PATICCASAMUPPADA
DEPENDENT ORIGINATION

This is an introduction to the Dhamma which is based on Dependent Origination using a symbolic personification of the ideas expressed by using watercolours in Thai art.

Yaksha (Giant) represents time, which consumes day and night all sentient beings that are deluded, overcome by ignorance. He is a fierce creature who stands for the 3 defilement’s. His appearance is extremely ugly and frightening. He drags all beings into the fires.

The 5 skulls symbolize the 5 aggregates (body, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness) which are not to be attached to, as they are impermanent and in constant flux throughout the lifetime of a human being.

The tiger's skin, which covers Yaksha, signifies the mental intoxication and latent dispositions, which envelop and cling to sentient beings, consuming them day and night.

The Buddha in the Cycle symbolizes the Buddha image (Transcendental wisdom), the One who knows, mindfulness which can appear in everybody's mind. When there is no ignorance, the Buddha (vijja which means One who is aware of his states of mind and avijja which means One who lacks this awareness) leads people away from the Cycle because such wisdom is beyond kamma, cause and effect.

The Giant's white eye represents days and the black one represents nights. Days and nights constantly devour the lives of all sentient beings.

The red flowers on Yaksha's ears represent humans and animals who are deluded by the 5 objects of sensual enjoyment (form, sound, smell, taste and tangible objects).

The flaming necklace symbolizes people's worry for their children, grandchildren and relations.

The foot bangles symbolize attachment to homes, land, jewellery and money (both the movable and the fixed property).

The hand bangles signify a married couple who constantly worry about each other and cannot be separated. They are tied together until their dying days.

The Buddha above the Circle, standing and pointing the Way to a disciple, shows that the only way to Cessation of Suffering is to see the 4 Noble Truth, to know how to practice the Eightfold Noble Path, and to understand Dependent Origination and to rise above good and bad kamma. Consequently, one will be able to rise above the Cycle of Existence and finally realizes Nibbana.

The fingernails, which are sharp, pointed and frightening, illustrate humans and animals falling victim, about to be devoured by him. They will have great difficulty in getting rid of the (ten) fetters and latent dispositions that bind them to the round of rebirth.

THE FIRST CIRCLE

1. A pig is a greedy animal that eats without any consideration and always goes to sleep afterwards. Though he is already full up, hunger is still in his mind. He represents greed which is lobha.

2. A snake is a poisonous animal that bites and kills his enemies with venom. This signifies vindictiveness, so he stands for anger (dosa).

3. A cock is an animal that is full of vanity and likes to show off his beauty. He also thinks that he is virtues in every respect and likes to scratch the earth. This means that he constantly creates impulses and emotions. So he represents delusion which is moha.

The three animals bite one another so that they are linked together in a circular chain. This illustrates the rising and falling of consciousness (citta). The continuation creates kamma, which is followed by vipaka (result) of happiness and suffering due to greed, hatred and delusion. Only the Buddha (vijja) is able to destroy the defilement’s and leave the Circle. So the Buddha points the way to the 4 Noble Truth and Eightfold Noble Path in order to rise above the Circle. (nibbana).

THE SECOND CIRCLE

Black Dhamma, White Dhamma

Black Dhamma is the bad kamma of body, speech or mind which is caused by avijja (Ignorance). He eats without any consideration that everything is element, just element, nothing more and always got to sleep afterwards. He signifies one who lacks mindfulness in the contemplation of the 4 postures – standing, walking, sitting and lying down. As a result, there appears the idea of self in opposition to others. At the same time, the process of body and mind continues. One who is in the sphere of Black kamma is like one who walks at night, clothed only in darkness, dirty and useless.

White Dhamma is the good kamma which is under the influence of the Buddha (Transcendental wisdom [vijja] or the One who knows awakening and is full of bliss, who is mindful of the 4 postures (sitting, standing, walking and lying down), of speaking, and of thinking, contemplating body and mind as element not as a self and other. He is full of mindfulness at all times. So it is as though he lives in the sphere of light, clean and pure. Performing virtuous deeds is like being adorned with jewellery, clean and pure.

