21 Facts About Dependent origination

Dependent origination is a philosophically complex concept, subject to a large variety of explanations and interpretations.

Dependent origination can be contrasted with the classic Western concept of causation in which an action by one thing is said to cause a change in another thing.

The Chinese parallel at SA 296 similarly states that dependent origination is "the constancy of dharmas, the certainty of dharmas, suchness of dharmas, no departure from the true, no difference from the true, actuality, truth, reality, non-confusion".

The early Buddhist texts outline different ways in which dependent origination is a middle way between different sets of "extreme" views.

Choong, in his comparative study of SN and SA writes that the different accounts of dependent origination existed at an early stage and that they are simply different ways of presenting the same teaching which would have been used for different times and with audiences.

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Since the process of dependent origination always produces suffering, the reversal or deactivation of the sequence is seen by Buddhists as the way to stop the entire process.

The Upanisa Sutta is the only text in which both types of dependent origination appear side by side and therefore it has become the main source used to teach reverse dependent origination in English language sources.

Alex Wayman has argued that understanding the dependent origination formula requires understanding its two main interpretations.

Dependent origination arising therefore explains the structure of relationships between specific types of phenomena which lead to suffering as well as the ending of suffering.

Dependent origination reveals the answer to how kamma done in a previous life can affect a person in this life.

Furthermore, dependent origination explains rebirth without appeal to an unchanging self or soul.

Paul Williams sees dependent origination as closely connected with the doctrine of not-self which rejects the idea there is a unchanging essence that moves across lives.

Williams cites the Mahatanhasankhaya Sutta as showing how dependent origination is to be seen as an alternative theory to such views.

Prayudh Payutto notes that in Buddhaghosa's Sammohavinodani, a commentary to the Vibhanga, the principle of dependent origination is explained as occurring entirely within the space of one mind moment.

Different interpretations of dependent origination as understood in the northern tradition can be found in the Abhidharmakosa, which outlines three models of the twelve nidanas:.

However, he argues that at its core dependent origination is concerned with "identifying the different processes of mental conditioning and describing their relations".

Shulman writes that seeing dependent origination as referring to the nature of reality in general "means investing the words of the earlier teachings with meanings derived from later Buddhist discourse" which leads to a misrepresentation of early Buddhism.

Collett Cox sees the theory of dependent origination found in the early Buddhist sources as an analysis of how suffering is produced in our experience.

Dependent origination is therefore "the causal series according to which the mental seeds planted by previous deeds ripen into the appearance of the sense bases".

The third nature then, is the fact that dependent origination is empty of a self, the fact that even though self appears, it does not exist.

Schilbrack states that the doctrine of interdependent origination seems to fit the definition of a metaphysical teaching, by questioning whether there is anything at all.