Dependent Origination - The Proximate Cause of Causality

The Forward & Reverse Causality of Existence:

One of the most profound teachings I have heard comes from the teachings of the Buddha. It is also one of the most mind-boggling to comprehend in its entirety. In this particular story, the Buddha, after 7 days of non-stop sitting meditation under the Bodhi tree, directed his one-pointed mind to the nature of causality. In the bliss of his Awakening, the Buddha turned his attention to dependent co-arising in both forward & reverse order.

In other words, if 'A' leads to 'B', then 'non-A' leads to 'non-B'. Therefore, when 'A' is present, then 'B' comes into being, or when 'A' emerges then 'B' arises too. Also, when 'A' is absent then 'B' does not come into being. When 'A' vanishes then 'B' vanishes too.



The Buddha taught that when the following arises in this order, when reversed it will consequently disappear. The forward causality goes like this:

When ignorance arises, mental construction also appears..
When mental construction arises, consciousness also comes into being..
When consciousness arises, name-&-form also comes to be..
When name-&-form arises, then the six senses emerge too..
When the six senses arise, then contact is the consequence..
When contact arises, then feeling is assigned too..
When feeling arises, then urge and craving surely follows..
When craving arises, then clinging too becomes dominant..
When clinging arises, then the process of becoming is initiated..
When becoming arises, then rebirth inevitably also appears..
When rebirth arises, then aging and death, sorrow, distress, pain, grief 
and despair also arises. This verily is the origin, the causing, the arising 
of this entire mass of Suffering...

The reverse of this causality goes like this:

When this very same ignorance is utterly uprooted & eliminated,
then mental construction is tranquilized, all stilled, and it ceases & dissolves.. 
When mental construction ceases, then consciousness itself fades away..
When consciousness ceases, then naming-&-forming also terminate..
When name-&-form ceases, then the six senses come to an end..
When the six senses cease, then contact closes down as well..
When contact ceases, then feeling stops out too..
When feeling ceases, then craving also evaporates..
When craving ceases, then clinging is relinquished too..
When clinging ceases, then the re-becoming process essentially ends!
When becoming ceases, then this process of endless rebirth is exhausted too..
When birth ceases, then aging, death, sorrow, sadness, and pain also finishes. 
This verily is the cessation, and the final end of this whole mass of Suffering...!

When the Buddha recognized the profundity of that sequence, he said: "When the appearance of phenomena becomes clearly manifest to this very Noble Friend through rapt meditation, then he is constantly scattering Mara’s - the Evil One's - army, exactly as the sun continuously disperses all darkness, when lighting up the bright sky..."

The beauty of this teaching is that it not only says there is an end to our suffering but that it also offers the means by which we can escape the clutches of this suffering. It is a complete teaching that transcends race, colour, creed, culture or any other chain that we may use to bind ourselves to the Wheel of Existence, which is in other words, Suffering. The fact that suffering has an end is one of the most uplifting of teachings. May it bring you happiness and free you from suffering.

Source:

Discourse on Dependent Origination (Paticca Samuppada), Piyadassi Thera,  http://what-buddha-said.net/library/Wheels/wh015.p

All Are Chained Events, Bikkhu Samahita, www.What-Buddha-Said.net,  http://groups.google.com/group/what_buddha_said/browse_thread/thread/a8584c3f5da06ceb/1c4c6243175da9ad?lnk=gst&q=causality+of+existence#1c4c6243175da9ad

The Proximate Cause, Bikkhu Samahita, www.What-BuddhaSaid.net, http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/The_Proximate_Cause.htm