Black Dhamma acting in an evil way results in evil = Black kamma = an unskilful action leading to lower realms for example, the mind which is depressed, anxious, unwise or stupid.

White Dhamma acting in a good way results in good = a skilful action leading to the destination of happiness for example, the mind which is bright, calm, cool and wise.

THE THIRD CIRCLE

This Circle is connected with the Second one. In the first three stages, at the beginning, a person who has transcendental wisdom creates various good actions and gains the related results.

1. Having taken and maintained 5 precepts, a human mind is obtained for the next rebirth. Keeping the precepts and practicing meditation will lead to heaven. When the mind is cheerful and bright, it has the same quality as the mind of a celestial being.

2. More mental development and keeping of precepts retain the mind in heaven and transform it into the mind of a celestial being.

3. After more meditation practices, the mind develops a high level of absorption (jhana) and automatically has the same quality as the mind of a divine being - of the formed sphere or of the formless sphere. {A Brahma god has metta (loving kindness), karuna (compassion), mudita (sympathetic joy) and upekkha (equanimity)}.

The results of bad kamma are rebirth in woeful states as followed.
(A description of a human mind where there is the continuity of greed, hatred and delusion.)

1. An illustration of the plane of hell beings. The mind that enters hell represents an angry mind, full of vindictiveness.

2. A scene of the world of hungry ghosts (peta) where human mind becomes the mind of a hungry ghost because of greed, craving for other people's belongings.

3. A description (or picture) of the animal plane. The animal mind is a mind which, lacking mindfulness is under the power of delusion and can rapidly lower its capacity. The mind is at a very low level and can sink into deeper hells according to its state. It is being controlled by greed, hatred and delusion and will be overcome by suffering until the end of his or her life. Thus the Buddha (vijja or transcendental wisdom) cannot appear. Only the one who has recollection of Him can escape from the hells and enter a higher realm.

THE FOURTH CIRCLE

1.Avijja (Ignorance): This first link is illustrated by a blind man. He is totally deluded because of ignorance. It is the mind full of delusion and wrong views about matter and mind (rupa-nama). As a result, it keeps on grasping and clinging to the aggregates of form, sound, smell, taste and mind objects, without any investigation into the separation of each element and aggregate from one another. The mind will eventually attach to the belief that there is a Self, a solid being which will not decay or dissolve. There is no ability to separate body from mind and no knowledge of the cause of rising and falling of consciousness. This delusion about the idea of self in opposition to others stems from a lack of insight into reality. In fact these phenomena are consisted only of the 4 elements of water, earth, fire and wind, plus intentional activities and consciousness. Therefore avijja stands for a deluded human being that is full of ignorance and does not realise the Truth. (moha). So he is portrayed by a blind person, who does not know where he is going as he cannot see anything and cannot do anything right.

2.Sankhara (Volitional activities) is represented by a potter shaping pots on his wheel. He is trying to make something into a form from the material already available. This shows the way form, taste, smell, sound, tangible objects, and mind-objects are created through mind contact. It is the mind, which is full of impulses, emotions and various thoughts every time there is a contact between one of the six senses and an object. Liking (merit) and disliking (demerit) will automatically follow. There will also be neutral feeling (anechabhisankhara) which is neither merit nor demerit. So sankhara is the cause of impulses and emotions.

3.Vinnana (Consciousness): A monkey holding a crystal depicts restless mind in which the rising and falling of consciousness takes place all the time. The crystal represents virtue. When the crystal is clear, the virtue is there; but when it is dull, there is none. A house represents the sense spheres (ayatana). Vinnana is consciousness every time there is contact between one of the 6 senses and an object.

4.Rupa-Nama (Matter and Mind) is portrayed by a man and a woman on a boat. (Matter is depicted by the boat and mind by the passengers). The physical form is represented by the boat and consciousness is represented by the people. Though the two phenomena are different, they have to depend on each other.

