The Book of Causation

The Book of Causation (Nidānavagga) is the second of the five books of the Linked Discourses. It is named after the first and longest section, the Nidāna Saṁyutta. This deals with causation through the core Buddhist teaching of dependent origination, which explains how rebirth happens without a soul. The next three saṁyuttas can be seen as appendices to the Book of Causation, dealing with the elimination of the suffering of transmigration (SN 13), various sets of conditioned elements (SN 14), and the unknowability of the extent of transmigration (SN 15). The remaining six saṁyuttas are not related thematically. Instead, they are mostly grouped by person rather than subject.

The theme of causation runs through all the Buddha's teaching. We find it in contexts such as meditation practice, societal ills, biological evolution, medicine, psychological stress, and many more. However, when we refer to dependent origination we are not speaking about a general principle of causality---although such a principle is presented at SN 12.21---but of a specific series of conditional links laying bare how suffering originates and how it ends. As such, it is an extended treatment of the second and third noble truths (SN 12.27). It integrates psychological and existential aspects of suffering, showing how, when bound by craving, we make choices that bind us to transmigrating into future lives (SN 12.38). The reason why we have not escaped the process of rebirth is that we do not understand dependent origination (SN 12.60). Thus one of the core purposes of the teaching is to explain how rebirth takes place without speaking in terms of "me" or "mine" (SN 12.37).

It is a deeply human need to want to understand how things came to be. Virtually every religious or spiritual path feels the need to offer some kind of explanation of where this world came from and what is our place in it. Such creation myths are found all over the world, and bear striking resemblances. They speak of a time when the world was formless, covered in watery darkness, before light appeared and the world took shape. In the usual way of myths, these stories work at multiple levels, reflecting both the physical evolution of the planet (macrocosm) and the growth of an individual in the womb (microcosm).

Long before the Buddha, the Nasadiya Sukta of the Ṛg Veda (10.129) told the story of creation in a radically new way. It drew upon the motifs of the classic creation myth---water, darkness, formlessness---but showed their development with a new emphasis on desire and agency. Creation evolved not from divine decree, but due to the energies found within. And we cannot know what came before this process; even the highest God came afterward.

The Buddha shared the epistemological humility of the Nasadiya Sukta, insisting that the ultimate origin of things was unknowable (SN 15.1). Dependent origination, indeed, took things much further, entirely dispensing with both theology and mythology. However, it retained the richness and depth of the mythology, encapsulating within its sparse formulation both immediate experience and cosmic transmigration.

The Nidāna Saṁyutta begins by stating (SN 12.1) and defining (SN 12.2) each of the terms in the standard 12-linked chain, definitions which are assumed to apply throughout. Remaining discourses iterate on this theme, introducing new perspectives and formulations. These sometimes vary the standard 12 links, and so can shed light on unexpected nuances and hidden depths. Here's a summary of the definitions given for the 12 links, together with some explanatory notes.

Ignorance (avijjā)

: Not understanding the four noble truths. This does not, of course, mean ignorance of everyday facts and details. A Buddha or an arahant is not omniscient.

Choices (saṅkhārā)

: Intentional acts (kamma) of good or bad, which are expressed through body, speech, or mind. The Indic term saṅkhāra may refer to any kind of activity that generates a result. It is used in a mundane context for such things as construction work. The Vedic ritual is a saṅkhāra, which was intended to produce a result of benefit in this life or the next. In Buddhism, saṅkhāra is sometimes used in a general sense of "conditioned (and conditioning) phenomena". In dependent origination, however, it is defined as moral choices or intentions to do good or bad (SN 12.51). A saṅkhāra is a force or energy in the mind that propels consciousness towards rebirth in a particular state. This may be consciously formulated as a wish or aspiration (see MN 120), but is normally unconscious, i.e. born out of ignorance.

Consciousness (viññāṇa)

: The six kinds of sense consciousness. In the suttas, all forms of consciousness are regarded as making up the "stream of consciousness" (viññāṇasota) that is established both in this life and the next (DN 28). This consciousness is empowered and directed by the choices that we have made.

Name & form (nāma-rūpa)

: "Name" is various mental factors (feeling, perception, contact, intention, and application of mind), while "form" is the four material elements that make up the body. This is a tricky concept. It stems from Upaniṣadic usage, where it refers to the various individuated entities in the world, each with their own "form" and "name". Each of the rivers on the earth, to take a metaphor from the Prasna Upaniṣad (6.5), has its own shape, and is called by its own name; but when they return to the ocean they lose their names and shapes and are just known as the great ocean. The ocean in this metaphor stands for consciousness, which in the Upaniṣads is taken to be the eternal and infinite divinity of the cosmos. The Buddha directly rebuts this idea by showing that consciousness and name & form are dependent on each other. In DN 15 The Great Discourse on Causation (Mahānidānasutta), name & form is described as the embryo taking shape within the mother's womb, while MN 38 The Longer Discourse on the Ending of Craving (Mahātaṇhāsaṅkhaya) speaks of how the child then grows and matures. Thus it primarily means the individual organism with its mental and physical attributes. Since nāma-rūpa stands in mutual dependence with consciousness, however, it is not correct to translate it as "mind & body"---mind/body dualism has no place in early Buddhism. It was only in much later Abhidhamma texts that nāma-rūpa came to be used as an umbrella term for all mental and physical properties, in which context the translation "mind & body" is appropriate.

