The Mechanism of Uncontrollably Recurring Rebirth

The twelve links of dependent arising (rten-’brel yan-lag bcu-gnyis, Skt. dvādaṡāṅga-pratītya-samutpāda) are:

1. The link of unawareness
2. The link of affecting impulses 
3. The link of loaded consciousness 
4. The link of the nameable mental faculties with or without gross form
5. The link of stimulators of cognition 
6. The link of contacting awareness
7. The link of feeling a level of happiness
8. The link of craving 
9. The link of an obtainer 
10. The link of further existence 
11. The link of conception
12. The link of aging and dying.

[1] The Link of Unawareness

The link of unawareness (ma-rig-pa’i yan-lag, Skt. avidyāṅga) in a chain of dependent arising is defined as the mental factor (sems-byung, Skt. caitta, subsidiary awareness) of not knowing voidness. 

• Prasangika asserts that this refers to there being no such thing as the truly established existence (bden-med) of both persons and all phenomena. All other Buddhist tenet systems assert that this refers only to the selflessness (bdag-med) of persons, both us and others. There is no such thing as a person that is either separate from the aggregates or identical with the aggregates. 
• Among the non-Prasangika Buddhist tenet systems, all except Vaibhashika assert this to include both the doctrinally based and automatically arising forms of this unawareness. Vaibhashika asserts it to be only the doctrinally based form.
• According to the masters of all Buddhist tenet system before Dharmakirti, this unawareness was equivalent to being closed-minded about voidness, which made an obstacle to correctly knowing it. After Dharmakirti, it was taken to knowing voidness incorrectly. 

Being unaware of the actual way in which all things exist, we hold onto the distorted notion that our ego-identity and all that we encounter in our environment exist as separate, individual entities unto themselves. We strive to defend and assert our supposedly concrete ego-identity and in the process act under the defiling influence of longing desire, hostility and naivety. As suffering is generated by such defiled behavior, unawareness is called the root of samsara (’khor-ba’i rtsa-ba).

Thus, the link of unawareness acts as the motivating force (kun-slong, Skt. samutthāna) driving affecting impulses. In this way it is connected with the other eleven links to form a chain of dependent arising.

[2] The Link of Affecting Impulses

The link of affecting impulses (’du-byed-kyi yan-lag, Skt. saṃskārāṅga), or link of karmic impulses (las, Skt. karma), refers to the karmic impulses for one of the seven destructive or seven constructive actions of body or speech, from the standard lists of ten destructive and ten constructive karmic actions – an action that has been committed and has reached its intended outcome. Specifically, such a karmic impulse is one that has been preceded by a karmic impulse for one of the three destructive or three constructive actions of the mind, from the standard lists of ten. That action is to think over and decide to commit that action of the body or speech. 

The karmic impulse for the action of body or speech generates a sequence of dormant karmic seeds (sa-bon, Skt. bīja) for a throwing karmic impulse (’phen-byed-kyi las) – the mental factor of an urging (sems-pa, Skt. cetanā) that will throw our consciousness into its future rebirth state. The karmic impulses for these actions of mind, body and speech all arise under the influence of unawareness. In this way the affecting impulses are connected with the other eleven links to form a chain of dependent arising.

[3] The Link of Loaded Consciousness

The link of loaded consciousness (rnam-shes-kyi yan-lag, Skt. vijñānāṅga) is defined as the principle faculty of awareness (gtso-bo rnam-rig) – namely, the mind consciousness that is accompanied by a cluster of mental factors – that is loaded with the karmic seeds of throwing karma. 

Thus, in our daily life, we are constantly forging the first three links of many potentially complete chains of dependent arising. Under the influence of unawareness of the way in which all things actually exist, we perform countless karmic actions, thereby planting countless karmic seeds in our consciousness. Each set of these three links has the potential to generate a complete chain.

[4] The Link of the Nameable Mental Faculties with or without Gross Form

The link of the nameable mental faculties with or without gross form (ming-dang gzugs-kyi yan-lag, Skt. nāmarūpāṅga) refers to the thrown result of throwing karma. In the case of limited beings born from a womb or an egg, this link refers specifically to the period of time from when the thrown consciousness joins the combined sperm and egg of its future parents at the moment of conception until just before its cognitive faculties of seeing, hearing and so forth are differentiated.