5.Salayatana (6 Sense Organs) is depicted by the image of an empty house with doors and windows which symbolise the six senses. The house stands for the body, the doors for the mind, and the windows for the eyes, ears, nose and tongue.

6.Phassa (Contact): A couple embracing represents the contact from which consciousness of being male and female arises. As a result, impulses and emotions are produced and defilement’s, craving, like, dislike and imbalance follow.

7.Vedana (Sensation) is reflected by a man with an arrow sunk deep in his eyes and is in great pain. It indicates the strong feeling which our sensory experience, driven by impulses, evokes whether it is pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.

8.Tanha (Craving) is depicted in the image of a man smoking heroin. He is an addict who always craves for more and more of the drug. Having no contentment, he cannot have enough of it. Craving cannot be fulfilled. It is the mind, which causes impulses and emotions.

9.Upadana (Grasping) is represented by a monkey plucking fruits from a tree. Grasping them brings about attachment when he is under the illusion that the fruits belong to him. He lacks the wisdom to consider reasons for letting go.

10.Bhava (Becoming): A pregnant woman indicates the embryo in her womb. Becoming signifies the plane of existence, which corresponds to volition’s; it signifies the existence of body and mind. There is attachment to the concepts of 'my place and our place', Self, love and hate. Clinging to having and being is bhava.

11.Jati (Birth): A woman giving birth to a baby reflects rebirth into different kinds of being such as female, male, animal or other. It is birth into the 3 planes of existence. It is the mind in which volition’s cause impulses and emotions. Concurrently, consciousness keeps on rising and falling, followed by love and hate. Birth and existence take place continuously without end. The mind forms attachments to various emotions in the past, future and present.

12.Jara-Marana (Old age and Death): This last link is personified by a man leaving home, his belongings carried in a basket on a pole over his shoulder. This indicates leaving the body as there will be no return. The only things that can be taken are merit and demerit. The house, representing all body and properties, will have to be left behind. Sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, despair, disappointment will accompany him and mourning at the separation from loved ones. The greatest loss in life comes at death. Marana is death; it is the mind which has died from good, evil, this world, the next world, merit and demerit, and concepts. At every moment the mind is born and dies. The death of thoughts at each moment, with the rising and falling of consciousness, is called, "the present death". The death of the (5) aggregates is called, "the death in the 3 planes of existence". The ending of the process of rising and falling of consciousness is called, "the death of the present moment" - each moment is always dying as mind rises and falls. (nibbana).

For a human being, life in the present time is always imperfect because the mind is full of craving in a world of delusion in which things are pleasant and unpleasant. So like and dislike follow sensation arises and flows according to impulses.

So human beings are anxious and struggle to fulfil their desire which is impossible for anyone to do. The more they search, the more anxious they become. Suffering follows all the way. There is no balance and fulfilment because people's minds are dominated by Ignorance. Therefore, imperfection will always be present.

The Buddha said that as suffering takes place at the present moment, we should not dwell on what happened in the past or in inquire about the future suffering. A deluded person tends to ask questions as to where and when were the origins of consciousness or who the creator was. Such a person can be compared with a wounded man who has been shot and fatally wounded by an arrow, waiting to be cured by a doctor. If the doctor were to ask him various questions such as exactly when and where he was shot and who the archer was, so that the latter would be found first before the patient was given the right medicine, would the doctor's cure be effective? The patient would certainly die. In the same way, the suffering of the body and mind takes place here and now; so we do not need to know about the past. It will be a waste of time. We should eliminate suffering now, when we are going through the process of birth, old age, decay and death.

