What does "Ignorant Destined Actions, Action Dependent Consciousness..." mean?
Master Xuanhua talks about the twelve causes and conditions
The first of the twelve causes and conditions is ‘ignorance’. He observes this ignorance. Where does ignorance come from? Hey! It’s strange, how can there be ignorance? He observed: Ignorance causes action. With ignorance, there is action, there is 'action', and there is performance. When something is expressed, there is ‘knowledge’. Consciousness is discrimination, action is a conditioned method. At the time of ignorance, there can be no talk of inaction or action. At that time, it was between action and inaction, and then there was a distinction.
Why is there a difference? Just because there is a conditioned method. With conditioned dharma, there is discriminating mind. If you have a discriminating mind, you will be in trouble! This ‘name and form’ is trouble. Once there is name and form, there will be the trouble of "name"; once there is form, there will be the trouble of "form". Name and form are trouble, and trouble is name and form. If we talk about this matter, it will be more troublesome. If we don’t talk about it, there will be no trouble, but if we talk about it, it will become troublesome. Said: ‘Yeah! Why is name and form such trouble? I don't understand! 'You don't understand? Then you'll be in more trouble. Because you have trouble not understanding. When I didn’t talk about it, you didn’t have trouble not understanding. Yes or no?
When I didn't say this, you didn't know at all that you didn't have so much trouble. Let me tell you this, ah! If you don’t understand, you’ll have trouble because you don’t understand. If you have trouble understanding something, you want to understand it. This is the ‘six-entrance’. You see, these six senses just want to understand, want to understand. Have you heard of it? No one talks like that! Then there is it now! This is what I want to understand.
These six senses are what you want to understand. Want to understand, then, a vision consciousness arises. The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind are the six sense organs. Why do these six senses arise? Just want to understand. Who knows that the more you want to understand, the more confused you become, and the more confused you become, the less you understand. These are the six sense organs, and they are entered. Look! I don’t understand, I will touch it in the future. Touching means "touching"; touching everywhere, touching east, touching west, touching south, touching north, touching up, touching down, just like that fly, bumping into the wall everywhere. Why hit a wall? Just to understand. You've never heard anyone say that, have you? There is no certain way. Just say whatever makes sense, and whatever doesn't make sense.
This touch is just a touch, hitting walls everywhere. I want to understand everywhere, but no one knows that it hurts, just because I want to understand. After touching it, there is ‘feeling’. 'Ouch! It hurts. ’ ‘Oh! I feel at ease. ’ I haven’t hit a wall now, and I feel very comfortable now. Once I hit a wall, I feel very uncomfortable. No one says anything bad about me, and I feel very happy; someone says something bad about me, and I feel very unhappy. You see, this is feeling. It’s all in this place. It’s not outside. Don’t look for it outside.
These twelve causes and conditions talk about ‘feeling’. Once you accept it, you will have a kind of "love", and you will have love. For a favorable state, a kind of love will arise; for an unfavorable state, a kind of disgust will arise. If you hate it, you won’t be happy! Why are you happy? Why is anyone unhappy? Just because there is love and there is evil. Evil is unwillingness and disgust. So the troubles are increasing day by day.
‘The saints of Pratyekabuddha sleep alone on the solitary peak, the spring flowers fade in autumn, and there are twelve links. ’ Everything happens in spring, and this sage of Pratyekabuddha is here to ‘see hundreds of flowers blooming in spring and yellow leaves falling in autumn.’ He realizes that all these things have a natural birth and death. So he meditated on these ‘twelve causes and conditions’.
I talked about ‘feeling’ and ‘loving’ earlier. Why do we humans feel a sense of unrest? Just because of this kind of love. With love, there is evil, that is, there is hate. Then there will be a "taking" for what you want to love. What is it called? Just get it and want to get it. Because you love, you want it. If you get it, you will satisfy your desire. So why should you satisfy your own desires? Just because I want to have it, I take advantage of it, and then I have it. Because of this ‘being’, you want to get what is your own. ah! This one that belongs to you will have the ‘afterlife’. There is an afterlife, and there is 'old age and death'. Therefore, these twelve causes and conditions are what the saints of Pratyekabuddha cultivate.