For limited beings born in either of these two manners, the aggregate of form appears initially at conception, and the other four aggregate mental faculties develop subsequently from their latent potentials (nus-pa, Skt. samartha). Thus, if this fourth link is divided into the links of gross form (gzugs-kyi rten-’brel, Skt. rūpāṅga) and of the nameable mental faculties (ming-gi rten-’brel, Skt. nāmāṅga), then for such limited beings the former refers to the elements of the jelly-like fetus, which is the aggregate of forms (gzugs-kyi phung-po, Skt. rūpa-skandha, form aggregate). The latter, then, refers to the latent potentials for all the mental faculties that are present and nameable at conception, but not yet functional. These mental faculties, both the six types of primary consciousness and the fifty-one mental factors to be discussed below, when fully mature are distributed among the aggregate factors of feelings (tshor-ba’i phung-po, Skt. vedanā-skandha), distinguishing (’du-shes-kyi phung-po, Skt. saṃjñā-skandha), other affecting variables (’du-byed-kyi phung-po, Skt. saṃskāra-skandha) and consciousness (rnam-shes-kyi phung-po, Skt. vijñāna-skandha).

In the case of limited beings born through transformation, all five aggregate factors are formed at once, fully developed. Therefore, for such beings, the link of nameable mental faculties refers to the four nameable aggregate mental faculties before the various cognitive faculties are differentiated, rather than to their mere latent potentials.

Not all limited beings have a gross physical form. Roughly speaking, divine beings of the plane of formless beings have merely the four aggregate mental faculties. Therefore, this fourth link in a chain of dependent arising is called the link of the nameable mental faculties with or without gross form.

[5] The Link of Stimulators of Cognition

The link of stimulators of cognition (skye-mched-kyi yan-lag, Skt. āyatanāṅga) refers to the period of time from when the stimulators of (the six types of) cognition (skye-mched, Skt. āyatana) first materialize through the period when as a fetus we are still unable to distinguish objects of cognition even though all three spheres of a cognitive faculty are present. The six sets of stimulators of cognition refer to the cognitive sensors (dbang-po, Skt. indriya) and objects of cognition (yul, Skt. viṣaya) of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. The three spheres or sources (khams, Skt. dhātu) of a cognitive faculty are an object of cognition, the cognitive sensors of that faculty and its primary consciousness (rnam-shes, Skt. vijñāna).

[6] The Link of Contacting Awareness

The link of contacting awareness (reg-pa’i yan-lag, Skt. sparśāṅga) refers to the period of time, after the physical bases of the six cognitive faculties have been formed, when as a fetus we can distinguish objects of cognition whenever the three components are present, yet we still do not respond to these distinctions. Specifically, the link of contacting awareness refers to the mental factor that now differentiates objects of cognition of any of the six cognitive faculties as being either pleasant (yid-du ’ong-ba, Skt. mano-jñā), unpleasant (yid-du mi-’ong-ba, Skt. amano-jñā) or neutral (bar-ma, Skt. madhya).

[7] The Link of Feeling a Level of Happiness

The link of feeling a level of happiness (tshor-ba’i yan-lag, Skt. vedanāṅga), or response link, refers to the period of time, starting from when we are still a fetus, during which we respond to distinctions of pleasure, pain or neutrality experienced with reference to objects of cognition. Specifically, it refers to the mental factor that now responds to something pleasant with a feeling of happiness (bde-ba, Skt. sukha), to something unpleasant with unhappiness (sdug-bsngal, Skt. duḥkha, suffering) and to something neutral with equanimity (btang-snyoms, Skt. upekṣā).

[8] The Link of Craving

The link of craving (sred-pa’i yan-lag, Skt. tṛṣṇāṅga), as well as the next two links, occur at the time of death and activate the dormant seeds of throwing karma planted in our consciousness because of unawareness. It is the initial activator in this process and is defined as a craving desire in accordance with feelings of happiness, unhappiness or indifference.