We should practice the Dhamma as the way to cessation of suffering today. There is no need to wait for a long time to see this process immediately. Everything is interdependent. Therefore there is a law of Conditionality which is Dependent Origination. The Buddha pointed out the law of nature. This was a section of the Dhamma or the principle of truth which he uncovered. He realized this true nature by the application of this wisdom. All this things took place long before every Buddha. No one was born in that period to know about it because matter and mind had been around for an incalculable time. The Buddha was enlightened by the wisdom which appeared from his vision of truth in Samadhi. He understood the detail with profundity. This is beyond the ability of ordinary people to comprehend the real nature as they have not possessed the same vision.

So the Buddha became the witness of the Dhamma and had the courage to answer the Brahmins' questions with assurance. He was convinced that the principle of the Dhamma which he realized was the truth which could be proved only by following the same system of practice which he did in order to obtain Enlightenment. The way of attaining Dhamma in the mind can really be proved.

The Buddha finally concluded that, "From Dependence on Ignorance, arises kamma Formations". "Monk! Tathagata (the condition which is such and such), Avitthata (the condition which is immovable), Anannatha (the condition which is not changeable) is the Principle of Idappaccayata as explained before. It can also be called ' Dependent Origination'." The Buddha said that "Any group of Brahmins who can understand this group of Dhamma and know their arising, extinction and the process of nature can be acknowledged as people who possess profound wisdom and have great achievement within the present time".

According to the Tipitaka, Ananda exclaimed,"How marvellous! How Marvellous! This has not been expounded before. I have never heard or seen it before. How lucky are my eyes, heart and ears to come into contact with this teaching! How lucky I am to be born to realize the truth which you have taught! It is melodious, so profound, so subtle, so prudent and so easy to understand and appreciate in its clarity. It is as though you have uncovered a hidden object. People can realize and follow this simplified Dhamma. How marvellous! The difficult subject has now been simplified".

The Buddha retorted, "Ananda, do not say this. Dependent Origination is a very profound Dhamma, difficult to comprehend. Since people do not understand and penetrate right through the Dhamma, they are always in turmoil. Their confusion is compounded in a tangled knot of threads or various kinds of grasses such as Ionperata cylindrica and reeds. Therefore Ananda, sentient beings will always have to be in turmoil and a lot of anxiety. They cannot rise above hells and cycle of Existence".

"Listen, Ananda, I should warn you not to be careless. The Dhamma I have attained is very difficult to realize. The community at large delights in attachment; being careless, they are attached to their emotions. In this condition, the principle of Idappaccayata or specific conditionality or Dependent Origination will be difficult to grasp, and so too the peace of ending all the kamma formations, the destruction of all defilement, the cessation of tanha, viraga (destruction of passion), nirodha, and nibbana. The Buddha thought that his teaching would be in vain, there being only careless people deluded and attached to the idea of Self".

"Ananda, you should know that the Dhamma which I have explained is indeed easy for a wise person who is not deluded by the idea of Self and carried away by it. To him the Dhamma is simple to understand, melodious, delicate and subtle. However, it is difficult for people who believe in Ego, who are careless. Never in their life will they be able to see right through into the depth of this Dhamma."

The Principle of the Dependent Origination has two meanings. The first one starts from "Through ignorance there are conditioned volitional actions." It is about the understanding of "the arising" of phenomena. The second meaning concerns the enlightenment of their extinction. The first part shows the arising of the Cause of suffering or samudaya (tanha). The final part deals with the Enlightenment of the Cessation of suffering (nirodhavara). Dependent Origination in forward and reverse order:-

Imas mim, sati idam hoti: When this is, that is; this arising, that arises. When this is not, that is not; this ceasing, that ceases. This is called "Idappajjayata". Starting from suffering in the 4 Noble Truths which is craving,

From Dependence on Ignorance arise Karma Formations.

From Dependence on Karma Formations arises Consciousness.

From Dependence on Consciousness arise Mind and Matter.

From Dependence on Mind and Matter arise the Six Sense-Bases.

From Dependence on the Six Sense-Bases arise Contact.

From Dependence on Contact arises Feeling.

From Dependence on Feeling arises Craving.

From Dependence on Craving arises Clinging.