Six sense fields (saḷāyatana)

: The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. These are treated in detail in SN 35 Saḷāyatana Saṁyutta. In dependent origination they are said to develop and evolve as the individual grows up, enabling them to experience the world in ever more sophisticated ways. This is the first of four links that, like consciousness, are six-fold following the six senses. These integrate the process of immediate sense experience within the broader context of dependent origination.

Contact (phassa)

: This is the operation of sensory stimuli, when the six sense organs are activated and perform their function. It occurs with the coming together of the inner sense organ, the outer sense stimulus, and the corresponding consciousness. The conscious individual does not exist in isolation, but can only live and grow in an environment that provides them with stimulation.

Feeling (vedanā)

: The pleasant, painful, or neutral tone that accompanies all conscious experiences. Certain kinds of experience are enjoyable, others are unpleasant, while some have no particular affect. Note that vedanā in Buddhism does not refer to feelings in the sense of "emotions", which are far more complex. Vedanā is a fundamental property of all experience, and is treated in detail in SN 36 Vedana Saṁyutta.

Craving (taṇhā)

: Craving or desire for the six sense stimuli. Here the definition follows the theme of the six senses, rather than the definition given in the four noble truths, which is craving for future rebirth, i.e. sensual craving, craving to continue existence, and craving to end existence. In both cases, craving refers to a primal instinct that responds to sensory stimuli, seeking to get more pleasure or to avoid pain.

Grasping (upādāna)

: Grasping at sensual pleasures, views, religious observances, and theories of self. Apart from the first factor, the kinds of grasping are more sophisticated than the primal desires of "craving". They require the development of thought and language. This represents a further stage in the growth of a person, as they mature and become fully responsible for their actions. It is for this reason that in Buddhism it is primarily mature humans who perform the deeds that generate rebirth and shape the course of future lives. Animals or children may indeed perform such deeds, but they are less weighty in effect.

Continued existence (bhava)

: Existence may be in the sensual realm (kāma-bhava), the realm of luminous form (rūpa-bhava), or the formless realm (arūpa-bhava). Bhava may be translated as "existence" or "life". It refers to the ongoing process of existence. By grasping at various aspects of the present life, beings generate kammic energy in accordance with that. Most beings are attached to the sensual realm, but those who have practiced advanced meditation may become attached to the realms of luminous form (through the four absorptions) or the formless (through the formless attainments). Such attachment or grasping stimulates and activates these aspects of existence, creating a corresponding rebirth. Bhava is therefore like a thread that runs through the various steps of dependent origination; and indeed, the whole of dependent origination is sometimes called the bhavacakka, the "Wheel of Existence". Bhava is a countable noun, so the older rendering as "becoming" is incorrect: you can't speak of multiple "becomings". Nevertheless, bhava has a distinctly pregnant sense. While we might long for a life of stable and eternal joy, it is the nature of existence that, even as it passes away, it contains the seeds for a new life in the future. Thus in AN 3.76 the Buddha explains bhava by saying that "deeds are the field, consciousness is the seed, and craving is the moisture" (kammaṁ khettaṁ, viññāṇaṁ bījaṁ, taṇhā sneho) for generating a new life in the future (āyatiṁ punabbhavābhinibbatti).

Rebirth (jāti)

: The rebirth or conception of the aggregates in the various orders of sentient beings. The Pali jāti is often translated as "birth", but in doctrinal contexts, it always refers to rebirth in the sense of reincarnation in a new life. Despite the claims of some modern commentators, the suttas never use rebirth as a psychological metaphor.

Old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress

: Old age is the breaking of teeth, wrinkling of skin, and failing of the faculties. Death is the laying down of the body at the end of life. Like rebirth, old age and death are defined in purely physical terms. Psychological suffering is covered by the other terms.

Dependent origination is core to the insight not just of the historical Buddha Gotama, but of other Buddhas of the past (SN 12.4--10). His realization was like a person who stumbles upon an ancient city, lost and overgrown in the jungle (SN 12.65). Thus dependent origination is not an invention of the Buddha but is a description of a natural principle, one that operates in the same way whether or not a Buddha appears (SN 12.20).