Twelve Causes and Conditions
The Twelve Causes and Conditions are the basic principles of Buddhism. Beginners who want to learn Buddhism must first understand the Three Jewels, the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Causes and Conditions. According to classic records, when the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, he observed these twelve causes and conditions.
Twelve causes and conditions explain the causes and consequences of sentient beings' circulation of life and death. In this circulation, there are only troubles, karma, and bitter fruits (i.e., confusion, karma, and suffering); they are interdependent, and the continuous flow of causes and conditions, birth and death, makes us feel that there is a life. There is a life in the cycle of life and death; in fact, there is no master, no author, and no recipient.
The Buddha said that the twelve causes and conditions are a great gathering of suffering. When we study the twelve causes and conditions, we must understand where the suffering lies? How to obtain liberation from the twelve causes and conditions.
The twelve causes and conditions are also called the twelve branches of dependent origination. These twelve branches are cause and effect for each other, because when one cause and condition arises, another cause and condition also arises. Therefore, it is often said in Buddhist scriptures: "This exists because of that, and this ceases because of that." This sentence means: There is such a thing When something arises, something else also arises; when something disappears, something else also disappears.
Twelve causes and conditions, twofold cause and effect in three times:
The first cause and effect: past cause to present effect.
Past cause: Ignorance is past confusion. Actions are karma created in the past.
⑴. Ignorance: We are confused and ignorant, do not understand the cause and effect of good and evil, and do not understand and are unaware of the three treasures of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. This is called "ignorance". "Ignorance" among the twelve causes and conditions is the general term for the troubles of past lives.
⑵ Action: Because ignorance confuses us, we use our mind to drive our body, speech, and mind to create karma. This is called "action". This creation produces future consequences, which are the consequences of the good and evil karma we have suffered in this life, so "action" is the karma that causes us to be reincarnated in the cycle of life and death. Present Fruit: Consciousness, name and form, six senses, contact, and feeling are the present painful fruit.
⑶. Consciousness: When living beings are born and die, the activities of name and form (spiritual and material) dissipate and turn into another series of spiritual activities. It is like being a human in the previous life and reincarnating as a tortoise after death. The mental activity of being a human is extinguished and transformed into the mental activity of a tortoise. Due to delusional karma, this "consciousness" re-enters the womb. This "consciousness" is different from the first six consciousnesses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind). Here it specifically refers to the "consciousness" that enters the womb. In Theravada Buddhism, it is only called "consciousness", but the consciousness-only sect of Dacheng Buddhism says it is the eighth consciousness - Alaya consciousness. After we die, the names and forms we had during life are dispersed, and the mind continues to move, forming a mind-born body, that is, the bardo body, which can enter the womb.
⑷. Name and form: Name refers to the mind, and "color" refers to the body. After "consciousness" enters the womb, the body and spirit form twins. The fetus gradually grows, the physical body slowly forms, and there are six sense organs; mental activities also gradually produce consciousness. In this process of growth, when its six roots have not yet been fully formed, the mental activities become "name" and the growth of the body is called "material". In fact, we also have "name and form" now. The spirit of the body and mind in front of us is called "name", and the body is called "form"; but when the fetus grows, the six roots are not developed, and the activities of spirit and matter are called "name and form". ". This is a special name given to distinguish the differences between them.
⑸. Six Entrances: Name and form grow slowly. After the six roots are born, there are "six entrances". Because we get information and know the external environment from this, it is called the "six entrances". The "six sense organs" are also called the "six roots", namely the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Because the "six consciousnesses" arise from this, just like the roots of a tree that can grow trees, they are called "six roots". The growth of the six roots depends on the fetus. After the growth is complete, the fetus comes out of the mother's womb. At this time, the six roots are fully developed.
⑹. Touch: The psychological effect of the combination of roots, dust, and consciousness becomes "touch". This is a psychological effect, becoming a "mind state", and does not mean that two things are in contact. After the fetus comes out of the mother's womb, the six sense organs come into contact with the external environment. As soon as a fetus is born, the first contact with the external environment is physical contact, and the first feeling is painful. Similarly, when the eyes, ears, nose, and mind come into contact with the external environment, they also produce eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, tongue contact, and mind contact. From consciousness to feeling, they are all caused by past karma and are uncomfortable and therefore a bitter fruit.