From Dependence on Clinging arises Becoming.

From Dependence on Becoming arises Birth.

From Dependence on Birth arises Decay and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair will arise. Thus arises this whole mass of suffering.

Through the total fading away and extinction of ignorance, kamma-Formations are extinguished.
Through the extinction of kamma-Formations, Consciousness is extinguished.
Through the extinction of Consciousness, Mind and Matter are extinguished.
Through the extinction of Mind and Matter, the Six Sense-Bases are extinguished.
Through the extinction of the Six Sense-Bases, Contact is extinguished.
Through the extinction of Contact, Feeling is extinguished.
Through the extinction of Feeling, Craving is extinguished.
Through the extinction of Craving, Clinging is extinguished.
Through the extinction of Clinging, Becoming is extinguished.
Through the extinction of Becoming, Birth is extinguished.
Through the extinction of Birth, Decay, Death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are extinguished. Thus the whole mass of suffering is extinguished.

The component parts of Dependent Origination are those from Avijja to Marana (Avijja > Sankhara> Vinnana > Nama-Rupa > Salayatana > Phassa > Vedana > Tanha > Upadana > Bhava > Jati > Jara Marana). Sorrow, lamentation, pain and grief are only by-products. They appear within the person who, having defilement has to go through Jara and Marana. They are latent dispositions, which cause ignorance and the origin of the wheel.

In his teachings, the Buddha did not always apply Dependent Origination in a forward sequence: this full and correct order was for showing the principles. When it came to practice, which started from questions, he taught in reverse order: Jara Marana < Jati < Bhava < Upadana < Tanha < Vedana < Phassa < Salayatana < Nama - Rupa < Vinnana < Sankhara < Avijja.

COMPOSITIONS OF A PERSON'S CRAVING

From dependence on Impulses arises Craving.

From dependence on Craving arises Searching (or Pursuit).

From dependence on Searching arises Fortune.

From dependence on Fortune arises Decision (or Resolve).

From dependence on Resolve arises Love.

From dependence on Love arises Preoccupation.

From dependence on Preoccupation arises Attachment.

From dependence on Attachment arise Miserliness.

From dependence on Miserliness arises Protection.

From dependence on Protection arises Unwholesome Dhamma (or demerit).

WHOLESOME DHAMMA - UNWHOLESOME DHAMMA

(The mind which is full of intelligence, reasonable wisdom and peace - The mind which is not intelligent, but stupid, depressed, cloudy or restless.)

Unwholesome Dhamma is an unskilful action such as killing, quarrelling, squabbling, slandering and lying. The mind is overcome by Ignorance, bound up by the chain of craving which is never fulfilled.

If human beings in this world want to find the way to overcome impulses and craving which are the latent qualities of their mind, they should study Dependent Origination. This Dhamma, which is the Buddha's transcendental wisdom, is the key to dispel all the Unwholesome Dhamma which makes people plunge into the heap of Suffering, so full of anxiety. Peace and contentment will thereby appear in every human being's mind.

Dependent Origination is the Truth which is necessary for all Buddhists to study because it is the way to understand the states of human mind by the practice of the Four Foundations of mindfulness, applying mindfulness (Sati) and wisdom (panna) to contemplate the body, feelings, the mind and reality. This practice is undertaken in order to understand Suffering, the Cause of Suffering and to know the way to Cessation of Suffering. This is called practicing the Dhamma until wisdom arises. When wisdom appears, Ignorance is eliminated.

Dependent Origination can be broken up into different forms and subsequently analyzed for meditators to understand and gain wisdom. They have to contemplate each step in turn in the Cycle. Extinction takes place consecutively. Wisdom arises followed by a clear comprehension in the Cycle of Existence. There is no doubt left concerning birth, old age, disease and death. This realization will free one from the Cycle. The defilement’s, craving and attachment will be eliminated. One will gain the Four Noble Paths and their Fruition and will finally realize nibbana. This can be called Extinction and is the Noble Path and Fruition of the Perfect One (arahat) and nibbana. It is the highest virtue of celestial and human beings.

