Forward & Reverse Causality of the
Process of Being:
So have I heard: After 7 days of non-stop sitting meditation in the bliss of Awakening, The
Buddha in the last watch of the night directed his unified attention to
dependent
co-arising in both forward & reverse order in this very way:
A => B, and non-A => non-B
When this is present, then that comes to be... When this emerges, that arises too... When this
is absent, then that does not come to be... When this ceases, that vanishes too...
When ignorance arises, mental construction also appears.. When mental construction arises, consciousness also comes to be.. When consciousness arises, name-&-form
also come in to being.. When name-&-form arises, then the six senses emerge
too.. When the six senses arise, then contact is the consequence.. When contact arises, then feeling is assigned too..
When feeling arises, then urge and craving surely follows.. When craving arises, then clinging too becomes
dominant.. When clinging arises, then the process of becoming is initiated.. When becoming arises, then rebirth inevitably also
appears.. When birth arises, then aging & death, sorrow, distress, pain,
grief & despair also arises. This verily is the origin, the causing, the arising
of this entire mass of Suffering...
Consequently, when this very same ignorance is utterly uprooted & vanished, then mental construction is tranquilized, all stilled, and it ceases &
dissolves.. When mental construction ceases, then consciousness itself fades away.. When consciousness ceases, name-&-form
also terminate.. When name-&-form ceases, then the six senses come to an
end.. When the six senses cease, then contact closes down as well.. When contact ceases, then feeling fades out too.. When feeling ceases, then craving also evaporates.. When craving ceases, then clinging is relinquished too..
When clinging ceases, then becoming essentially stops. When becoming ceases, then this process of endless rebirth is exhausted too.. When birth ceases,
then aging, death, sorrow, distress, pain, & depression also
finishes. This verily is the cessation, the irreversible End of this whole mass of
Suffering...
Dispersing all Darkness...
Then, he, the Blessed One, on recognizing the profundity of that
sequence, exclaimed: When the appearance of phenomena becomes clearly manifest to this very Noble
Friend through rapt meditation, then he is constantly scattering Mara’s - the Evil
One's - army, exactly as the sun continuously disperses all darkness, when lighting up the
bright sky...
