Dependent Co-Arising View in explorer

12 discourses
Dependent Co-Arising is the principle that when this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises; when this does not exist, that does not come to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases. In the discourses it names both the general pattern of conditionality and, often, the twelve-link unfolding of suffering.
Also known as: dependent origination, dependent arising, conditionality, conditioned arising
Pāli: paṭiccasamuppāda, idappaccayatā
Supported by
Wise attention

Wise attention

Paying attention to the point of contact where experience originates. It discerns the specific cause of the present moment, preventing the mind from drifting into proliferation.

Also known as: proper attention, prudent use of the mind, attention to the source
Pāli: yonisomanasikāra
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Right view

Right view

View that is in line with the Dhamma — teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth.

Also known as: right understanding, right belief, view that is inline with the Dhamma
Pāli: sammādiṭṭhi
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Investigation

Investigation

Investigation involves the process of a careful inquiry of mental states, qualities, and phenomena, examining their arising, persisting, and ceasing in order to understand their true nature and support the cultivation of wisdom and awakening.

Also known as: inquiry, contemplation, examination, analysis, exploration
Pāli: vicaya, vīmaṃsā, parikkhati
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Leads to
Penetrative vision

Penetrative vision

Penetrative vision that discerns phenomena as they arise and pass away, clearly seeing their conditioned nature without clinging.

Also known as: insight into phenomena, clear seeing of the Dhammas
Pāli: vipassanā, dhammavipassanā, anupadadhammavipassanā
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Stream Entry

Stream Entry

The first stage of awakening, where one overcomes the fetters of 1.) personal existence view: view of being someone, that one is an embodied being, 2.) doubt or perplexity regarding suffering, its arising, its ending, and the way of practice leading to the end of suffering, and 3.) adherence to rules and observances as a means of liberation. One who has entered the stream is no longer bound for the lower realms, is fixed in destiny, and is bound for full awakening. The four factors of stream-entry are: 1.) association with persons of integrity, 2.) hearing the true teaching, 3.) wise attention, and 4.) practice in accordance with the Dhamma.

Also known as: entering the stream, fruition of stream-entry
Pāli: sotāpatti, sotāpanna
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Related
Intentional Constructs

Intentional Constructs

Intentional constructs are intentions, volitions, and choices expressed through body, speech, and mind. These are the kamma-producing processes that ‘fabricate’ experience. It is the fourth of the five aggregates.

Also known as: volitional formations, fabrications
Pāli: saṅkhāra
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Consciousness

Consciousness

Consciousness, the fifth aggregate, has two key meanings in the discourses: 1.) The distinctive quality of awareness which knows and arises in dependence on the meeting of eye and form, ear and sound, nose and odor, tongue and taste, body and tangible object, mind and mind object. 2.) A seed that finds a footing in a realm, established by ignorance and intention, leading to renewed existence.

Also known as: awareness, the faculty that distinguishes
Pāli: viññāṇa
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Contact

Contact

The meeting of sense faculty, sense object, and the corresponding consciousness—the convergence of three. Contact is where experience actually touches: from it arise feeling, intention, and perception, and it is the pivotal link between the sense bases and the rest of mental life. It is one of the factors of name (mentality) and a central node in dependent origination.

Also known as: sense impingement, sense impression
Pāli: phassa
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Stream Entry

Stream Entry

The first stage of awakening, where one overcomes the fetters of 1.) personal existence view: view of being someone, that one is an embodied being, 2.) doubt or perplexity regarding suffering, its arising, its ending, and the way of practice leading to the end of suffering, and 3.) adherence to rules and observances as a means of liberation. One who has entered the stream is no longer bound for the lower realms, is fixed in destiny, and is bound for full awakening. The four factors of stream-entry are: 1.) association with persons of integrity, 2.) hearing the true teaching, 3.) wise attention, and 4.) practice in accordance with the Dhamma.

Also known as: entering the stream, fruition of stream-entry
Pāli: sotāpatti, sotāpanna
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Featured Discourses

The Buddha explains the twelve links of dependent co-arising, and how there is an arising and ending of the whole mass of suffering.

The Buddha analyzes each of the twelve links of dependent co-arising, and explains how there is an arising and ending of the whole mass of suffering.

Venerable Kaccānagotta asks the Buddha about right view, and the Buddha explains how the world depends on a duality of existence and non-existence, and how the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma by the middle way.

SN 12.20 Paccaya sutta - Dependence Stable principle, right wisdom

The Buddha teaches about dependent co-arising and the phenomena arisen from dependent co-arising. A noble disciple who has thoroughly seen this with right wisdom will no longer be doubtful about who they were in the past, who they will be in the future, or who they are in the present.

The Buddha explains how one can verify that they are a stream-enterer by reflecting on the five perilous animosities, the four factors of stream-entry, and clearly seeing with wisdom the noble principle of dependent co-arising.

MN 9 Sammādiṭṭhi sutta - Right View Dependent arising in right view

The venerable Sāriputta delivers a comprehensive exposition on “Right View,” detailing sixteen ways a noble disciple achieves clarity in the Dhamma. By understanding the wholesome and unwholesome, nutriments, the Four Noble Truths, dependent origination, and the taints—including their arising and cessation—a disciple abandons underlying tendencies and realizes the end of suffering.

When a misguided monk clings to the idea of an unchanging consciousness that “wanders through rebirths,” the Buddha corrects him, revealing the truth of dependent co-arising. Consciousness, like fire, arises only through conditions. Tracing the cycle of existence from the four nutriments and conception to the snare of sensory reaction, he shows the way to the complete exhaustion of craving.

UD 1.1 Paṭhama bodhi sutta - Upon Awakening (First) Awakening contemplation, forward order

The Buddha contemplates dependent arising in forward order just after his full awakening.

The Buddha shares his own journey of seeking the path to awakening, from leaving the household life, to studying under two meditation teachers, to attaining full awakening and an account of teaching the Dhamma to his first five disciples.

SN 12.23 Upanisa sutta - Proximate Causes Liberative sequence to release

The Buddha explains the proximate causes for the wearing away of the taints. The twelve factors leading to the wearing away of the taints are explained along with twelve factors that lead to suffering.

The Buddha explains the process of thoroughly investigating the arising and cessation of suffering through dependent co-arising.

SN 12.61 Assutavā sutta - Uninstructed Applied to lived experience

The Buddha contrasts the body’s visible decay with the mind’s instability, which is clung to as ‘self’, comparing it to a restless monkey jumping between branches. He teaches that wisdom arises from understanding the full twelve-link chain of dependent co-arising, which explains the origin and cessation of all suffering.