Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Volume Ten (The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination)

(19) Original text: 问。云何说言。此有故彼有。答。由未断缘。余得生义故。问。云何此生故彼生。答。由无常缘。余得生义故。问。何故说言。有生故有老死。要由生缘。而有老死。如是乃至。无明望行。答。由此言教道理。显从无实作用缘。余得生义故。

Explanation: Question: Why is it said, "When this exists, that exists"? Answer: Because the condition has not yet been severed, other dharmas are able to arise. Question: Why is it said, "With the arising of this, that arises"? Answer: Because of the impermanent (arising) condition, other dharmas are able to arise; therefore it is said, "With the arising of this, that arises."

Question: Why is it said that because there is birth there is aging and death, and that aging and death can only exist dependent on the condition of birth? And why is it the same for the other eleven links—that there must be ignorance in order for there to be formations; with formations there can be consciousness; with consciousness there can be name-and-form; with name-and-form there can be the six sense bases; with the six sense bases there can be contact; with contact there can be feeling; with feeling there can be craving; with craving there can be grasping; with grasping there can be becoming; and with becoming there can be birth? Answer: The principle of "birth conditioned, aging and death" demonstrates that from a condition lacking real efficacy, other dharmas are able to arise. The link of birth is not a real dharma and has no real efficacy, yet it can serve as the condition for the arising of the phenomenon of aging and death. The other eleven links are the same: although ignorance is not a real dharma and has no actual efficacy, it is the condition for the arising of the link of formations; likewise, the link of formations is the condition for the arising of the link of consciousness.

Original text: 问。何故说言。有生故有老死。非离生缘。而有老死。如是乃至。无明望行。答。由此言教道理。显从自相续缘。即自相续。余得生义故。

Explanation: Question: Why is it said that because there is birth there is aging and death, and that aging and death do not exist apart from the condition of birth? And so on up to: why is it said that with ignorance there are formations, and formations do not exist apart from ignorance? Answer: Because the teaching principle of "birth conditioned, aging and death" demonstrates that, by means of the condition of birth's own continuity—that is, birth's own continuity—the other links are able to arise; therefore it is said, "birth conditioned, aging and death." The same applies to "ignorance conditions formations" and "formations condition consciousness," and so forth.