The Fully Enlightened Sammasambuddha went to the root cause of suffering, at the depth of the mind. He realized that between the external worldly object and mental conditioning of craving is the crucial missing link- vedanā (the impermanent bodily sensation to which the mind is actually reacting).
(from the original Dhamma article Vedanā in Paṭiccasamuppāda, Vipassana Newsletter, Vipassana Research Institute)
Paṭiccasamuppāda, or the Law of Dependent Origination, is fundamental to the teaching of the
Buddha. Emphasizing its importance, the
Buddha said:
Yo paṭiccasamuppādaṃ passati,
so dhammaṃ passati;
Yo dhammaṃ passati,
so paṭiccasamuppādaṃ passati.1
One who sees the
paṭiccasamuppāda sees the
Dhamma.
One who sees the
Dhamma sees the
paṭiccasamuppāda.
Paṭiccasamuppāda explains that
saṃsāra, the process of repeated existences, is perpetuated by a chain of interconnected links of cause and effect; it also reveals the method of breaking this chain and putting an end to the process. The
Buddha said:
Taṇhādutiyo puriso,
dīghamaddhāna saṃsaraṃ;
itthabhāvaññathābhāvaṃ,
saṃsāraṃ nātivattati.2
The man with craving as his companion has been flowing in the stream of repeated existences from time immemorial. He comes into being, experiences various types of miseries, dies again and again, and does not put an end to this unbroken process of becoming.
This is
saṃsāra, the world of suffering, as explained by the
Buddha. He further said:
Etaṃ ādīnavaṃ ñatvā,
taṇhaṃ dukkhassa sambhavaṃ;
Vītataṇho anādāno,
sato bhikkhu paribbaje.3
Rightly understanding the perils of this process,
Fully realizing craving as its cause,
Becoming free from craving and attachment,
One should mindfully lead the life of detachment.
Such an approach, he said, will have great benefit-
Nandī-saṃyojano loko,
vitakkassa vicāraṇaṃ
Taṇhāya vippahānena,
nibbānaṃ iti vuccati.4
Pleasure is the binding force in the world.
Rolling thought processes are its ever-changing base.
With the complete eradication of craving,
The state called
nibbāna is attained.
These statements made by the
Buddha describe the nature of
saṃsāra, the state of suffering, and the nature of
nibbāna, the state of final emancipation. But how can detachment be developed, and craving eradicated?
This is the practical aspect of
Dhamma discovered by Siddhattha Gotama through practice of Vipassana, the realization that made him a
Buddha. Out of infinite compassion, he shared this practical knowledge of liberation through the teaching of
paṭiccasamuppāda.
According to this law of nature, twelve links form the wheel of becoming (
bhava-cakka). They are:
- avijjā (ignorance)
- saṇkhāra (volitional activities)
- viññāṇa (consciousness)
- nāma-rūpa (mind and matter)
- saḷāyatana (six sense doors)
- phassa (contact)
- vedanā (sensation)
- taṇhā (craving)
- upādāna (clinging)
- bhava (becoming)
- jāti (birth)
- jarā-maraṇa (decay and death)
Dependent on
avijjā arise
saṇkhāra;
dependent on
saṇkhāra arises
viññāṇa;
dependent on
viññāṇa arise
nāma-rūpa;
dependent on
nāma-rūpa arise
saḷāyatana;
dependent on
saḷāyatana arises
phassa;
dependent on
phassa arises
vedanā;
dependent on
vedanā arises
taṇhā;
dependent on
taṇhā arises
upādāna.
Thus, this vicious circle of misery rolls on. In other words, the origin of each link depends upon the preceding one. As long as this chain of twelve causal relations operates, the wheel of becoming (
bhava-cakka) keeps turning, bringing nothing but suffering. This process of cause and effect is called
anuloma-paṭiccasamuppāda (direct Law of Dependent Origination).
Every link of anuloma results in
dukkha, suffering, as a result of
avijjā, which is at the base of every link. Thus, the process of
anuloma clarifies the first two Noble Truths:
dukkha-sacca, suffering, and
samudaya-sacca, its origination and multiplication.
Our task is to emerge from the
bhava-cakka of
dukkha - through the practice of Vipassana meditation.
Explaining how to do so, the
Buddha said that when any one of the links of the chain is broken, the wheel of becoming comes to an end, resulting in the cessation of suffering. This is called
paṭiloma-paṭiccasamuppāda (the Law of Dependent Origination in reverse order) which clarifies the third and fourth Noble Truths,
nirodha-sacca the cessation of suffering and
nirodha-gāminī-paṭipadā-sacca, the path that leads to the cessation of suffering.
How can that be achieved? At which link can the chain be broken? Through deep insight, the
Buddha discovered that the crucial link is
vedanā. In the
anuloma-paṭiccasamuppāda, he says '
Vedanā-paccayā-taṇhā'.
Vedanā is the cause of taṇhā, which gives rise to dukkha. In order to remove the cause of dukkha or taṇhā, one must not allow vedanā to give rise to taṇhā; in other words, one must practice Vipassana meditation at this crucial juncture so that avijjā becomes vijjā or paññā (wisdom). One has to observe vedanā, to experience and to comprehend the truth of its arising and passing away, anicca. By
Vipassana meditation, as one experiences
vedanā in the proper way, one comes out of the delusion of
nicca-saññā (perception of permanence) by the development of
anicca-bodha or
anicca-vijjā (the wisdom of impermanence) towards
vedanā.
This is practiced by observing with equanimity the arising and passing away of
vedanā. With
anicca-bodha, the habit pattern of the mind changes. Instead of the earlier pattern of
vedanā-paccayā taṇhā, through
anicca-vijjā it becomes
vedanā-paccayā paññā. As
paññā becomes stronger and stronger, naturally
saññā, and with it,
taṇhā, becomes weaker and weaker.
