How Karma Works: The Twelve links of Dependent Arising

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How Karma Works: The Twelve links of Dependent Arising

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

We all want to find happiness and be free from suffering. Happiness comes from positive mental states and actions, and suffering from the opposite. The twelve-part process of dependent arising shows how actions underlain by ignorance propel us from one rebirth into another, keeping us trapped in suffering, and how through understanding reality correctly we can break this cycle. The four noble truths, the twelve links of dependent arising, and the two truths regarding conventional and ultimate reality, all interrelated, form the very core of the Buddha's teaching. The many different practices of sutra and tantra become meaningful and purposeful only when they are based on a good understanding of these fundamental and seminal principles. This oral teaching by Geshe Sonam Rinchen is based on the Rice Seedling Sutra and the twenty-sixth chapter of Nagarjuna's Treatise on the Middle Way. (Source: Shambhala Publications)

Citation

Rinchen, Geshe Sonam. How Karma Works: The Twelve links of Dependent Arising. Translated and edited by Ruth Sonam. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2006.

Table of contents

• 1. The Wheel of Existence7
• 2. The Root of Our Troubles13
• 3. Dependent Arising19
• 4. How Things Are Produced23
• 5. Extricating Ourselves35
• 6. The Twelve Links45
• 7. Ignorance49
• 8. Action and Rebirth59
• 9. Experience and Response69
• 10. Birth, Aging, and Death77
• 11. Advice about Actions83
• 12. Reversing the Process91
• 13. A Gift for the King95

• Appendix 1: Contents of Nagarjuna's Treatise on the Middle Way99
• Appendix 2: Ways of Summarizing the Twelve Links105
• The Root Text: Examining the Twelve Links of Existence109

• The TIbetan Text113
• Notes117
• Source Readings141

Interconnections

Works related to this item

Avidyā - Literally "unknowing," it refers to a lack of knowledge or misunderstanding of the nature of reality. As such, it is considered to be the root cause of suffering and the basis for the arising of all other negative mental factors. Skt अविद्या  Tib མ་རིག་པ་  Ch 無明  

Go to the page with the definition of 'ignorance'

Tantra - Tantra, when juxtaposed with Sūtra, generally refers to the scriptures and texts which discuss esoteric topics. While the term is used to refer to texts on other topics, it is mostly used to refer to the genre of scriptures and texts on themes and topics associated with Vajrayāna Buddhism. Skt तन्त्र  Tib རྒྱུད།  Ch 密宗  

Go to the page with the definition of 'tantra'