法界圖記叢髓錄 2.6

2.6

Master Guan's *Contemplation of the Twelve Causes and Conditions* states: The twelve causes and conditions are a great tree of birth and death, and are also called a great river of birth and death. Why are they called a tree? Like a worldly tree, there are roots, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits that arise in continuous succession. The twelve causes and conditions are also like this: in the past there are two causes, called the roots. The two causes are: first, the link of ignorance; second, the link of volitional formations. In the present there are five fruits. The five fruits are: first, the link of consciousness; second, the link of name-and-form; third, the link of the six sense bases; fourth, the link of contact; fifth, the link of feeling. In the present there are three causes. The three causes are: first, the link of craving; second, the link of grasping; third, the link of becoming. In the future there are two retributions. The two retributions are: first, the link of birth; second, the link of aging and death. Among the two past causes, the first, the link of ignorance, means all defilements of the past are named the link of ignorance. It is also said: not understanding conditions is called ignorance. The second, the link of volitional formations, means all good and bad actions of body, speech, and mind are all named volitional formations; because of ignorance, volitional formations are generated. Ignorance and volitional formations, these two kinds, are the two past causes. Volitional formations are the karma of birth and death. Because these two can induce the present five fruits, they are called the roots. Among the present five fruits, the first, the link of consciousness: because past karmic actions occur, they activate the present consciousness-spirit; at the time of first receiving birth, the single thought-moment of mind entering the womb is named consciousness. The second, the link of name-and-form: because there is the consciousness receiving birth, it activates name-and-form. Name-and-form is the five aggregates; it refers to the mind from the second thought-moment onward. In union with the red and white semen and blood of the parents, up to a hundred days when the various encasements have not yet opened, it is merely a lump of flesh, not yet formed into the marks of eyes, ears, nose, and tongue, having only form and mind; therefore it is named name-and-form. The third, the link of the six sense bases: due to name-and-form, the six sense bases are generated. The six sense bases are the paths through which the six sense faculties give rise to consciousness; hence they are the six sense bases. This refers to the time after a hundred days in the womb. Within the lump of flesh, winds born of karma arise and blow the lump of flesh open, transforming it into the marks of the various sense faculties; this is named the link of the six sense bases. The fourth, the link of contact: due to the six sense bases, faculties, objects, and consciousness are generated; the coming together of these three things in contact is named contact. This refers to the age of up to two years after leaving the womb; not yet distinguishing the other sense objects, one can only feel hunger, thirst, heat, and cold, and when encountering fire or touching poison, one cries; this is named the link of contact. The fifth, the link of feeling: due to contacting objects, feeling is generated; receiving and taking in is named feeling. This refers to the period from two years onward when the mind gradually distinguishes the various sense objects, up to five or six years of age; this is named the link of feeling. These five links recompense the past two causes, and are named the present five fruits. Like a worldly tree, having already a tree trunk, it must have branches, flowers, and fruits. The three causes of craving, grasping, and becoming again induce the future two retributions of birth, aging, illness, and death. Among the present three causes, the first, the link of craving: due to receiving and taking in, craving is generated; giving rise to defiled attachment toward conditions is named craving. This refers to the period from seven years up to fifteen years of age, loving flowers and coveting fruit, the mind wishing to pursue them; this is named craving. The second, the link of grasping: due to defiled craving, grasping is generated; deeply adhering to conditions and having attachment, it is named grasping. The third, the link of becoming: due to grasping and attachment, becoming is activated; bodily, verbal, and mental actions can summon future existence; designating the future fruit by the present three causes, it is therefore named becoming. This refers to pursuing wealth and sex, killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct according to what one grasps, obtaining them in hand to fulfill one's original desire; reflecting on them, karma is completed that can produce future fruit; this is named the link of becoming. It is like a flower producing fruit; this flower can produce a subsequent fruit and is again named a cause. Since there is this cause, it can induce the future two retributions. The two retributions: first, the link of birth; being initiated in the present, it causes future reception of birth; the initial arising of phenomena is named birth. The second, the link of aging and death: due to the presence of birth, aging and death arise, for birth is the condition for aging and death. Birth conditioning aging and death, these two links are the fruits of subsequent lives; fruit again becomes cause, cause and effect generating each other like a great tree. All sentient beings are submerged and drift along by the twelve causes and conditions, following birth and death, coming and going within the prison of the three realms, undergoing endless suffering, similar to being swept away by a worldly river; ordinary people do not awaken to this. The wise thoroughly realize it and therefore do not go along with the current; practicing the path and severing it, they immediately attain deliverance. Now, the twelve causes and conditions are the causes and conditions of the fetters of birth and death. One must eliminate these causes and conditions, and only then attain release from birth and death. Therefore the sūtra states: 'When ignorance ceases, volitional formations cease... up to, when birth ceases, aging and death cease.' To eliminate these causes and conditions, one must practice the path. Question: How does one practice the path? Answer: Inferring and seeking the root of the twelve causes and conditions, it is none other than ignorance; because of ignorance, defilements and karma arise; because of karma, retributive fruit arises; having retributive fruit, there is suffering. All have ignorance as their root, cycling in birth and death, separated across the three periods of time like a tree, like a river. The wise thoroughly know this, and wishing to fell its root and cut off its source, just like felling a tree one first fells its root, and also like cutting off water one first cuts off its source. Now, wishing to cut off the tree and river of the twelve causes and conditions, one first cuts off ignorance. Question: What is ignorance? Answer: The unawakened mind is it. Because of non-awakening, one falsely gives rise to discrimination, seeing objects outside the mind, declaring them existent, declaring them non-existent, declaring them right, declaring them wrong, declaring them gain, declaring them loss. All retributive phenomena, the suffering of body and mind, etc., are all the power of ignorance. Now, wishing to cut off ignorance, I must first awaken myself to the source of the mind. All false thoughts that arise according to the mind are all born from the unawakened mind. Now one must know the original nature of one's own mind: without arising, without ceasing, without coming, without going. How is this known? When all false thoughts suddenly arise falsely, with awakening they do not arise. What is called awakening? For example, when greed, anger, and delusion arise, one turns back to observe, ponder, and seek with one's own mind: what shape do this greed, anger, and delusion have? Are they blue, or yellow? Are they past, future, or present? Are they internal, external, or in between? Seeking them, greed, anger, and delusion have no shape whatsoever. If greed, anger, and delusion originally existed, when one is awake today they should also be visible. Now upon awakening they are absent; thus one knows that due to non-awakening they suddenly arise falsely, and that with awakening they do not arise. Awakening is the antidote to ignorance; when this awakening is present, ignorance cannot remain in the mind. Because there is no ignorance, all false thoughts and defilements do not arise; because defilements do not arise, karma does not arise; because karma does not arise, there are no two past causes; because there are no two causes, the present five fruits do not arise; because the five fruits do not arise, the three causes of craving, grasping, and becoming do not arise; because the three causes do not arise, the future two retributions do not arise. This is called felling the great tree of the twelve causes and conditions, drying up the great river of the twelve causes and conditions. The place where these twelve causes and conditions are absent is named nirvāṇa; this noble wisdom of self-awakening is named bodhi.