THE BUDDHA

When the Buddha discovered that Ignorance was the root cause of Suffering, he used the Path of Truth, which is transcendental wisdom, to destroy latent dispositions which are buried deep in the flowing panorama of successive mental states. Consequently he became enlightened about the three worlds (the sensuous planes, the form planes and formless plane), the impermanence of Self and Egolessness. What we call Ego consists of four elements, earth, water, fire and wind. It is no more than the combination of the element corporeality and mentality.

Therefore Ignorance is dispelled by his wisdom; the Buddha achieved the real Extinction of kamma Formations through the Noble Path of Truth and freed himself from the snare of the origin of Suffering. The Transcendental wisdom which appears is compared with the light of virtue that shines in the heart of the one who practices. Right up to the present day, worlds of the followers have always been happy and peaceful. The Buddha's transcendental knowledge is the Dhamma for Cessation of suffering, curing one from the disease of craving which is the science of delusion in the Cycle of Existence.

THE ORIGIN OF DEPENDENT ORIGINATION

The causes of Dependent Origination are as follows:

- From Dependence on Ignorance arise Karma Formations.

- From Dependence on Karma formations arises Consciousness.

- From Dependence on Consciousness arises Mind and Matter.

- From Dependence on Mind and Matter arise the Six Sense-Bases.

- From Dependence on the Six Sense - Bases arises Contact.

- From Dependence on Contact arises Feeling.

- From Dependence on Feeling arises Craving.

- From Dependence on Craving arises Clinging.

- From Dependence on Clinging arises Becoming.

- From Dependence on Becoming arises Birth.

- From Dependence on Birth arises Decay and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair will arise.

The arising of this whole mass of suffering is called "Dependent Origination."

Dependent Extinction is as follows:

Through the total fading away and extinction of ignorance, kamma-Formation are extinguished.

Through the extinction of kamma-Formation, Consciousness is extinguished.

Through the extinction of Consciousness, Mind and Matter are extinguished.

Through the extinction of Mind and Matter, the Six Sense-Bases are extinguished.

Through the extinction of the Six Senses-Bases, Contact is extinguished.

Through the extinction of Contact, Feeling is extinguished.

Through the extinction of Feeling, Craving is extinguished.

Through the extinction of Craving, Clinging is extinguished.

Through the extinction of Clinging, Becoming is extinguished.

Through the extinction of Becoming, Birth is extinguished.

Through the extinction of Birth, Decay, Death, sorrow, lamentation, pain,

grief and despair are extinguished.

The extinction of this whole mass of suffering means freeing oneself from the snare or loop of Dependent Origination.

COMPONENT PARTS OF DEPENDENT ORIGINATION

The Cycle of life is consisted of past, present and future and the components of birth. There is no end and no first cause can be found. What is the cause of birth and death? It starts from the past, moves from the past to the present, from present to future, future to past and past to present again, like an endless chain. This is called the Cycle of Dependent Origination or the base of the Birth of suffering.

1. Ignorance (Avijja) is ignorance of the real nature of Suffering in the mind, its cause, Cessation of Suffering (in the mind), and the Path leading to Cessation of Suffering.
From Dependence on Ignorance (Avijja), Karma Formations arise.

2. Karma Formations (Sankhara) are volitional activities. - Bodily Formations - Verbal Formations - Mental Formations
From Dependence on kamma Formations, Consciousness arises.

3. Consciousness (Vinnana) is the rising of Consciousness of the sense object through the 6 sense organs.
Eyes - Eye Consciousness Ears - Ear Consciousness Nose - Nose Consciousness Tongue - Tongue Consciousness Body - Body Consciousness
From Dependence on Consciousness, Mind and Matter arise.

