Saṃyutta Nikāya · Nidāna-vagga · Vol. 16
🔗 Dependent Origination
Paṭicca-samuppāda · ปฏิจจสมุปบาท · 12 Links
The Buddha's profound teaching on conditioned arising — "When this exists, that comes to be. With the arising of this, that arises." A 12-link chain showing how suffering arises and how it can be completely ended.
The Core Formula
"When this exists, that comes to be.
With the arising of this, that arises.
When this doesn't exist, that doesn't come to be.
With the cessation of this, that ceases."
— Saṃ.N. 16/2 · Vibhaṅgasutta
The 12 Links — Arising of Suffering
Not knowing the Four Noble Truths, the origin of suffering, its cessation, or the path — the root condition.
Intentional actions of body, speech, and mind driven by ignorance — creating kammic energy.
Awareness arising through the six sense bases — eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind.
Mind (feeling, perception, volition, contact, attention) and matter — the psychophysical organism.
The six internal sense organs: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind — the doors of experience.
The meeting of sense organ, sense object, and sense consciousness — the occasion for feeling.
Pleasant, painful, or neutral feeling tone arising from contact — the gateway to craving.
Craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for non-existence — the fuel of rebirth.
Intense grasping to sensual pleasures, views, rules and vows, and doctrine of self.
The process of becoming — sensual becoming, form becoming, formless becoming.
The arising of aggregates, obtaining of sense bases — entry into a new existence.
Decay of the aggregates, death, and the attendant sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair.
Cessation — The Reverse Order
With the complete fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional formations → consciousness ceases → … → aging-and-death ceases. The entire mass of suffering ceases.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Dependent Origination?
Paṭicca-samuppāda is the Buddha's teaching that all phenomena arise in dependence upon conditions. It describes a 12-link chain from ignorance (avijjā) to aging-and-death, showing how suffering arises and how it can be ended.
What are the 12 links?
Ignorance → Volitional formations → Consciousness → Name-and-form → Six sense bases → Contact → Feeling → Craving → Clinging → Becoming → Birth → Aging-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair.
How does Dependent Origination lead to liberation?
The chain can be reversed: with the cessation of ignorance through wisdom and the Noble Eightfold Path, volitional formations cease, and the entire chain unravels — ending all suffering and leading to Nibbāna.