The process of multiplication of suffering with the base of
avijjā then becomes the process of the cessation of suffering, with
vijjā as the base. As this process continues, a time comes when there is the complete cessation of
vedanā as well as
taṇhā-'Vedanā-nirodhā, taṇhā-nirodho.
This state of liberation is a state beyond mind and matter, where both
vedanā and
saññā cease. One can experience this for a few seconds, minutes, hours, or days when, according to one's own capacity, one becomes established in
nirodha-samāpatti by practising
Vipassana.
View of Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre, from atop the adjacent Global Vipassana Pagoda, Mumbai, India. Dhamma Pattana (meaning 'harbour of Dhamma') is one of over 160 Vipassana centres worldwide offering residential Vipassana courses where the Dhamma is shared in purity, without any fee or charges, including for boarding and lodging.
After the period of
nirodha-samāpatti, when one comes back to the sensuous field of mind and matter, one again experiences
vedanā. But now the whole habit pattern of the mind has changed, and continued practice leads to the stage where one does not generate aversion or craving at all because
anusaya and
āsava (the deep-rooted mental impurities) are eradicated. In this way, by the breaking of one link-
vedanā, the whole process is shattered and the wheel of repeated existence is completely broken.
To progress on the path of Dhamma, one has to work at the level of
vedanā because it is at this junction one changes the direction of the wheel of misery.
With
vedanā starts the turning of the
bhava-cakka, leading (because of
avijjā) to
vedanā-paccayā taṇhā, which causes suffering. This is the path, which ignorant persons (
puthujjana) follow, since they react to
vedanā and generate
taṇhā.
However, from
vedanā, the
dhamma-cakka, or the wheel of cessation of suffering (
dukkha-nirodha-gāminī-paṭipadā) can start to rotate, leading to
vedanā-nirodhā,
taṇhā-nirodho-the end of craving, as a result of
anicca-vijjā or
paññā, leading to the cessation of suffering. This is the path which wise persons (
sapañña) follow by not reacting to
vedanā, because they have developed
anicca-bodha by the practice of
Vipassana.
Many of the contemporaries of the
Buddha held the view that craving causes suffering and that to remove suffering one has to abstain from the objects of craving. But this was only an apparent truth. The Buddha went to the root cause of suffering, at the depth of the mind. He realized that between the external worldly object and mental conditioning of craving is a missing link-
vedanā (the impermanent bodily sensation).
Whenever we encounter an object through the five physical senses or the mind, a sensation arises; and based on the sensation,
taṇhā arises. If the sensation is pleasant we crave to prolong it, and if it is unpleasant we crave to be rid of it. It is in the chain of Dependent Origination that the
Buddha expressed his unique, immeasurably beneficial discovery:
Phassa-paccayā vedanā
Vedanā-paccayā taṇhā.5Dependent on contact, sensation arises.
Dependent on sensation, craving arises.
Therefore, the immediate cause for the arising of craving and suffering is not something outside of us but rather the sensations that occur within us. To free ourselves from suffering we must deal with this inner reality of sensations through Vipassana practice - i.e by maintaining perfect equanimity to sensations, instead of the earlier habit pattern of reacting to them with craving or aversion. This is the practical way to emerge from suffering. By developing
anicca-vijjā (the wisdom of experiencing impermanence at level of sensations) through Vipassana practice, we cut the knots of our misery and experience the true nature of
Dhamma. Therefore,
vedanā is the cause of our bondage when not properly observed; it is also the means of liberation when properly observed - by experiential understanding of the
Dhamma, the law of
paṭiccasamuppāda.
May all beings be happy,be peaceful, be liberated from all suffering.
--
Notes: (All references are from VRI edition)
1. Majjhima Nikāya 1.306
2. Suttanipāta 745
3. Ibid. 746
4. Saṃyutta Nikāya 1.1.64
5. Mahāvagga (Vinaya Piṭaka) 1
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Global Vipassana Pagoda as seen from the Borivili National Park
The Myanmar Gate entrance to the Global Vipassana Pagoda. The entrance, under construction, is similar to the entrance to Dhamma Giri, Igatpuri, and is built as gratitude to Burma that preserved the teaching of Vipassana in its purity. More Global Pagoda photographs in this Picasa Album
The inner dome of the Global Pagoda, the vast meditation hall that can seat approximately 8,000 Vipassana students. This is the world's largest stone-enclosed space of its kind without any supporting pillars, and is being termed a modern day wonder of the world. 
Vipassana meditators inside the Inner Dome Dhamma Hall of the Global Pagoda. 
Art Gallery of the Global Pagoda : the world's single largest collection of paintings on the life of Sammasambuddha Gotama. 
Global Pagoda Art Gallery on Sammasambuddha Gotama's life
Global Pagoda Art Gallery: Sammasambuddha Gotama being offered dana of rice cakes and honey from Tapassu and Bhallika, two merchants from Ukkala, Burma. 
Global Pagoda Art Gallery on Sammasambuddha Gotama's life
Global Pagoda Art Gallery: Sammasambuddha Gotama being offered dana of rice cakes and honey from Tapassu and Bhallika, two merchants from Ukkala, Burma. 
Motif of Global Vipassana Pagoda, by artisans from Burma
Centre of the ceiling of the Dhamma Hall of Global Pagoda. The Dhamma Wheel marks the spot where the Sammasambuddha Gotama's bone relics are preserved *The bone relics serve as reminder that: a) the existence of the Buddha as a historical fact, and not as a mythological figure; b) the impermanence of all phenomena. No being escapes decay and death. Liberation from suffering, at the deepest level, can be gained only from the actual, ardent, correct practice of Vipassana - the universal practice that a Sammasambuddha rediscovers.