⑺. Feeling: With this after-contact, you can feel external things and give rise to painful feelings, pleasant feelings, neither painful nor pleasant feelings - equanimity. The twelve causes and conditions range from "ignorance", "conducts", "consciousness", "name and form", "six sense organs", "contact" to "feeling". These are not what we need. They are caused by ignorance in the past. Karma now bears the consequences and makes us possess them.
The second level of cause and effect: present cause to future effect.
Present cause: love and taking are present confusions.
You are creating karma now.
⑻ Love: When we feel something, we get lost in it and develop craving for the things we feel. Because when there is feeling, there is "love", which is infected and longing for this feeling.
For example, if you wrap your eyes with black cloth and prevent it from seeing all day long, it will definitely not be able to bear it and will feel very hard. Our eyes love to see things all day long, and our craving for realms does not consider suffering as suffering, which causes us to develop various attachments to this craving. There are many kinds of this kind of craving, and there are two main types: first, state love, for example, we are attracted by love for the things we see; second, self-love, that is, we have a "I" in our craving, and there is a "me" in our craving. This body is "I". This craving leads to all kinds of troubles and all kinds of things.
⑼. Taking: Because this greed deepens attachment and is unwilling to give up, it is called "taking". Not only do you not want to give up, but you also hope to get more in the future, that is, you hope to have something in the future. Grasping can be divided into four types: First, desire: that is, we are persistent and hope to get more of what we desire, which is called desire. The second is attachment to views: becoming greedy for our knowledge and thoughts, pursuing richer knowledge, thinking that knowing the truth is the best and most superior, and clinging to it is called attachment to views. Third, adhering to the precepts: This is also a kind of craving. Holding on to certain precepts can lead to liberation, blessings, etc. Fourth, the self-speech: This is the craving for me. These attachments are all greed, our past karma and habits that are now manifesting themselves. For example, if you have a karmic habit of smoking, and now there is a cigarette in front of you, you will become greedy for it. People who do not have a karmic habit of smoking will not have such greed. We had all kinds of karma and habits in the past, and now we have all kinds of cravings due to our current state. The "love and grasping" among these twelve causes and conditions are both the confusion in front of you and the thought of "ignorance". Ignorance has all kinds of troubles, such as greed, hatred, delusion, etc., but among the twelve causes and conditions, greed is the most serious, and it can cause karma to form future consequences. Because we desire and covet, it will form consequences in the future. Among the twelve causes and conditions, covet occupies a very important position. Because of "love and taking", it will "exist" in the future.
⑽. Being: Because we are persistent and longing, hoping to have many things in the future, due to persistence, we will have "karma" in the future, which is called "you". This "being" is also called "three things". have". First, desire existence: it is the karma of the desire realm; second, form existence: it is the karma of the form realm; third, formless existence: it is the karma of the formless realm. This (karma) has new karma caused by the three karma of the body, speech, and mind initiated by love and grasping (afflictions), so that the awareness of rebirth after this life and death can be nourished. Future consequences: Birth, old age and death are the bitter consequences in the future.
⑾. Birth: The delusions caused by attachment and attachment become karma, causing the bitter consequences to continue to occur. After our body is destroyed, we will be reincarnated in future lives.
⑿. Aging and death: Due to the existence of life, there will be physical and mental degeneration in the future, greed for life and fear of death, disgust of old age and death, etc. Therefore, it is said that the twelve causes and conditions of the five aggregates are continuous and endless. form a chain of cause and effect.
The twelve causes and conditions are because there is ignorance, so there is the creation of "actions"; because the karma is entered into the womb, there is the consciousness of entering the womb; because after entering the womb, name and matter begin to move, and they expand. , expansion, the six sense organs are produced; after the six sense organs of the fetus are perfected, they are born, and then come into contact with the external realm; the roots, dust, and consciousness combine to produce the psychology of contact. When contact occurs, feelings arise, and our past karma and habits of craving are eliminated. It will be triggered, love is life; when love deepens, it will take, making us hope that it will come again, and it will form existence; there will be future karma, which will prompt us to be reborn and die again.
