The Forward and Reverse Progression of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination

The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination: Ignorance conditions volitional formations; volitional formations condition consciousness; consciousness conditions name and form; name and form condition the six sense bases; the six sense bases condition contact; contact conditions feeling; feeling conditions craving; craving conditions clinging; clinging conditions becoming; becoming conditions birth; birth conditions aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, and distress. Sentient beings, due to the presence of ignorance, incessantly engage in bodily actions, verbal actions, and mental actions day after day, refusing to cease their actions and activities. At its root, this is the deep-seated ignorance within. Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas, because they have severed the single thought of ignorance, know that all dharmas are illusory and that the self composed of the five aggregates is unreal. Therefore, they are unwilling to create any worldly affairs, deeming bodily, verbal, and mental actions meaningless. Their minds thus accord with emptiness, giving rise to the three samādhis of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness.

Because their bodily, verbal, and mental actions diminish, their minds become still and quiescent, and the six consciousnesses arise and discriminate less frequently. When the mental faculty (manas) severs attachment to the self, the seeds of birth and death in the three realms are cut off. Consequently, they will not be reborn in the three realms in future lives, thereby transcending the cycle of birth and death in the three realms, ending life and death, and liberating themselves from the suffering of birth and death. Sentient beings, however, because ignorance persists, perceive the five aggregates as real and the external objects of the six dusts as real. They continuously crave and cling to the dharmas of the six dusts, and thus their bodily, verbal, and mental actions ceaselessly create karma. Because bodily, verbal, and mental actions continuously create karma, the six consciousnesses arise incessantly, cooperating with the five sense faculties and the mental faculty to perform actions, functioning in recognition and discrimination. Thus, the mind of the six consciousnesses cannot cease, and the mind fails to attain stillness. The seeds of the created bodily, verbal, and mental actions are continuously stored in the Tathāgatagarbha, creating the causal conditions for rebirth in future lives.

Because the six consciousnesses of sentient beings continuously manifest and the seeds are unceasing, the mental faculty clings to these seeds, and attachment to the self of the five aggregates remains unbroken. In the intermediate state (antarābhava), the mental faculty leads the Tathāgatagarbha to take rebirth, and thus name and form arise. The five aggregates of the next life manifest, and the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death begins anew. Because of name and form, the fertilized ovum, the five sense faculties—eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body—develop, plus the pre-existing mental faculty. Thus, the six entrances become complete, the receptors for the six dusts are fully equipped, and in the future, they can contact the six dusts.

Because these receptors, the six entrances, exist, they inevitably contact the six dusts, and contact arises; the six entrances serve this function. Because the six entrances contact the six dusts, the Tathāgatagarbha generates the six consciousnesses to cognize the dharmas of the six dusts. After cognition, knowing occurs, and upon knowing, feelings arise within the mind, experiencing suffering, happiness, or neutrality. Because feelings exist within the mind, the six consciousnesses crave these feelings, delight in the realms of the six dusts, and craving continuously arises. Because craving exists, the mental faculty, desiring the feelings to persist, continuously clings to the self of the five aggregates and clings to the realms of the six dusts, hoping that the five aggregates will continuously manifest and function, and that the six dusts will exist forever.

Because the mental faculty clings to and grasps the self and clings to the realms of the six dusts, the six dusts continuously manifest, the conditions for existence in the three realms are complete, and becoming in the three realms remains unbroken. Because the conditions for existence in the three realms are complete and becoming in the three realms is unceasing, sentient beings are continuously reborn in the three realms, the five aggregates continuously arise, and life activities persist. Thus, aging, sickness, death, immeasurable sorrow, lamentation, pain, and distress, and immeasurable great suffering accumulate. Sentient beings then continuously revolve in the cycle of birth and death amid immeasurable sorrow, lamentation, pain, and distress.

The root cause is the ignorance of sentient beings, their unceasing craving for the dharmas of the three realms, and their unceasing craving for the five aggregates. Severing craving severs the clinging of the mental faculty. When the mental faculty no longer clings, the seeds of the five aggregates become incomplete, and the conditions for existence in the three realms become insufficient. Then, the five aggregates will no longer be produced, and there will be no more aging, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, or distress. Sentient beings are then liberated from the suffering of birth and death.

Because the mental faculty extinguishes craving and clinging, the Tathāgatagarbha no longer stores seeds of craving, no longer stores seeds of bodily, verbal, and mental actions, and no longer stores seeds of the single thought of ignorance. The Tathāgatagarbha will then not produce the ignorance of the seven consciousnesses. When ignorance ceases, bodily, verbal, and mental actions cease; when bodily, verbal, and mental actions cease, the six consciousnesses cease; when the six consciousnesses cease, name and form cease; when name and form cease, the six entrances cease; when the six entrances cease, contact ceases; when contact ceases, feeling ceases; when feeling ceases, craving ceases; when craving ceases, clinging ceases; when clinging ceases, becoming ceases; when becoming ceases, birth ceases; when birth ceases, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, and distress cease.

The so-called cessation means that because the Tathāgatagarbha has no karmic seeds stored, it will not produce the various links of existence. The chain of birth and death is broken. Each link is produced by the Tathāgatagarbha; without seeds, the Tathāgatagarbha lacks the conditions to produce these links. Thus, birth and death end, and sentient beings are liberated. However, this liberation is not yet ultimate and thorough. One must cultivate to the stage of Buddhahood to attain the ultimate and thorough great liberation.