The Twelve Links in Full

Sūtra: Here, ignorance has a twofold activity: first, as the confusion within conditions that deludes sentient beings; second, as the cause that gives rise to formations. Formations likewise have a twofold activity: first, generating the resultant retribution of a future life; second, serving as the cause of consciousness. Consciousness likewise has a twofold activity: first, enabling existence to continue without break; second, serving as the cause of name-and-form. Name-and-form likewise have a twofold activity: first, mutually assisting one another to completion; second, serving as the cause of the six sense-bases. The six sense-bases likewise have a twofold activity: first, being able to take the six sense-objects as their condition; second, serving as the cause of contact. Contact likewise has a twofold activity: first, being able to touch its object-condition; second, serving as the cause of feeling. Feeling likewise has a twofold activity: first, experiencing such matters as aversion and attachment; second, serving as the cause of craving. Craving likewise has a twofold activity: first, giving rise to a mind of greed toward whatever can be defiled; second, serving as the cause of grasping. Grasping likewise has a twofold activity: first, increasing the bondage of the defilement of affliction; second, serving as the cause of existence. Existence likewise has a twofold activity: first, being able to give rise to birth within the other destinies; second, serving as the cause of birth. Birth likewise has a twofold activity: first, increasing the five aggregates; second, serving as the cause of aging. Aging likewise has a twofold activity: first, causing every faculty to ripen; second, serving as the cause of death. Death likewise has a twofold activity: first, destroying the body of the five aggregates; second, on account of the absence of full knowledge and awareness, causing continuity to remain unbroken.

Commentary: Here, "destroying the body of the five aggregates, and, on account of the absence of full knowledge and awareness, causing continuity to remain unbroken" means that the destruction of the five aggregates is able to serve as the cause of a later birth, and that, on account of the absence of full knowledge and awareness, it is able to serve as the cause of a later birth — this is called the contemplation of another as cause. What, then, is the contemplation of self as cause? It is the contemplation of ignorance and the rest as their own self-generating causes, taking the entire chain as its condition and matter. What is meant by ignorance and the rest conditioning formations? It means that their continuity is unbroken, since each assists the next to completion.

Sūtra: Here, "ignorance conditions formations" means that ignorance, as condition, causes formations to continue without break, assisting formations to completion. "Formations condition consciousness" means that formations, as condition, cause consciousness to continue without break, assisting consciousness to completion. "Consciousness conditions name-and-form" means that consciousness, as condition, causes name-and-form to continue without break, assisting name-and-form to completion. "Name-and-form condition the six sense-bases" means that name-and-form, as condition, cause the six sense-bases to continue without break, assisting the six sense-bases to completion. "The six sense-bases condition contact" means that the six sense-bases, as condition, cause contact to continue without break, assisting contact to completion. "Contact conditions feeling" means that contact, as condition, causes feeling to continue without break, assisting feeling to completion. "Feeling conditions craving" means that feeling, as condition, causes craving to continue without break, assisting craving to completion. "Craving conditions grasping" means that craving, as condition, causes grasping to continue without break, assisting grasping to completion. "Grasping conditions existence" means that grasping, as condition, causes existence to continue without break, assisting existence to completion. "Existence conditions birth" means that existence, as condition, causes birth to continue without break, assisting birth to completion. "Birth conditions aging-and-death" means that birth, as condition, causes aging-and-death to continue without break, assisting aging-and-death to completion. Because ignorance ceases, formations cease: when the condition of ignorance is absent, formations cease, since there is no more assisting to completion. Because formations cease, consciousness ceases: when the condition of formations is absent, consciousness ceases, since there is no more assisting to completion. Because consciousness ceases, name-and-form cease: when the condition of consciousness is absent, name-and-form cease, since there is no more assisting to completion. Because name-and-form cease, the six sense-bases cease: when the condition of name-and-form is absent, the six sense-bases cease, since there is no more assisting to completion. Because the six sense-bases cease, contact ceases: when the condition of the six sense-bases is absent, contact ceases, since there is no more assisting to completion. Because contact ceases, feeling ceases: when the condition of contact is absent, feeling ceases, since there is no more assisting to completion. Because feeling ceases, craving ceases: when the condition of feeling is absent, craving ceases, since there is no more assisting to completion. Because craving ceases, grasping ceases: when the condition of craving is absent, grasping ceases, since there is no more assisting to completion. Because grasping ceases, existence ceases: when the condition of grasping is absent, existence ceases, since there is no more assisting to completion. Because existence ceases, birth ceases: when the condition of existence is absent, birth ceases, since there is no more assisting to completion. Because birth ceases, aging-and-death cease: when the condition of birth is absent, aging-and-death cease, since there is no more assisting to completion.