These twelve causes and conditions are the causes and consequences of the flow of life and death of sentient beings. Its flow is not a straight line, but a cycle. Since it is the ignorance of the past that causes the feeling of the present; the ignorance of the present is love and grasping; the love and grasping of the present is the ignorance of the next life, and it continues to cycle and start again and again. Among the twelve causes and conditions, we must know that there is confusion, and karma is created due to confusion; after creating karma, we will suffer the consequences of karma - bitter fruits. In the midst of the consequences of suffering, we continue to be confused, continue to create karma, and then receive retribution again after creating karma. This cycle is called the circulation of the twelve causes and conditions.
2. Dependent Origination:
All dharmas are born based on the harmony and combination of conditions. When the conditions are exhausted, they will dissipate and disappear. The so-called "this exists because of that, and this does not cause that that does not exist." When conditions come together, we think it arises; when conditions break up, we think it disappears, hence the name Dependent Origination. Dependent origination refers to the nature of law under the action of causes and conditions, which is a principle and law.
3. Dependent Origination:
When the cause and condition matures, the result will arise, which is called Dependent Origination. Dependent arising refers to the dharma arising from the dharma of dependent origination, which is a kind of result.
4. The same nature of the laws arising from causes and conditions:
⑴. No master: All laws arising from causes and conditions have no master. We think that everything in the world always has an owner and a ruler. This is an obsession.
The Twelve Causes and Conditions tell us that there is no author or master. It is because we are ignorant and ignorant, and have produced various actions that create karma, thus prompting us to enter the womb and produce consciousness. Now let us look at this consciousness. Who controls consciousness? It has no human master and is simply the product of ignorance and mental formations. For example, a seed is put into the soil, and with the addition of sunlight, water and soil, it will sprout and grow. There is no master in this process.
⑵. No author: Actions are caused by ignorance, and actions are dependent on consciousness; that is, ignorance gives rise to actions, and actions give rise to consciousness. There is no master in this. There is no author in this process, it is ignorance that acts as action, action as consciousness, and consciousness as name and form. From the perspective of the twelve causes and conditions, the creators are love and taking, which are caused by confusion. The confused "receiving" and "taking" are not me, so they are said to have no author.
⑶. Those without feelings: Among the twelve causes and conditions, it is just consciousness, name and form, six sense organs, contact, and feeling. No one is receiving the retribution; we always think that there is a " "I" is receiving the retribution, which is wrong; it is consciousness, name and form, six sense organs, contact and other dharmas that are receiving the retribution. For example: If an Attap house was burned down, is it suffering the retribution? No. It is the leaf of the atat house, and the wood and other things inside it will burn due to heating; it will be destroyed after burning, and there is no atat house that receives the retribution. What we call an "atap house" is made up of atap leaves, wooden boards and other materials; similarly, a series of activities are formed from consciousness, name and form, six senses, contact, and feelings, which we call "all living beings". ”, in fact, no physical “being” is receiving the retribution.
(4) No self-effect: Among the twelve causes and conditions, none of them can act on its own and must rely on other causes and conditions. It seems that our six sense organs come from the embryo, the embryo comes from the "consciousness that enters the womb", the consciousness comes from the karma, etc., so each one arises through other causes and conditions, and it does not work on its own.
⑸. It arises from causes: Because it is not self-acting and there is no author doing it, it arises from causes.
⑹ Uncomfortability: The flow of the twelve causes and conditions makes us uncomfortable; the mutual creation and destruction of causes and conditions is not what we need. Even this love and taking are caused by the past, and there is no "I want to love" or "I want to take" in it.
⑺. It relies on the help of others to turn around: No one of the twelve causes and conditions can work alone. It relies on many causes and conditions to change, so it needs the help of people to turn around. .