There are three specific types of this craving: 

• Craving in relation to what is desirable (’dod-sred), together with longing desire to continue experiencing it in the future
• Craving because of fear (’jigs-sred), namely craving to be separated from all forms of unhappiness and suffering 
• Craving in relation to further existence (srid-sred), a craving for our own body with all five aggregate factors.

[9] The Link of an Obtainer

The link of an obtainer (nyer-len-gyi yan-lag, Skt. upādānāṅga) brings out the full power of the seeds of throwing karma once they are activated. It comes into operation when our craving desire grows intense and frantic as we realize we are about to die. We then grasp for security, desperately longing to possess, for instance, an enduring body endowed only with happiness and divorced from all suffering.

There are four obtainer disturbing emotions and disturbing attitudes, any one of which, together with craving, activates throwing karma at the time of death and thus brings about the “obtaining” of a future samsaric rebirth: 

• Obtainer desire (’dod-pa nye-bar len-pa, Skt. kāma-upādāna) for sensory objects, trying to possess sights, sounds, smells, tastes and physical sensations (’dod-pa’i yon-tan lnga, Skt. pañca-kāma-guṇa, five desirable qualities), in the hope of gaining from them enduring happiness, freedom from suffering and security
• Obtainer deluded outlook (lta-ba nye-bar len-pa, Skt. dṛṣṭy-upādāna), such as the belief that there are no such things as cause and effect and future lives, and that we will not have to experience any results from having committed destructive actions during the life that is now ending
• Obtainer attitude holding deluded ethical self-discipline or conduct as supreme (tshul-khrims-dang brtul-zhugs nye-bar len-pa, Skt. śīla-vrata-upādāna), such as barking like a dog in the frantic hope that this will bring us a human rebirth free of suffering
• Obtainer attitude asserting one’s identity (bdag-tu smra-ba nye-bar len-pa, Skt. ātma-vāda-upādāna), trying to gain a sense of security from it or from things with which we identify, desperately longing for them to have an inherent, truly independent existence of their own.

This last form of an obtainer disturbing attitude is based on the deluded view toward a transitory network, namely regarding that which changes as being our concrete ego-identity. The second type of obtainer may also be at such deluded view as an extreme outlook or holding a deluded view as supreme.

[10] The Link of Further Existence

The link of further existence (srid-pa’i yan-lag, Skt. bhavāṅga) is a throwing karmic impulse that has been activated at the time of death by the links of craving and of an obtainer. It is the mental factor an urging that prods the mind consciousness to stop taking as its physical basis the elements of the present body and to take instead, in the next moment, the elements of a body in another state of existence:

• Bardo existence (bar-do’i srid-pa) refers to the time between death and rebirth
• Conception existence (skye-srid) refers to the moment of conception
• Predeath existence (sngon-dus-kyi srid-pa, sngon-gyi srid-pa) extends from the moment after conception to that of death
• Death existence (’chi-srid) is the moment of death itself, the threshold between life and the bardo.

These four states of existence are like the hands of a clock revolving through the same cycle repeatedly. Until we break free from its vicious cycle, we will be forced to repeat this cycle without any control over it.

Of the twelve links of dependent arising, only the links of further existence and affecting impulses are actual types of karma. Karma is not actions themselves.

The term “further existence” (srid-pa, becoming) is used as a synonym for “samsara” (’khor-ba, cyclic existence), defined as anything thrown by the forces of karma and disturbing emotions. 

[11] The Link of Conception

The link of conception (skye-ba’i yan-lag, Skt. jatyaṅga) refers to the moment when our consciousness first makes contact with the elements of its future rebirth state as a limited being born in any of the four manners. Thus, when born from either a womb or an egg, this link refers to the moment when the elements of the embryo are sufficiently developed so as to be able to serve as the physical basis for the thrown mind consciousness. Our consciousness makes contact with its future state as the result of having been cast by throwing karma activated at the time of death in a previous lifetime by craving and obtainer and empowered by the link of further existence. The link of conception, lasting only one moment, occurs at the same time as the beginning of the link of nameable mental faculties with or without gross form.