Commentary: Here, "'ignorance conditions formations' means that ignorance, as condition, causes formations to continue without break, assisting formations to completion" — ignorance is of two times: first, the seed-time; second, the fruit-time. Here, "the seed-time" causes formations to continue without break, and, because this has a twofold meaning, it is displayed by taking the entire chain as its condition and matter. In just this way, every other link in the causal chain, and its own twofold meaning as self-generating cause, should be understood as taking that entire chain as its condition and matter. "The contemplation of self as cause" means the contemplation that the links cannot be forsaken from one another, the contemplation that apart from the preceding member there is no later member. Only when not apart from ignorance is the contemplation of formations accomplished; were there formations not apart from ignorance, it would still not be right to say "ignorance conditions formations." And were there formations accomplished apart from ignorance, then, being different from it, they could not be accomplished at all. Therefore the verse says:

The contemplation of self-generating cause and condition is as already explained. Ignorance is of two times: first, the seed-time; second, the fruit-time — and it is likewise so all the way through to aging-and-death. The prior limit and the later limit cease, and the middle limit likewise has no independent existence; for this reason it is not separately discussed. What, then, is the contemplation that guards against error? It means that the twelve links are subsumed under three unbroken continuities, since they are the cause of suffering and the fruit of suffering.

Sūtra: Here, the unbroken continuity of the three portions — ignorance, craving, and grasping — is the path of affliction. The unbroken continuity of the two portions — formations and existence — is the path of karma. The unbroken continuity of the remaining portions of the causal chain is the path of suffering. Because the prior limit and the later limit continue without break, these three paths are unbroken. These three paths, in just this way, are apart from any self and from anything belonging to self, having only arising and ceasing — like a bundle of reeds bound together.

Commentary: What, then, is the contemplation that guards against error? Were one to say that all things arise from a single, undifferentiated cause and condition, three kinds of error would follow, distinctly. First, the error that every body would arise all at once. Why? Because there would be no distinguishing cause. Second, the error that one's own karma would go without receiving its retribution. Why? Because there would be no agent to carry it forward. Third, the error that karma would be lost. Why? Because karma not yet having received its fruit would already have ceased along with that undifferentiated cause. These three errors are answered by seeing that the causes belonging to the past world and the rest are distinct, and by the distinctions among the receiving of birth and its retribution.

Sūtra: "Ignorance conditions formations" is the seeing of the affairs of the past world. Consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense-bases, contact, and feeling are the seeing of the affairs of the present world. Craving, grasping, existence, birth, and aging-and-death are the seeing of the affairs of the future world. In this, one sees the turning of the three times. "Because ignorance ceases, all the formations cease" is named the explanation of the cutting off of the causal chain's continuity.

