The Evolution of the Doctrine of Dependent Origination (Pratitya-samutpada)
The Doctrine of Dependent Origination was a respond by the Blessed One to refute the doctrine on the existence of a Soul theory. The Buddha replaced the Soul by the theory of a mind-continuum, conditioned, governed by causal law, with each succeeding state good or bad been the result of the previous state. Rebirth does not mean that the Soul transported itself from one place to another. It only means that a new series of states is generated, conditioned by the previous states. Nothing is lost, and the new birth is a result of the previous. There is no element which migrates from this world to the other. I declare, said the Buddha, the perpetrator of these deeds does not exist at all. They appear and disappear according to the formulas, ‘This being, that appears, they appears in interdependent of each other’. There is action, but the agent does not exist. The five skandha are the burden, attachment to them is carrying of the burden, detachment from them is laying down the burden, and the burden-bearer is the empirical individual. It becomes a fundamentally important doctrine of Buddhism.
The early Buddhists have two different theories of dependent origination, a Special One and a General One. The special theory is mention in the Suttas, and the general theory is contained in the Abhidhamma philosophy treatises.
The special law of Dependent Origination, which has a mainly moral bearing are describe as different spheres of existence. The individual lives, i.e. the assemblages of elements form themselves in these spheres according to the good and bad acquired in the former lives. It assumes a moral law, but there is no subject of this law. There is a state of Bondage and a state of Final Deliverance. But there is no one who commits these deeds, no Soul, no Ego, and no Personality. There are only group of separate elements, both physical and mental, which form and unformed themselves which are subjected to a Moral Law, the law of a progressive development toward Nirvana.
The whole of phenomenal life is represented as the wheel of 12 links. The whole series is conditioned by the central element of Ignorance. (1) Due to our Ignorance, we cling on to a self, (2) Our pass karma then, provide the conditioning factors for the next life, (3) Consciousness arises, which again carries the sense of self, (4) It give rise to name and form, the individual mental and physical constituents, (5) Follow by our six senses, (6) Accompany by our sensations, (7) And the Feeling of pleasant, unpleasant and neutral states, (8) Which give rise to our Desires, (9) Allowing free actions of clinging, grasping, (10) Which brought about future becoming again, (11) New birth in the six realms, (12) Follow by old age and death. The whole series of process is only interrupted, when the element of Ignorance is extinct, and Nirvana is reached. The special law of moral causation is developed in this context.
The Generalized Theory in the Abihdhamma is a later development of the Special Theory. It is a detail enumeration, classification, and definition of all elements of existence follow by explanation of their interdependence according to different lines of causation.
Nagarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamika system, said ‘One who perceives truly the Pratitya-samutpada (dependent Origination) realizes the four noble truths – pain, its cause, cessation and the path. The Madhyamika system is thus a re-interpretation of the doctrine of dependent Origination. It is equated with Emptiness (Sunyata) and emerged out of a sustained criticism of the Abhidharmika schools, which themselves grew as the rejection of the Soul doctrine of the Brahmanical systems. The Madhyamikas system is also a criticism of both the Soul and No Soul theories, as both are considered to be at opposite extreme. The middle between these two is the Inexpressible, which is the direct outcome of the awareness of the conflict in Reason. It is an attempt to transcend the duality of Reason, to go beyond the sphere of human reasons to a higher faculty; The Intuition (prajna).
The moment our senses attention is fixed to a external point, our thought too, stop running, and we internally start to produce an intellectual judgment on the external point; such as the judgment ‘this is yellow’. At that moment, we have separated the universe into two half, i.e. the yellow from all that is non-yellow. There is nothing ‘yellow’ in the yellow itself. The two parts are relative to each other only. Every conscious thought of ours, begins with a division into two separate parts on an external point instant of what our senses first perceived. Our thought is thus beset with contradiction. To think actively, to think constructively, is to think in a dichotomize way. We can only cognize or determine a thing only by opposing it to what it is not. Without knowing what is ugly, we would not know, what would be considered beautiful.
The Madhyamika argues that things have no independent existence, for things are mutually dependent having no reality of their own, they are unreal, empty, because they are relative and dependent and also lacking in essence; mutual dependence is a mark of the unreal. With that conclusion, the earlier interpretation that dependent Origination is a phenomena sequence of origination and cessation of momentary entities was transformed, to a doctrine of the unreality of things (Emptiness).
The Madhyamika method is to de-conceptualize the mind. It believes that the Real is been overlaid with our notions and views, most of which are knowledge obtained by our intellect deduction. The Real can only be known by uncovering this overlaid. It is primarily a path of purification of the intellect and when perfected, with it, moral defilements as well. It is the removal of all restriction which conceptual patterns necessarily impose. When the Intellect becomes so pure and transparent that no distinction can possibly exist between the Real and the Intellect apprehending it, when the Real is devoid of all determinations, it is the inexpressible ground of all phenomena; Intellectual Intuition (Prajna-Paramita) is also devoid of the two extremes of Soul and No Soul theories. Prajna, is the intellect freed of conceptual restrictions, it is the universal nature of the mind.
The Yogacara Idealism is made possible by the doctrine of Emptiness of the Madhayamika. The Yogacara criticizes the Madhyamika for denying the reality of Consciousness. Everything may be dialectically analyzed away as illusory; but illusion itself implies the ground on which the illusory construction can take place. The Yogacara give substance to the doctrine of Emptiness by identifying it with Pure Consciousness that is devoid of duality.
It believes that bondage and deliverance are not the properties of someone who is being bound up and then delivered. The elements of ignorance, of birth and death produce the run of phenomenal life, they are the bondage; when these elements disappear in the face of absolute knowledge, the ensuring pure consciousness is called deliverance, it is said, 'Consciousness itself, polluted by passions and ignorance, is phenomenal life, that very Consciousness when freed from them is deliverance’.
We do read and heard often times, that the Mahayanist teachings are not the true representation of the Lord Buddha words, because its teachings did not originate directly from the Blessed One. But if we look at how the teaching of the Pratitya-samutpada developed over the centuries, taking on new meanings as it is re-interpreted, we would have noticed that the seeds of the Mahayanist teachings were already planted in the early words of the Abhidharmika. The Dialectic of the Madhayamika can only be made possible, when two view points, completely opposed to each other, in this case; the Soul and no Soul theories were well developed enough for the Dialectic to be used.
The scripture did says, that whosoever perceives the real nature of dependent Origination perceived the Dharma; and whosoever perceived the Dharma perceives the Buddha.
do you have the sutra the Buddha has taught the dependent origination? the words of the Buddha on this?
Hi Rooney9,
It can be found in quite a few suttas such as the Mahaparinibbana, Mahanidana sutta and the Majjhima Nikaya.
all in the Theravada Canon?
If you are referring to the content of the above write up, it can be found in ‘Buddhist Logic’ by Stcherbatsky and ‘The Central Philosophy of Buddhism’ by T.R.V. Murti