Extracted from the website of Buddhist Vajrayana Charity Funds Association and translated (十二因緣與三世二重因果的關係) into English:
Relationship between Twelve Links of Dependent Origination and
Two-Layer Cause-Effect Spanning the
Three Lifetimes (Past, Present and Future)
(1) | Two-Layer Cause-Effect Spanning the Three Lifetimes and Confusion-Karma-Suffering |
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Confusion: means annoyance and trouble. | |
Karma: means committing good/bad karma. This term mostly refers to negative aspect. | |
Suffering: means affliction. |
(2) | Detailed Explanation | |
1. | Ignorance | |
● | Failure to realise real fact and real reasoning. | |
● | Unknown or mistaken knowledge. Since the time of no beginning, the hazy ignorant willpower, that feels like sense and non-sense, is known as non-consciousness. Upon death, all levels of consciousness assimilate and vanish into the fundamental consciousness — the Eighth Consciousness. | |
2. | Karmic Formation | |
● | Due to the failure to realise real fact and real reasoning, various karma is created. | |
● | Within the fundamental consciousness, the seed of bad habit becomes active. This generates all kinds of Bardo illusions, combined viewpoints of Ignorance and Karmic Activity, which is hazy willpower (Blind Will). | |
3. | Consciousness | |
● | The consciousness at the moment of conception. | |
● | The encouragement of ‘Conduct & Wish’. The mind consciousness starts getting active. This is the Bardo illusion. Until the mind consciousness becomes absolutely clear so as to clearly distinguish the external environment, then the third branch of "Consciousness" is complete. | |
4. | Name and Form | |
● | After fertilisation, the individual entity possesses two major ingredients of the physical matter and the non-physical matter (Nama), and with the six senses not yet developed, this is known as Namarupa. Nama means the four aggregates of feeling, perception, formation, consciousness and Rupa means the physical shape. | |
● | Sentient beings within Bardo is driven by karma. The ‘consciousness’ of sentient beings that possesses greed towards the father and anger towards the mother results in a female body; and vice versa for a male body. After consciousness has reincarnated, it unites with parents’ sperm and egg into one body. ‘Name’ being the mind consciousness and ‘Form’ being the sperm and egg. Now, both the psychological and biological, the consciousness and body, blend into one body. | |
5. | Six senses | |
● | After fertilisation, the embryo gradually develops the six roots of sense, known as the six senses. | |
● | A few months after the phase of ‘Name and Form’, the six senses of the foetus becomes fully developed. | |
6. | Contact | |
After birth and before the age of two to three years old, there is contact with the three states of sense, environment and consciousness, but there is not yet any understanding of feelings in hardship, happiness and renunciation. | ||
7. | Feeling | |
Between the ages of four to fifteen years old, the feelings of hardship, happiness and renunciation are understood, but sexual desire has not yet arisen. | ||
8. | Craving | |
After the age of sixteen or seventeen years old, the desire of craving and lust is generated from the feeling of happiness, but not widely pursued. | ||
9. | Clinging/ Attachment | |
As one gradually grows older, due to the desire of craving, one tries one's best to pursue, grasp and to contend with. | ||
10. | Becoming | |
This is equivalent to the time of when personal characteristics are fully matured, everything ‘in life in this world’ is in existence and in motion, and can amass various karmas. | ||
11. | Life | |
The existence of this life, the karmic force, the limb decides the ‘life’ of the future. (This life creates the consciousness at the exact moment of fertilization/conception). | ||
12. | Old Age, Sickness & Death | |
One is getting old, body is getting decayed and life is going to end. That means after the maturity of the physical body which is formed by Five Aggregates, it gradually enters the process of deterioration and one becomes old. When approaching the old age, one easily gets sick. During sickness, body becomes unstable, life is ruined and finally one dies. |