Commentary: "'Ignorance conditions formations' is precisely the seeing of the affairs of the past world" — because the present birth is what the past has done. The present fruit is precisely what is to come, and this is precisely the meaning of seeing the cause belonging to the past world. "Consciousness all the way through feeling is the seeing of the affairs of the present world" — because whatever karma there was within the past world obtains, as its fruit of retribution, consciousness and the rest in the present, and is, further, able to obtain a fruit of retribution in the future. "Craving, grasping, and existence are the seeing of the affairs of the future world" — because there is, further, a birth definitely bound to occur within a single future span. "In this, one sees the turning of the three times" — because there is, further, the turning of a subsequent birth in a later world still. What is the meaning of this? It has a threefold meaning. Karma of the past does not uniformly obtain its retribution, for there is karma not yet done, karma already done but not yet having obtained its retribution, and karma that has already obtained the antidote and been cut off. Here, "ignorance conditions formations" displays the doing of karma; "formations condition consciousness" all the way through "contact conditions feeling" display this doing having already obtained its retribution; and the unbroken continuity of craving, grasping, and existence displays what has not yet obtained the antidote. Were craving and grasping cut off, then, even though karma had been done, "ignorance conditions formations" would no longer be able to give rise to existence. For this reason, among all these karmic actions there are those already done and those not yet done, those that have obtained their fruit and those that have not yet obtained it, those already cut off and those not yet cut off. If it is so, then there is no error of every body arising all at once. And if so, it is neither that all karma is received all at once in the time to come, nor that none of it is received, nor that it is all received in a single moment. If the fruit of retribution belonging to karma one has done oneself is never lost, it is because it is not received by another's body. If it is so, then there is no error of one's own karma going without receiving its retribution, since another did not do it. Apart from these three matters of karma, one definitely obtains the fruit without any loss. If it is so, then there is no error of karma being lost. This is called the display that guards against these three kinds of error. What, then, is the contemplation of wearying of what should be wearied of? He is wearied by his discernment of all the manifold, subtle forms of suffering, since whatever is felt is entirely a matter of suffering, and he is wearied also by every manifold, gross form of suffering.

Sūtra: The portions of the twelve links of dependent origination are also named the three kinds of suffering. Here, ignorance, formations, consciousness, name-and-form, and the six sense-bases are named the suffering of formations; contact and feeling are named the suffering of suffering; and the remaining portions of the causal chain are named the suffering of decay. "Because ignorance ceases, formations cease," all the way to "because birth ceases, aging-and-death cease," is named the explanation of the cutting off of the continuity of the three kinds of suffering.

Commentary: What, then, is deep contemplation?

Sūtra: Ignorance, as cause and condition, gives rise to formations — it is the cause and condition itself that is able to give rise to formations — and it is likewise so for the rest. Because ignorance ceases, formations cease, and formations are without independent existence — it is likewise so for the rest. "Ignorance, as cause and condition, gives rise to formations" is spoken of as the bondage of arising — it is likewise so for the rest. "Because ignorance ceases, formations cease" is spoken of as the bondage of cessation — it is likewise so for the rest. "Ignorance, as cause and condition, gives rise to formations" is spoken of as the contemplation that accords with existence — it is likewise so for the rest. "Because ignorance ceases, formations cease" is spoken of as the contemplation that accords with the exhaustion of all that has nothing whatsoever — it is likewise so for the rest.

Commentary: Deep contemplation is of four kinds. First, that each link is a portion of existence not made by another, since it arises from its own cause. Second, that it is not self-made, since it arises through conditions — as the sūtra says, "ignorance, as cause and condition, gives rise to formations; it is the cause and condition itself that is able to give rise to formations, and it is likewise so for the rest; because ignorance ceases, formations cease, and formations are without independent existence, and it is likewise so for the rest." Third, that it is made neither by both together nor by neither, since it only accords with arising, since there is no knower of it, and since, at the very moment of its arising, it does not abide — as the sūtra says, "'ignorance, as cause and condition, gives rise to formations' is spoken of as the bondage of arising, and it is likewise so for the rest; 'because ignorance ceases, formations cease' is spoken of as the bondage of cessation, and it is likewise so for the rest." Fourth, that it is not made without any cause at all, since it accords with existence — as the sūtra says, "'ignorance, as cause and condition, gives rise to formations' is spoken of as the contemplation that accords with existence, and it is likewise so for the rest; 'because ignorance ceases, formations cease' is spoken of as the contemplation that accords with the exhaustion of all that has nothing whatsoever, and it is likewise so for the rest." Were there an arising without any cause at all, then arising ought to be constant, and never a non-arising. And since there would be no fixed cause, it might equally always fail to arise at all. Why? Because it would be an arising without cause — and this is not what the buddha-dharma takes delight in. If it is so, then the contemplation that accords with existence has a cause, and is not causeless; for, were there no cause, one could not speak of "according with existence." This concludes the explanation of the ten kinds of contemplation of the gathering of causes and conditions, the contemplation of the distinctions among the truths of characteristics.