⑻. Impermanence, suffering, and selflessness: Each of the twelve causes and conditions is impermanent. If it is not impermanent, it will remain unchanged and does not have to depend on all conditions; if it is not impermanent, Nor will it cause other dharma to arise. Because of impermanence, different things arise one after another. Suffering is caused by impermanence, suffering means not being at ease, and being uneasy means not having a self. If someone says: If I want to raise my hand, I will raise my hand, and I will do whatever I want to do; but I cannot give up the flow of the twelve causes and conditions, so it does not belong to me. If it were me, I want to be angry with you, I can be angry now, but if it is caused by the twelve causes and conditions, if I want it to be angry with you, I have to rely on various causes and conditions to make it angry, so I have to rely on various causes and conditions to become angry. Heart. Another example is if I want you to be angry with your mother now. Because there is no state of anger, anger cannot arise. We cannot decide the flow of these twelve causes and conditions, so it is not me.
⑼. Empty nature: In the circulation of the twelve causes and conditions, each branch has no self-nature and no self. They are all caused by the mutual creation and destruction of causes and conditions, so it is said that its nature is empty. When we hear "empty", don't misunderstand that it means nothing. The so-called emptiness of nature is: everything we know has no real self and is unreal. Its nature is empty, which is called emptiness of nature.
5. The gate of the flow of twelve causes and conditions:
When our teacher Sakyamuni Buddha was enlightened, he observed the twelve causes and conditions under the Bodhi tree and discovered that all living beings are alive. Aging, illness, and death are painful, so we want to save all sentient beings and free them.
Therefore, the Buddha started from the twelve causes of aging and death and observed in reverse order: All living beings have to endure all kinds of sufferings of "sickness", "aging" and "death". With his wisdom, he slowly discovered that the reason why all living beings have "aging and death" is due to their existence. "Birth", "birth" is because there is "karma", the so-called "karma" is the existence of desire, form and formless existence, because we have the karma of the desire realm, form realm and formless realm in the future, they It will push us to be reborn in the future - rebirth; the Buddha observed that there is no "I" creating karma, but the body and mind (false self) are attached to various things in the world, longing for future existence, resulting in karmic retribution; We have "being" because we have "taking"; we have "taking" because we have "love". Our past karma has caused us to be greedy for things. When we come into contact with the realm, greed will arise, and we will not be interested in the things we see in the realm. Attachment arises; "love" arises because of "feeling". Our six sense organs include painful feeling, pleasant feeling, neither painful nor pleasant feeling, and we are greedy for pleasant feeling. Because there are pleasant feelings, the "love" in our karma will arise; otherwise it will not arise. If we are born deaf and have never heard sounds, we will not be craving for songs, birds, etc. Because we feel the sounds, we will be craving for them. The Buddha said that when we have "feeling", we have craving, so feeling is the reason why love arises. We have "feeling" because the heart relies on the six sense organs to contact the external environment. Roots, dust, and consciousness produce "touch". Because there is "touch", there is "feeling". The Buddha continued to observe and found that "contact" is due to the "six roots". Without the "six roots" our mind would not be able to contact the external environment. Then the Buddha continued to observe and found that the "six roots" are formed because we have the The activity of "name and form" produces the "six roots"; the Buddha said that because of the "name and form", there are "six entrances". When we are reborn, we have "consciousness". After we die, our spirit continues to move. We will be transferred to the womb by our karma, and as a result, we will grow in the womb. The Buddha discovered that when "consciousness" enters the womb, there is "name and form"; where does "consciousness" come from? The Buddha stopped investigating. Then the Buddha observed that because there is "consciousness", there is "name and form"; because there is "name and form", there are "six senses"; because there are "six senses", there is "contact"; because there is "contact", there is "Feeling"... Following the observation, there is "birth", so there is "aging and death". This is called the gate of flow.
6. The Door of Return and Destruction of the Twelve Causes and Conditions:
In the circulation of the twelve causes and conditions, we look at it from the perspective of how to eliminate it, which is called the door of return and destruction. How can we eliminate old age and death? The Buddha observed that as long as there is no "birth", there will be no "old age and death"; if the "karma" of the three realms is destroyed, there will be no "birth"; if we do not cling to "taking", the "karma" will not arise; as long as "love" is destroyed If it is eliminated, "taking" will not arise; because "love" is a past karma, as long as it is eliminated, there will be no attachment; if "feeling" is eliminated, "love" will be eliminated, and so on, in the end, as long as ignorance is eliminated If it falls, this great accumulation of suffering will also disappear. Then the observance of ignorance disappears, so the action disappears, and even old age and death also disappear.
