A Discourse on Paticcasamuppada

by Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw | 62,614 words

The Paticcasamuppada refers to “The Doctrine of Dependent Origination”. This is the English translation done by U Aye Maung Published by U Min Swe Buddhasasana Nuggaha Organization Rangoon, Burma....

Chapter 16 - Summary

From the two root causes referred to in the two noble truths there arise four layers, three cycles, three connections, twelve links, three time dimensions, twenty phenomena and five nama rupa processes. One who watches these present resultant processes effectively does not have craving that is rooted in feeling and so he will put an end to life cycle completely.

In other words, the yogi watches every psycho physical event that occurs at the six senses clearly in terms of its impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and egolessness.

Through such effective practice of mindfulness, the yogi gains insight into the nature of the sense object such as sound, visual form, etc., and overcomes the attachment to it by the opposite (tadanga), that is, he overcomes it by opposing it with the knowledge that undercuts it. The cessation of attachment rules out the arising of the other phenomena e.g. clinging, process of becoming, rebirth, etc. After this cessation through vipassana insight, the yogi overcomes the latent attachment completely through destruction (samuccheda) when he attains the insight knowledge on the Ariyan path. At this moment the other phenomena e.g. clinging, etc., also become totally extinct.

There is no teaching which says that with the extinction of feeling, craving too ceases to exist. This is no wonder for even the Arahats do not have any control over their feelings that arise from contact with the six senses.

There are certain psycho physical phenomena that have to be watched and noted as they really are i.e. in terms of anicca, dukkha and anatta if the yogi wants to remove the present causes such as tanha etc., the future results and end the cycle of suffering. These phenomena with their Pali terms are explained below.

(1) Vinnana: consciousness, which is of six kinds viz., eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness and mind consciousness.

(2) Nama: mental factors (cetasikas) that arise together with consciousness. Rupa: the physical phenomena that arises together with that consciousness. Nama rupa may be translated as mind and matter.

(3) Salayatana: the six bases of mental activity, that is, the six internal bases comprising the consciousness and the five physical sense organs viz., eye, ear, nose, tongue and body and the six external bases viz., visible object, sound, odour, sap or gustative object, body impression and mind object.

(4) Phassa: contact or impression, which is of six kinds viz., visual impression, impression of hearing, of smelling, of tasting, bodily impression and mental impression.

(5) Vedana: feelings which is of three kinds viz., pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling and indifferent feeling. We may also distinguish six kinds of feelings: feelings associated with seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, body impression and mental impression.

1. Two root causes:

Ignorance (avijja) and craving (tanha).

2. Two truths:

Truth about the cause (craving) and truth about suffering (dukkha).

3. Four layers:

  1. The layer of the past cause - ignorance, kamma formations (sankhara), craving, clinging and becoming.
  2. The layer of present result - consciousness, mind body complex, six bases of mental activity, impression, feeling.
  3. The layer of present cause - craving, clinging, kamma, becoming, ignorance, kamma formations (sankhara).
  4. Future result - birth, old age, death, consciousness, etc.

4. Three cycles:

  1. The cycle of defilements - ignorance, craving, clinging.
  2. The cycle of kamma - kamma formations (sankhara), kamma and becoming.
  3. The cycle of kammic results - consciousness, mind body complex, six bases of mental activity, impression, feeling, birth, old age and death.

5. Three connections:

  1. The connection between the past kamma formations (sankhara) as the past cause and consciousness as the present result.
  2. The connection between feeling as the present result and craving as the present cause.
  3. The connection between becoming as the present cause and birth as the future result.


6. Twelve links:

  1. ignorance
  2. kamma formations
  3. consciousness
  4. mental and physical phenomena
  5. six bases
  6. impression
  7. feeling
  8. craving
  9. clinging
  10. becoming
  11. rebirth
  12. old age and death

7. Three time dimensions:

  1. The infinite past - ignorance and kamma formations.
  2. The infinite present - consciousness, mind body complex, six bases, impression, feeling, craving, clinging, kamma process.
  3. The infinite future - rebirth, old age and death.

8. Twenty elements:

  1. Five elements of the causative process in the past existence.
  2. Five elements of the resultant process in the present existence.
  3. Five elements of the causative process in the present existence.
  4. Five elements of the resultant process in the future existence.
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