4. Mind and Matter (Nama-Rupa):
- Nama is Mind within the physical body. It is subtle and delicate in nature and branches out into: - Feeling or Sensation (Vedana) - Perception, Memory (Sanna) - Volition (Cetana) - Contact (Phassa), Mental Impression - Mental Application, Pondering (Manasikara)- Rupa is the physical body, which can be contacted by eyes. Its nature is gross and combined with the 4 Primary Elements of Earth, Water, Fire and Wind. From Dependence on Mind and Matter, Six Sense Organs arise.

5. Six Sense Organs (Salayatana): The Six Sense Objects, forms, sounds, odours, tastes, tangible and mental objects, collide with their respective sense organs giving rise to six types of Consciousness.
Eyes - Eye Contact Ears - Ear Contact Nose - Nose Contact Tongue - Tongue Contact Body - Body Contact Mind - Mind Contact
From Dependence on the Six Sense Organs, Contact arises.

6. Contact, Mental Impression (Phassa) is the conjunction of the sense bases, sense object and the resultant Consciousness.
Visual consciousness - eye (and forms) Auditory consciousness - ear (and sounds) Olfactory consciousness - nose (and odours) Gustatory consciousness - tongue (and tastes) Tactile consciousness - body (and tangible objects) Mind consciousness - Mind (and mental objects)
From Dependence on Contact, Sensation arises.

7. Sensation, Feeling (Vedana) is the feeling that experiences an object when it comes in contact with the senses, whether it is pleasant, unpleasant or indifferent.

- Feeling arisen from visual contact - eyes

- Feeling arisen from auditory contact - ears

- Feeling arisen from olfactory contact - nose

- Feeling arisen from gustatory contact - tongue

- Feeling arisen from physical contact - body

- Feeling arisen from mental contact - mind.

From Dependence on Sensation, Craving arises.

8. Craving (Tanha) There are 6 kinds of craving corresponding to the 6 sense objects.- Craving for forms - Craving for sounds - Craving for odours
- Craving for tastes - Craving for tangible objects - Craving for mental objects.
From Dependence on Craving, Grasping arises.

9. Grasping (Upadana) Grasping is clinging to sense-objects and the 5 aggregates.

- Clinging to sensuality

- Clinging to views

- Clinging to mere rules and rites

- Clinging to ego-belief (belief that 5 aggregates are Ego)

From Dependence on Grasping, Becoming arises.

10. Becoming (Bhava) is the mind, which searches, full of impulses and emotions. It is the mind of an ordinary man who is dominated by craving, of one who intends to take a rebirth through craving for existence as the result of attachment in the previous physical forms and lives. There are 3 planes of existence.

- The Sensuous planes - the worlds of humans, animals and celestial beings.

- The Form planes - of divine beings.

- The Formless planes - of divine beings.
From Dependence on Becoming, Birth arises.

11. Birth (Jati) is Rebirth, which is the arising of psychophysical phenomena. Men and women form attachment to one another leading to sexual intercourse. Consequently, beings with aggregates and senses are born.
From Dependence on Birth, Old age, Death, Sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair arise.

12. Old Age and Death (Jara, Marana)

Jara means decay such as the hair turning grey, teeth dropping out, wrinkled skin, getting older, and the decline of sense faculties. These are impermanent conditions and are full of suffering. Marana means movement, destruction, and death, the breaking up of the aggregates, the elimination of the sense faculties.

The source of all this Suffering is Ignorance, which can be compared with a plant. The plant grows into a tree, complete with roots, trunk, leaves, flowers and fruits. However, its origin cannot be found. In the same way a sentient being's physical and mental factors arise dependent on Ignorance, of which no one can trace its origin. It has already appeared as a chain of Dependent Origination.

An ordinary man can only stop the Cycle of Dependent Origination temporarily because he has no transcendental wisdom about the 5 aggregates.

On the other hand a Noble One can stop the Cycle permanently by transcendental wisdom. He will never take a Rebirth again. It is the real Extinguishing and is like a fire which has completely gone out once its fuel has been consumed. The 5 aggregates are really understood by the appearance of wisdom.