[12] The Link of Aging and Dying

The link of aging and dying (rga-shi’i yan-lag, Skt. jarā-maraṇāṅga). has two divisions: 

• The link of aging (rga-ba’i yan-lag, Skt. jarā-aṅga) begins the moment after conception and continues up until the moment before death
• The link of dying (shi-pa’i yan-lag, Skt. maraṇa-aṅga), which can occur any time after conception, is the moment when our consciousness changes form, leaving its present body for a future rebirth state.

The twelve links of dependent arising may be grouped into:

• The causal links that throw
• The causal links that actualize
• The resultant links of what has been thrown
• The resultant links of what is actualized.

The Causal Links That Throw

The causal links that throw (’phen-byed-kyi yan-lag) our consciousness into its future rebirth state are the unawareness, affecting impulses and causal loaded consciousness links, which describe the process through which throwing karma is built up and its karmic aftermath is “planted” on a mental continuum as the cause for a next rebirth. Thus, unawareness is like a farmer who plants seeds, the affecting impulses are like these seeds, and the consciousness is like the field in which he plants them. 

The Causal Links That Actualize

The causal links that actualize (bsgrub-byed-kyi yan-lag) activate the karmic aftermath of throwing karma in the moments preceding death so that the karmic results will actualize both in the form of our future rebirth state and in the subsequent development of our five aggregate factors of experience. The three causal links that actualize, which come into effect at the time of death are the craving, obtainer and further existence links. The first two are like the moisture, heat and fertilizer activating the growth potential of a seed, while the third resembles the force imparted to a seed by these nutritional factors ensuring that it will sprout.

The Resultant Links of What Has Been Thrown

The resultant links of what has been thrown (’phangs-pa’i ’bras-bu’i yan-lag) refer to the process of development into a being complete with five aggregate factors of what has been thrown into a future rebirth. The link of loaded consciousness has two parts that can be differentiated: 

• The link of loaded consciousness at the time of the cause (rgyu-dus-kyi rnam-shes-kyi yan-lag) refers to our consciousness at the very moment when its throwing karma is set before it is actually cast into its future rebirth state.
• The link of loaded consciousness at the time of the result (’bras-dus-kyi rnam-shes-kyi yan-lag) refers to our consciousness at the very moment when it makes contact with the future rebirth state into which it has been cast by throwing karma.

The resultant links of what has been thrown, therefore, are the link of resultant loaded consciousness, the links of the nameable mental faculties with or without gross form and the stimulators of cognition, as well as the contacting awareness and feeling a level of happiness links, which occur during the development of an embryo in the womb in the life that is thrown by the activated karmic aftermath of throwing karma. These resultant links of what has been thrown are like the development of a seed from the time its growth potential has been fully activated and nourished up until it is ready to sprout.

The Resultant Links of What Is Actualized

The resultant links of what is actualized (mngon-par grub-pa’i ’bras-bu’i yan-lag) refer to the actual rebirth of what has been thrown. They are the links of conception, aging and dying in a future rebirth thrown by the activated karmic aftermath of throwing karma. The first is like the moment when the sprout first appears from the seed. The second resembles the development of leaves and fruit from this sprout. Finally, the third is like the withering and dying of the plant that grew from the original seed the farmer planted in the field.

The shortest time it takes to complete the twelve links in one chain of dependent arising is two lives, while the longest is three. It never takes longer than three separate lives, nor less than two, but they need not follow one another consecutively. Many other lives can intervene between the beginning of a given chain of dependent arising and its completion. 

When a chain is completed in two lives, the causal links that throw (unawareness, affecting impulses and causal loaded consciousness) and those of development (craving, obtainer and further existence) all occur during the first life. The resultant links of what has been thrown (resulting consciousness, the nameable mental faculties with or without gross form, the physical bases of the six cognitive faculties, contact and feeling) and those of what is actualized (birth, aging and dying) are all completed during a subsequent one. Throwing karma that ripens in this way can also be referred to as karma that we experience in a different rebirth.

When a chain of dependent arising is completed in three lives, the causal links that thrown occur during the first one. At the end of a second, the causal links that actualize are completed. The resultant links of what has been thrown and of what is actualized are then both completed in a third life. Throwing karma that ripens in this way can also be referred to as karma that we experience later after a number of future lives.

