Page 35 - 加拿大佛教会湛山精舍杂志季刊第75期

1) Due to ignorance arise karmic formations: Igno- ma-born material phenomena arise, as in the case of
rance is interpreted in this context as non-known or the human embryo, they condition the arising of the
knowing wrongly and can be compared to the ab- five sense organs, developing as the embryo grows.
sence of light. It is most common among sentient be-
ings and therefore they are unable to determine what 6) With the six sense bases as condition arises contact:
is pure and what is defiled; what is cause and what is Contact here denotes the contact with resultant con-
effect. Unaware of retribution in the form of suffering sciousness. It is the “come together” of consciousness
in the three evil realms not far off in their future they and the mental factors with an object by means of any
are stunted by the workings of humans and heaven. one of the six sense bases. As contact can occur only
Ignorance is the chief condition of defilements. when the sense bases exist, it is said that contact is
dependent on the six sense bases. It is the connection
2) With karmic formations as condition arises ac- with the “outside world” once the baby is born.
tion: Karmas accumulated during previous existences
manifest themselves as actions by body, speech and 7) With contact as condition arises feeling: Whenever
mind. Past causes produce present effects. contact occurs, feeling arises simultaneously, con-
ditioned by the same contact. There are six classes
3) With action as condition arises consciousness: of feeling corresponding with the six sense bases. In
Karma-generated actions condition resultant kinds of terms if its affective quality, feeling may be pleasant,
consciousness both wholesome and unwholesome. At painful or neutral, according to the base and contact.
the moment of conception an especially potent kar- The above five links or branches are the result of suf-
mic formation accumulated in the karmic continuum fering in the present.
of the deceased being generates rebirth consciousness
in the realm appropriate for that karma to mature. 8) With feeling as condition, craving comes to be:
During the course of existence, other accumulated Feeling conditions the arising of craving. If one ex-
karmas generate other resultant types of conscious- periences a pleasant feeling, one relishes that feeling
ness according to circumstances and desires the object only insofar as it arouses the
pleasant feeling. On the other hand, when one expe-
4) With consciousness as conditions name-and-form riences a painful feeling, one has a craving to be free
(mind-and-body) come to be: the term “name” de- from the pain, longing for a pleasurable feeling to re-
notes mind and “form” stands for material phenom- place it. Thus many kinds of desire arise, conditioned
ena produced by karma. In those realms where all by feeling.
five aggregates are found, consciousness conditions
mind and matter together. In the event of such rebirth, 9) With craving as condition, clinging or grasping
three mental aggregates arise simultaneously with the come to be: Craving ? a mode of greed or wrong view
rebirth-linking consciousness, namely, feeling, per- comes to be when craving for gratification of the
ception and mental formations along with the form senses intensifies and turns into clinging or craving.
skandha that includes body, gender and heart-base. In In the weak, initial stages the greed for an object is
the case of a human embryo, these are first present as called craving; the intensified form of greed is called
latent potential and develop along with the develop- clinging or grasping.
ment of the embryo.
10) With clinging as condition, existence comes to be:
5) With name-and-form as condition, the six sense Clinging is a condition for active existence because,
bases come to be: Of the six sense bases, the first five under the influence of clinging, one engages in action
are the sensitive matter of the eye, ear, nose, tongue that is accumulated as karma. It includes clinging to
and body. The sensuous plane mind-and-matter con- the notion of an “ego” and all the states associated
ditions the arising of all six sense bases. Then the kar- with it. Clinging is a condition for resultant existence

33