7. How to cut off the flow of the twelve causes and conditions:
As long as you don’t create karma and don’t be confused now, then your current love will be cut off and enlightened by ignorance, and all the things created in the past will be eliminated. Your karma is like a tree without roots that can never grow again. That is to say, these twelve causes and conditions tell us that the ignorance and karma of the past continue to the present. If we are aware of not loving and grasping, we will not have troubles such as self-view, view-taking, and prohibition-taking. After we are free of this trouble, we will find that each of the twelve causes and conditions is impermanent, selfless, and conditioned. If so, then who is alive? Who is suffering from old age and death? When these attachments are gone, we will realize that no sentient being is going through life and death and suffering the suffering of reincarnation. As long as we are aware of the present ignorance and are not confused when it comes to love and grasping, we will find that there is no self in it. Since there is no self, it will not continue to circulate, and at the same time, you will find that all confusion is gone. Before we love and grasp, when we feel the external environment, we should be aware of it and no longer grasp it, so that we will not suffer from the consequences.
Eight and Twelve Causes and Effects of Three Times and Double Causes and Effects:
Ignorance and action are the causes of the past, and consciousness, name and form, six senses, contact, and feelings are what we experience now. If we have love and taking now, we will create karma, which is the present cause, and there will be birth, old age, and death in the future; so the past cause is the past life; the present result and present cause are the present life; the future result is the future life. There are three lifetimes in total. So why does the third generation talk about two kinds of cause and effect? The first level of cause and effect is that past causes lead to present effects; the second level is that present causes lead to future effects. Therefore, among the twelve causes and conditions, there are three lifetimes and two levels of cause and effect. It also tells us about the cycle of confusion, karma, and suffering. Because confusion creates karma, we have to suffer the consequences of karma. We are confused in suffering, and we are confused and create karma. We create karma and suffer again, over and over again, without interruption or interruption.
Later commentators referred to the twelve causes and conditions as the theory of womb birth, as if they were explaining how to enter the womb. How do six roots arise in the womb? How does the six perfect sense organs come out of the womb? How old is contact after birth, what age is attachment, attachment, etc. This is how some commentators explain it, not what the Buddha explained. It seems that the "Kosashastra" explains the twelve causes and conditions based on age divisions, which is incorrect. When the Buddha talked about the twelve causes and conditions, he did not talk about the double cause and effect of the three lives, nor did he talk about confusion, karma, and suffering. He just talked about the twelve causes and conditions directly. Later commentators analyzed it and said that it includes confusion, karma, suffering, and the three lives. Twofold cause and effect, although this is not what the Buddha said, it is correct.
9. The enlightenment given to us by the twelve causes and conditions:
1. The forward and reverse view of the circulation of the twelve causes and conditions: tracing from "old age and death" to "ignorance" is called reverse Observation; pursuing from "ignorance" to "old age and death" is called Observation along the way. This forward and backward contemplation can be further divided into forward and reverse contemplation of the gate of circulation and forward and reverse contemplation of the door of annihilation. The forward and reverse view of the door of the twelve causes and conditions of circulation is to look at the reason for its emergence (circulation) and the consequences; the forward and reverse view of the door of annihilation is to look at the reason for its annihilation (return to annihilation) and the consequences of its annihilation. Following contemplation means that when "ignorance" disappears, "action" disappears, when "action" disappears, "consciousness" disappears, when "consciousness" disappears, "name and form" disappear,... The reverse observation is: if you want to destroy "old age and death", you must destroy "life", if you want to destroy "life", you must destroy "being", if you want to destroy "being", you must destroy "taking",... This is the favorable and unfavorable view of returning to destruction.
2. The twelve branches of the twelve causes and conditions mentioned by the Buddha have the same nature as impermanence, selflessness, no author, and no recipient. The Buddha also told us the true causes and effects of life and death. Those who do not understand the twelve causes and conditions will misunderstand that the world and human beings are created by God; or they may misunderstand that people are born from their parents, thinking that people have nothing in the past - nothing. Because, suddenly born from the mother's womb, these are incorrect perceptions. We learn the twelve causes and conditions, observe them with wisdom and get rid of them.
