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Gotama

THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE OLD PATH
SN 12.10

Introduction

In this sutra, the Buddha explains how his realization of the law of dependent origination led to his awakening, and how this world, which has fallen into a black hole of suffering can end its troubles.

Dwelling at Savatthi,

Origination

“Bhikkhus, before my enlightenment, while I was still a bodhisattva, not yet fully enlightened, it occurred to me: ‘Alas, this world has fallen into trouble, in that it is born, ages, and dies, it passes away and is reborn, yet it does not understand the escape from this suffering which is headed by aging-and-death. When now will an escape be discerned from this suffering which is headed by aging-and-death?’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists does aging-and-death come to be? By what is aging-and-death conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there is birth, aging-and-death comes to be; aging-and-death has birth as its condition.’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists does birth come to be? By what is birth conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there is existence, birth comes to be; birth has existence as its condition.’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists does existence come to be? By what is existence conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there is clinging, existence comes to be; existence has clinging as its condition.’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists does clinging come to be? By what is clinging conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there is craving, clinging comes to be; clinging has craving as its condition.’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists does craving come to be? By what is craving conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there is feeling, craving comes to be; craving has feeling as its condition.’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists does feeling come to be? By what is feeling conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there is contact, feeling comes to be; feeling has contact as its condition.’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists does contact come to be? By what is contact conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there are the six sense bases, contact comes to be; contact has the six sense bases as its condition.’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists do the six sense bases come to be? By what are the six sense bases conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there is name-and-form, the six sense bases comes to be; the six sense bases have name-and-form as their condition.’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists does name-and-form come to be? By what is name-and-form conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there is consciousness, name-and-form comes to be; name-and-form has consciousness as its condition.’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists does consciousness come to be? By what is consciousness conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there are volitional formations, consciousness comes to be; consciousness has volitional formations as its condition.’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what exists do volitional formations come to be? By what are volitional formations conditioned?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there is ignorance, volitional formations come to be; volitional formations have ignorance as their condition.’

“Thus with ignorance as condition, volitional formations come to be; with volitional formations as condition, consciousness…Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. Origination, origination’

“Thus, bhikkhus, in regard to thing unheard before there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge, and light.

Cessation

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what does not exist does aging-and-death not come to be? With the cessation of what does the cessation of aging-and-death come about?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there is no birth, aging-and-death does not come to be; with the cessation of birth comes cessation of aging-and-death.’

“Then, bhikkhus, it occurred to me: ‘When what does not exist does birth not come to be? With the cessation of what does the cessation of birth come about?’ Then, bhikkhus, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom: ‘When there is no existence, birth does not come to be; with the cessation of existence comes cessation of birth.’ … ‘When there is no clinging, existence does not come to be; with the cessation of clinging comes cessation of existence.” … … ‘When there is no craving, clinging does not come to be; with the cessation of craving comes cessation of clinging.” … ‘When there is no feeling, craving does not come to be; with the cessation of feeling comes cessation of craving.” … ‘When there is no contact, feeling does not come to be; with the cessation of contact comes cessation of feeling.” … ‘When there are no six sense bases, contact does not come to be; with the cessation of the six sense bases comes cessation of contact.” … ‘When there is no name-and-form, the six sense bases do not come to be; with the cessation of name-and-form comes cessation of the six sense bases.” … ‘When there is no consciousness, name-and-form does not come to be; with the cessation of consciousness comes cessation of name-and-form.” … ‘When there are no volitional formations, consciousness does not come to be; with the cessation of volitional formations comes cessation of consciousness.” … ‘When there is no ignorance, volitional formations do not come to be; with the cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional formations.”

“Thus with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional formations; with the cessation of volitional formations, cessation of consciousness….Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. Cessation, cessation

“Thus, bhikkhus, in regard to things unheard before there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge, and light.”

COMMENTARY and NOTES

“Feeling,” which is the most commonly used translation of the Pali word vedana, is seventh in the traditional listing of the links of dependent origination. Unfortunately, it is often misunderstood to mean emotions. Vedana, in fact, refers to the three types of sensations (positive, negative, and neutral) that arise when our sense organs (eyes, ear, etc.) come into contact with external sense objects (forms, sounds, etc.) and their consciousnesses. It is particularly important to note this as feeling is the intersection of the 12 links and the five skandhas. Consider how you might practice at this intersection to reduce stress and on a more profound level eliminate dukkha?

Visual learners might want to try drawing a diagram or chart of dependent origination as they understand it from this sutra, and then compare it with Darryl Bailey’s charting dependent origination, Chart 1.2, below.

Looking at both your chart and Darryl Bailey’s chart, where would it seem to you to be the best a way out of this cycle of rebirth, that is, an obvious place to break the chain and to reach enlightenment.

Another, non-linear perspective on dependent origination is to think of each link as being connected to every other link. Consider how this idea of dependent origination coincides with your understanding of dependent origination?

Consider the starting point of the whole mass of suffering and how to stop it. and the relationship between wisdom and karma? Consider consciousness, name and form, and the six senses here vs. its delineation in the previous sutra, The Ancient Path.

Consider the concept of sila (morality) in relation to this sutra. In this sutra we are told that ignorance conditions volitional formations and that volitional formations condition consciousness. Give an everyday example of some of the volitional formations in your life (use a specific incident, such as a stressful family situation) that require ignorance and condition consciousness.