They are the six internal sense bases: eye base, ear base, nose base, tongue base, body base, mind base; conditioned by the six sense bases, contact arises. What is contact? It is the six contact bodies: eye-contact body, ear-contact body, nose-contact body, tongue-contact body, body-contact body, mind-contact body; conditioned by contact, feeling arises. What is feeling? It is the three feelings: pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling; conditioned by feeling, craving arises. What is craving? It is the three cravings: craving for sensual desires (in the desire realm), craving for form (in the form realm), craving for formlessness (in the formless realm); conditioned by craving, clinging arises. What is clinging? It is the four clingings: clinging to sensual desires (kāmupādāna), clinging to views (dṛṣṭupādāna), clinging to precepts and vows (śīlavrataparāmarśa), clinging to a doctrine of self (ātmavādopādāna); conditioned by clinging, becoming arises. What is becoming? It is the three becomings: sensual becoming (kāma-bhava), form becoming (rūpa-bhava), formless becoming (arūpa-bhava).

Original Text: "'Conditioned by becoming, birth arises.' What is birth? When various beings of various bodily types undergo conception, gestation, and birth; obtain the aggregates, obtain the sense-spheres, obtain the sense bases, obtain the life faculty—this is called birth."

"'Conditioned by birth, aging and death arise.' What is aging? When hair turns white, the crown becomes bald, the skin becomes slack and wrinkled, the faculties deteriorate, the limbs become weak, the back becomes bent, the head droops, one groans, breathing becomes short, one leans forward [while walking], walks with a staff, the body darkens, the limbs become mottled, the senses become dull, actions become difficult, one becomes frail and weak—this is called aging. What is death? When various beings of various types pass away, migrate, the body disintegrates, the lifespan ends, the life-heat departs, the life faculty ceases, the aggregates are discarded when the time comes—this is called death. This death together with the aforementioned aging is called aging and death. This is called the meaning explanation of the Dharma of Dependent Origination."

Explanation: Conditioned by becoming, birth arises. What is birth? Birth is the life of one sentient being after another, with various kinds of bodies; after birth, there are the five aggregates, the eighteen elements, the six sense bases, and the life faculty. This is called birth.

Conditioned by birth, aging and death arise. What is aging? If the hair turns white, the crown becomes bald, the skin becomes slack and wrinkled, the five faculties have matured and no longer renew, the limbs are weak, the back is bent, the head droops, groaning incessantly, breathing is short (inhaling then immediately exhaling), walking requires a staff, the body becomes increasingly dark, impure and mottled, senses are dull, actions are difficult and feeble—these phenomena constitute aging. What is death? Sentient beings, one after another, of various kinds, disappear; the body perishes, life ends, migrating to other kinds of sentient beings; the lifespan is exhausted, the fire of life is extinguished, life ceases, it is time to discard the five aggregates—this is death. Death together with the aforementioned aging is called aging and death. This content is the meaning explanation of the Dharma of Dependent Origination.