3. We should observe with wisdom and cut off the flow of the twelve causes and conditions: our consciousness, name and form, and six sense organs (six sense organs) cannot be changed after entering the womb; our eyes always feel soft, bright, dim, etc. Color stimulation; ears hearing harmonious or stimulating sounds, etc. We cannot change these "touches" caused by the contact between our six sense organs and the external environment, and the "feelings" caused by contact, but we must be aware of it. Watch it, grasp it. If we are clearly aware of this "feeling", we will definitely realize that it is uncomfortable and painful, and then we will have no love or attachment. Since our present six sense organs are in contact with the external environment, we are aware that our ears can feel the pain and joy of sounds, and our eyes can feel the pain and joy of colors. Then we have a way to give up loving and taking. If we cannot be aware, we will fall into love. , take the middle. That is to say, if you understand "feeling" clearly, then you will have the opportunity to let go of love and grasping; if we observe and understand "feeling", and then awaken to love and grasping, so that they will no longer arise, if we can grasp it, That would be the end of life and death. We had endless karma and ignorance in the past, but with our current enlightenment, we can throw them all away. Let’s use an analogy: A mother is greedy and persistent towards her children. If her children are happy, she will be happy too; if her children are sad, she will be sad too. If one day she realizes that this person has a karmic relationship with me, the past life was related to mine. The predestined relationship is relatively deep, and we live together in this life, just like mother and son (daughter). You don't need to be sad for him or happy for him. He has his own karma. Why are you indifferent to other people's sadness and happiness? But the sorrow and happiness of your children can pull you away, making you happy or worried? If you observe that all of this is fate and see it clearly, this sadness and happiness will be eliminated. To put it more simply: Rich people play with antiques. What are antiques? Is it stones, broken bricks and tiles? Is there anything in it that deserves your love and makes you cling to it? What is it about this cup that makes you happy? No. But you have endless fun with the thousand-year-old cup and can't put it down, because you are greedy for it. If you observe that this is just a thousand-year-old cup, and this cup is also a cup now, why should I cling to the thousand-year-old cup? If you see it clearly and put it down, it'll be fine. Therefore, we need to observe where greed arises so that we can let go of the trouble of greed. The same is true for all other worries. If we can awaken and control our thoughts, love and taking will not arise, then everything will end up in silence, no worries will arise, and the inner state of peace and solitude is called Nirvana.
4. The Buddha gave various analogies to the twelve causes and conditions in the sutras:
⑴. The analogy of planting trees: The flow gate is like planting a tree, watering it and adding fertilizer, and the tree will grow strong; Also destroying the door is like planting a tree without watering it or fertilizing it, the tree will not grow well; if the tree is cut down, it will not grow. The same is true for the twelve causes and conditions. If we add water and fertilizer (add love and taking) to "feeling", it will grow longer and more, and will produce future karma, birth, old age and death. If you cut off love and grasping at "feeling" (without adding water and fertilizer), then it will not be able to grow, and even "feeling" will not be born. Then you will enter nirvana.
There are two types of nirvana: one is residual nirvana. Two attachments, no remaining nirvana. The saint who has realized the fruit of Arahant is in the state of surplus nirvana. He has no love and no taking. This is like a tree without adding fertilizer and water, but the roots and trunk still exist. Continue to wait until the tree grows. The tree grows old and dies. Because the Arahant’s past karma continues to exist, if his body in this life does not have “feelings”, “contacts”, and “six sense organs” after retribution, it will be like the roots of a tree being cut off, and he will never be reborn again. Let’s just say that he cut off the roots of the tree of twelve causes and conditions, and it can no longer grow.
⑵. The analogy of the oil lamp: If the oil lamp is refilled with oil, it will continue to burn. Otherwise, the oil lamp will go out. The same is true for the twelve causes and conditions mentioned by the Buddha.
The Buddha taught us that when we observe the twelve causes and conditions, we are like a thirsty person who finds a well, but the water in the well is poisonous, so we must not drink it. This is a metaphor for love and thirst. The water we drink is karma. It is poisonous. If we drink it, we will be poisoned to death, causing us to reincarnate in life and death again. If we don't want these karmic retributions, we shouldn't love or take them. Only in this way can we cut off the flow of life and death.