The Buddha distinguished between the phenomena that are dependently originated and the process of dependent origination (SN 12.20). While all of the dependently originated phenomena can be seen in the present, the reality of the process in the past and future must be inferred (SN 12.34).

This is the difference between knowledge of dependent origination and the psychic powers of seeing the specific details of past lives and present rebirths. Such psychic visions arise from deep immersion in meditation, and are useful but not essential for understanding and letting go. Dependent origination is not about seeing the specifics of past and future lives, but understanding the principles by which rebirth operates. If memories of past lives are like watching a show on TV, insight into dependent origination is like understanding the science and technology of how television transmission works. This is why dependent origination is always regarded as unique and central to Buddhism, while psychic visions have only a limited role to play.

This conscious body, with its complex systems of mental and physical processes, was produced due to ignorance and craving in a past life (SN 12.19). This is how our present existence came to be. So long as we continue to be trapped in craving for sensory experience, we repeat the cycle, fueling craving and generating yet another new body that will be reborn in the future. When we understand the theory of dependent origination it gives us an opening for developing insight.

It is, of course, self-evident that all the factors of dependent origination may be observed in the present. But in terms of the functioning of the process, we begin by examining the central factors, the unfolding of sense experience. Gradually we realize that the implications of what we are seeing are far deeper than the mere present. Like a scientist who, examining tree rings or ice cores, realizes that they can make reliable inferences about the deep past, we understand that the same processes that brought us here will propel us into the future. And we see that it is that very understanding which is the beginning of the end for ignorance.

Thus while this teaching is a profoundly philosophical one, it is not mere theory, but a praxis as well (SN 12.3). Its understanding unfolds as a natural consequence of developing faith in the Dhamma (SN 12.23). It is realized by one who has experiential realization of the Dhamma, commonly known as a stream-enterer (SN 12.28). This is true for both monastics (SN 12.29) and lay people (SN 12.41). This is why a noble disciple has no doubts about the meaning or origin of life: they have seen it for themselves (SN 12.49). Such an individual is independent of others and need not rely on a teacher. One need not be a perfected one (arahant) to understand dependent origination (SN 12.68).

The Buddha illustrates dependent origination with many similes, drawing imagery from fire, fuel, or food. Focusing on things that give pleasure tends to stimulate craving, like a fire fueled by dry grass (SN 12.52) or a tree drawing up sap (SN 12.58). It is in this collection that we find the now-classic simile of the mind like a monkey, although the application is somewhat unexpected (SN 12.61).

Several suttas take up the idea of conditionality as "food" or "fuel" or "sustenance" and apply it to a set of four things: solid food, contact, intention, and consciousness (SN 12.11). Each of these is, in turn, illustrated with similes that are as horrifying as they are unforgettable (SN 12.63).

While the standard presentation of the 12 links might give the impression that they occur one after the other, like a series of dominoes falling down, the reality is more complex. Certain factors, such as consciousness and name & form, are interdependent, relying on each other (SN 12.65) like two sheaves of reeds (SN 12.67). Sometimes a factor might be implied rather than mentioned outright (SN 12.13), sometimes the sequence is altered (SN 12.43 and SN 12.44), while elsewhere the teaching might be presented in a quite different way (SN 12.38). Conditionality in Buddhism is always understood to be complex and ramified: many causes, many effects, all interacting. The simple schema is not meant to be reductive, but to clarify crucial aspects of the process in a way that is easily memorized and understood.

Philosophically, dependent origination is said to be the "middle teaching" that avoids extreme views. Such extreme views are the polar opposites that often define philosophical positions. They include views of moral responsibility: is the person who does the deed identical to the one who experiences the result? Or is it experienced by a different person? The Buddha rejects these alternatives: the deed has an effect, and that effect is suffering (SN 12.46).

Similarly the Buddha rejects the ideas that "everything exists" or that "nothing exists" (SN 12.48). While these notions might seem odd, even bizarre, to our way of thinking, they stem from the Indian philosophical tendency to see "being" as inherent, absolute, even divine. Thus if something exists, it exists in an absolute and essential sense, and if all exists, it means the reality of the cosmos itself is absolute and eternal. If nothing "exists", it does not mean that there is nothing real in the world; it means that things do not have any essence, and so will perish. Thus the Buddha rejects these opposing views as forms of eternalism and annihilationism, the ideas that the self will last forever, and that the self will be destroyed (SN 12.15).

Finally, perhaps the single most important thing to remember is that dependent "origination" is only half the picture. Of equal importance is "cessation", the ending of each of the factors, which is what is called "extinguishment" (nibbāna). The true purpose of studying dependent origination is not for philosophical mastery, not for winning debates or passing a course, but for realizing the ending of suffering. Dependent origination stands as a truly empowering teaching, as it assumes that human understanding is quite sufficient to comprehend the essence of existence itself, to find salvation through wisdom.