12 link chain of ignorance and wisdom

taiyaki

When conditioned by deluded mind:

1. ignorance

2. volitional actions

3. consciousness:

4. mind/body

5. six sense organs and their objects

6. contact

7. feeling

8. craving

9. grasping

10. coming to be

11. birth

12. old age and death

When conditioned by true mind:

1. clear understanding

2. great aspiration

3. four wisdoms: wisdom of wonderful realization, wonderful observation wisdom, wisdom of equality, great mirror wisdom.

4. transformation body

5. result body

6. mindfulness of contact

7. mindfulness of feeling

8. four immeasurable minds

9. freedom

10. wondrous being

11. wisdom of no-birth

12. wisdom of no-death




I've never seen the second 12 link chain. Found it in The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching [Paperback] by
Thich Nhat Hanh (Author).

Enjoy!

Victorious

EDIT Sorry to fast answer.

DaltheJigsaw

Thank you!

Jeffrey

Taiyaki, what did the book say about the 4 great wisdoms in the third link of the transformed links (2nd 12 links)? Did they talk about these?

taiyaki

From the book: just as volitional actions condition consciousness, the great aspiration conditions wisdom. When our ignorance has been transformed, what we have been calling consciousness becomes wisdom. Consciousness is described in the Vijnanavada schema in terms of eight consciousnesses, and these are transformed into four wisdoms. When the seeds of awakening, love, and compassion in our store consciousness have been developed and matured, our store consciousness is transformed and becomes the great mirror wisdom that reflects the reality of the cosmos. All the seeds that can become the great mirror wisdom are already present in our store consciousness. We only have to water them. Great mirror wisdom is the outcome of the vow to save beings as our volitional action.

When we invoke the name of Avalokiteshvara, this is the willingness and capacity of being there, listening, responding to suffering, and helping beings. When we invoke the name of Samantabhadra, that is the willingness and capacity of acting mindfully and joyfully to serve others. When we invoke the name of Manjushri, that is the willingness and capacity of looking deeply, understanding and being the eyes of the world. With this kind of will, guided by clear understanding, our consciousness becomes an instrument of engagement in the world. The presence of a buddha is an example of this kind of volitional action, an offering of consciousness of what is going on, the willingness to help and knowing what to do and how to do it in preer to alleviate the suffering in the world. That consciousness manifests in mind/body, just as it does for everybody else. But the quality of the buddhas mind/body is different from ours and we can see that.

taiyaki

We have to learn the ways to use our consciousness as a tool of transformation. Our six sense organs - eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind - can contribute toward the arising of great mirror wisdom. We see that the buddha also has six senses that enter into contact with six sense objects, but he knows how to guard his senses so that more internal knots will not be tied. The buddha used his six senses skillfully and realizes wonderful things. The first five consciousness become the wisdom of wonderful realization. We can use these five consciousness to serve others. Mind consciousness, upon emancipation, becomes the wonderful observation wisdom, wisdom that can see things as they are.

taiyaki

When the six senses and their objects make contact, this contact gives rise to a pleasant, unpleasant, neutral feeling. When a bodhisattva sees a child suffering, she knows how it feels to suffer, and she also has an unpleasant feeling. But because of that suffering,, concern and compassion arise in her and she is determined to act. Bodhisattvas suffer like the rest of us, but in a bodhisattva, feelings do not give rise to craving or aversion. The give rise to concern, the desire and the willingness to stay in the midst of suffering and confusion, to act.

taiyaki

When a bodhisattva sees a beautiful flower, she recognizes that the flower is beautiful. But she also sees the nature of impermanence in the flower. That is why there is no attachment. She has a pleasant feeling, but it does not create internal formation. Emancipation does not mean that she suppresses all feelings. When she comes into contact with hot water, she knows it is hot. Feelings are normal. In fact, these feelings help her dwell in happiness, not the kind of happiness that is subject to sorrow and anxiety, but the kind of happiness that nourishes. When you practice breathing, smiling, being touched by the air and the water, that kind of happiness does not create suffering in you. It helps you be strong and sane, able to go further on your way towards realization. Buddhas, bodhisattvas and many others have the capacity of enjoying a pleasant feeling, the kind of feeling that is healing and rejuvenating without becoming attached. The feeling that we have when we see people oppressed or starving can give rise in us to concern, compassion, and the willingness to act with equanimity, not with attachment.

taiyaki

The wisdom of equality comes from the seventh consciousness, manas. Manas is the number one discriminator. It says, " This is me. This is mine. This is not mine. " That is mana's speciality. We have to keep this consciousness, so that it can become the wisdom of equality. Our consciousness has to be transformed and not thrown away. It is the same with the Five Aggregates. We don't say, "The Five Aggregates are suffering," and throw them away. If we do, there will be nothing left-no nirvana, no peace, and no joy. We need an intelligent policy for taking care of our garbage.

Wonderful observational wisdom transforms manas into the wisdom of equality. We are one. We are equal. I may think you are my enemy, but while touching the ultimate dimension, I see that you and I are one. Sometimes we only need to touch the Earth once, and the wisdom of equality appears right in the heart of our manas consciousness. Wonderful observation wisdom takes the place of the sixth consciousness, mind consciousness. Before the disappearance of ignorance, the sixth consciousness gives rise to many wrong perceptions, like seeing a rope as a snake, and a lot of suffering. Thanks to "transformation at the base"-the store-consciousness becoming Great Mirror Wisdom-the sixth consciousness can be transformed into Wonderful Observation Wisdom.

taiyaki

The fourth wisdom, Great mirror wisdom, bring about miracles. In the past, our eye consciousness made us infatuated or put us in the dark. Now, with our eyes open, we can see the Dharmakaya, the teaching body of the buddha. When our mind is clear like a calm river, the sixth consciousness is wonderful observation wisdom and our store consciousness is great mirror wisdom.

Clear understanding conditions the great aspiration and wisdom. If consciousness conditions mind/body, what does wisdom condition? We have body and mind, bodhisattvas have body and mind, and the Buddha has a body and mind. We should not throw away our body and mind in order to experience liberation. We use the term Nirmanakaya (transformation body). In this body and mind, there is no longer ignorance, volitional actions, or wrong consciousness. The function of this body and mind is to awaken and liberate living beings. Love and compassion can manifest in hundred of thousands of different forms. Avalokiteshvara can appear as a child, a politician, or as a beautiful woman with a voice as clear as the song of the kalavinka bird, the Indian cuckoo. A bodhisattva can be beautiful or ugly, poor or rich, healthy or sick. Any mind/body that has the function to bring about love, understanding, and happiness is the transformation body of the Buddha.

taiyaki

Taiyaki, what did the book say about the 4 great wisdoms in the third link of the transformed links (2nd 12 links)? Did they talk about these?

Hope this helps.

taiyaki

After clarity there is bodhicitta. birth is a continuation and death is a continuation, birth is an appearance and death is an appearance. nirvana is birth and death from right view.

great book guys. highly recommend it.

Jeffrey

I used to have that book and lost it at some point. I agree, great book!

Thanks for typing all that out!