There is an explanation for everything in life. It is possible for us to understand who we are and how and why we have been reborn in samsara with our present form. If this were not the case, our life would be a causeless mystery. We would feel completely helpless in the face of circumstances, thinking that all our happiness and suffering come from without.

With an understanding of dependent arising, we discover that the source of both our happiness and suffering is internal. If we act with unawareness, having a distorted view of the way in which things actually exist, we set into motion a causal sequence leading eventually to birth, aging and dying, with all the attendant sufferings. If we rid ourselves of unawareness, however, by gaining a non-conceptual, full understanding of voidness, we bring to an end this stream of suffering in the same way that a dam at a river’s source causes the river to dry up.

Five of the links of dependent arising are classified under the second noble truth of the cause of suffering. These are unawareness, affecting impulses, craving, obtainer and further existence. The remaining seven are classified under the first noble truth of suffering itself. Meditating on dependent arising, therefore, we gain a firmer understanding of the noble truths of suffering and its causes. We see how the twelve links form the circular mechanism of the wheel of uncontrollably recurring rebirth and how each of these links itself is an ever-recurring circle. Understanding how our actions, motivated by unawareness, generate this wheel of suffering, then, leads progressively to our understanding the noble truths of the stopping of suffering and the path for this, namely eliminating unawareness through realizing voidness.

Once we understand precisely what the wheel of uncontrollably recurring rebirth is and how it works to bind us to continual suffering, we become more truly disgusted and bored with it. We are overwhelmed with a feeling of futility, realizing that we are going nowhere by continuing to travel on this vicious circular path. The intense feeling we then develop, wishing to be rid of this suffering and out of this circle altogether, is what is called renunciation.

If we do not have a clear idea of what the circle of uncontrollably recurring rebirth is and how it comes into being, we will not have an accurate idea of what to renounce. This circle is not external to us; it does not refer to the external, worldly life as such. If it did, then when we leave this world, as we do in death or in solitary retreat, we would be out of samsara and finished with suffering. 

The main purpose of living in retreat is to cultivate constructive states of mind, which when living with others there are too many hindrances for. If we are not or no longer hindered by living in a community or a big city, there is no need to live in seclusion. Marpa has said:

If you don’t practice properly but just live in seclusion, it is only a cause for rebirth as a groundhog!

If we live in society with proper practice, we can attain enlightenment like Marpa, King Indrabhuti, Saraha and so on.

It is also said that to have your body staying in a cave but mind not under control is useless. Rather live in cave of the mind, for this is the best retreat. Then meditation can be done on the busiest street. Wherever we go, our body goes with us, and so it is a cave for our mind. Therefore, safeguard the mind.

Ra Lotsawa (Rva Lo-tsa-ba rDo-rje grags) has said:

Even if you bind your mouth and imprison yourself in solitude, if you can’t control your mind, these external restrictions are of no benefit.

Liberation, however, is not that simple. As meditation on dependent arising reveals, this vicious circle is internal, contained within our five tainted aggregates (zag-bcas-kyi phung-po, Skt. sāsrava-skandha), and the suffering that is to be renounced is the all-pervasive kind, which derives merely from being born with such tainted aggregates.

Samsara (’khor-ba), the circle of uncontrollably recurring rebirth, is formally defined as any or all of the aggregate factors of experience that are received tainted with the disturbing emotions, arising from the causes of these disturbing emotions, and that are bound together as fetters by throwing karma and the disturbing emotions themselves in the form of karmic seeds.

This definition is often illustrated by the analogy of a naked man carrying a bundle of thorns tied to his shoulders. The thorns are the aggregate factors tainted by the disturbing emotions and attitudes. The rope that binds them to him is throwing karma and the seeds of the disturbing emotions. Only when the man cuts the rope of throwing karma by eliminating his unawareness of voidness can he be free of his tainted aggregates and thus free of his suffering in samsara.

As a more complete understanding of this definition and the twelve links of dependent arising requires a more detailed analysis of the five tainted aggregates, such an analysis will now be given. At its conclusion it will then be possible to clarify this material further.