In the presentation of the twelve links of interdependence, the first link, which is the basis for all the others, is ignorance. Being ignorant creates all the ups and downs, the happiness and the suffering, that are part and parcel of samsaric experience. Samsara is like that: sometimes we are happy and sometimes we suffer. All of the complex illusions and manifestations which are this samsaric world are rooted in ignorance. Here, ignorance means “not knowing†the true nature of existence. When one does not understand or recognize the true nature of reality, then through this “ignoring,†all the manifestations of samsara come about. Ignorance is therefore the prime cause of our happiness and our suffering. That is why it is presented as the first of the twelve links.
The first, root link of ignorance means that, by ignoring the true nature of phenomena, we project things which do not exist; we are deluded, we are confused. Although there is no self, we are under the illusion that a self exists. Although everything is impermanent, we incorrectly project permanence onto everything. We also believe that some things such as material possessions will bring happiness, when in fact they do not. Our ignorance gives rise to confusion. And because of confusion, our samsaric world is generated; all the ways we have of relating to things are generated from the root causes of ignorance.
In a way, this is good news because it means that samsara and its suffering are easy to get rid of. If samsara and suffering were real and solid and not just due to the confusion of our own mind, then they would be very hard, almost impossible to get rid of. As it is, because the root cause of suffering and samsara is the confusion and ignorance of our mind, if we remove that delusion and ignorance, then the very root of samsara and suffering can be eliminated. By working on our mind’s confusion we can become liberated. Clearly, this is very fortunate. We have the possibility of liberation and enlightenment by attacking the very root of samsara and its complex suffering.
There is a famous example in the Buddhist scriptures, illustrating how ignorance is the root of our suffering and showing that if we eliminate this mistaken view, the misery of samsara will go away. It is the example of mistaking a rope for a snake. If one goes into a dark room and sees a coiled rope, one might believe out of ignorance that the rope is a snake. Thinking that the rope is a snake, one would be full of fear and other painful and obscuring emotions. If there really were a snake, then one would be in serious trouble and would have to work hard to get out of the situation. But in this case, there is only confusion: there is no snake, only a rope. By examining what is really there, one realizes that it is not a snake at all, and one’s feelings of panic and anxiety are eliminated. Similarly, if samsara, which is quite frightening with all its pain and suffering, were as real as it seems, then to be free of it would be quite a job. But because samsara’s very root is our own ignorance and confusion, then once we get rid of these, all of the problems of samsara will disappear. It is not that samsara is real and we have to get rid of it, but that our perception of samsara is rooted in a basic mistake; it is the mistake that needs to be eliminated. Once that is done, we will be liberated from all of samsara.
In order to counteract the confusion and ignorance which are the root of suffering, the Buddha taught at three different levels, which are called the three vehicles. His teachings of the first vehicle, the Hinayana, are easiest to understand. In the Hinayana, the Buddha explained that our suffering in samsara is due to our mistaken belief that we have a solid, real self. He showed that, in reality, there is no lasting self, and that it is through our fabrication of the notion of self that all our suffering and difficulties come about. Through discovering that there is no lasting self, one realizes that there is no one who suffers, no one who has difficulties—this is indeed liberation. The belief of a lasting self is established by carefully analyzing the components of one’s existence— specifically the five aggregates, the twelve dhatus, and the eighteen elements. One tries to find a single individual self, the thing we refer to as “I,†and instead one finds only a collection of aggregates or elements. One then looks at mind through the passage of time and finds that the “I†that was in the past is not the “I†that is in the present, nor is it the “I†that will be in the future. Through such careful analysis, one understands clearly that there is no lasting self. Through meditating profoundly on the meaning of that, the confusion and the delusion caused by the projection of a lasting self are overcome. This is how the prime source of suffering and difficulties is removed according to the teachings of the first vehicle, called the Hinayana.
To those with great intelligence and with a broader vision and wisdom, the Buddha taught a combination of skillful means and wisdom in the second vehicle, the Mahayana. In order to remove ignorance, the Buddha demonstrated that not only is the individual self “empty†or devoid of a lasting self, but that all outer phenomena, such as mountains and trees, as well as inner thoughts and feelings, are also empty. By a skillful and profound analysis of gross phenomena, especially as presented in the Middle Way (Skt. Madhayamaka) one comes to understand that there is no phenomenon that has true existence, because all gross things are merely collections of smaller components and do not have an existence in their own right. Phenomena are just concoctions of smaller things. By working down to the most subtle objects, to the notion of an atom or tiniest building-block of matter, one recognizes that there are no lasting self entities in the phenomenal world.
Likewise, one applies a similar logic to one’s own mind. One analyzes mind in terms of time, going to the tiniest fraction of mind-moments. From this analysis, one realizes that mind and thoughts and feelings also do not have the lasting entity that they seem to have. Through all these skillful approaches, one understands emptiness in a broader sense: the fact that all phenomena are devoid of inherent existence-4. Through these logical analyses, one develops the view of emptiness; then one contemplates and meditates on that truth. This overcomes all illusions. The value of this approach is that it not only brings liberation for oneself, but also brings liberation for many, many other beings.
Although the Hinayana is a wonderful approach and benefits many beings, it is said in the scriptures that the time it might take to go through the process of the Hinayana and Mahayana could be as long as three eons, which is in the order of millions of years.
The third vehicle is the Vajrayana, which gives us the opportunity to reach Buddhahood very quickly. The Vajrayana recognizes that, while it is important to analyze external phenomena, this process takes a long time; the Vajrayana approach is to examine the mind, which is very close by and far easier to analyze.
On the gross level, we see our mind as a single thing, as something that exists and that experiences thoughts and feelings and perceptions. This is a very powerful experience, and we feel sure that the mind exists as a solid entity. But once we examine mind closely to discover its character, its very nature or essence, we find that mind is devoid of any entity at all. We cannot find any color or any shape for it, nor can we find any place where mind rests. In fact, this thing we call “mind†is nothing whatsoever and is found nowhere. Mind is empty by its very essence. After the emptiness of mind is established, the Vajrayana approach is to look at the emptiness of outer phenomena—whose emptiness will then be easier to establish, because outer phenomena are only appearances in the mind, which has already been established as being empty.
The Buddha’s teachings generally are presented in terms of the sutras and tantras. We find the information on the twelve links of interdependence mainly in the sutras; however, the teachings on interdependence are equally valid for the tantras.
As already presented, there are twelve links of interdependence, which begin with the first link, ignorance. This is the ignorance of not understanding the true nature of reality, which is emptiness. It is this ignorance that causes us to wander in samsara. It is through the ignorance of not knowing the truth that the other steps follow and our mind becomes samsaric. Ignorance, again, means not knowing the true nature of reality. It is seeing how reality seems to be and not what it really is.
Among the Vajrayana teachings are the Mahamudra teachings. The point of the Mahamudra teachings is to gain a true vision of the nature of reality. In Mahamudra practice, we learn to develop first Shamatha and then Vipashyana. Through Vipashyana, we eventually come to recognize the true nature of reality. By doing so, we are attacking the very root of the twelve links, which is ignorance. Instead of not knowing, we have clear knowing of the true nature of reality. We can thus see that there is no conflict at all between the sutra path and the tantra path, and that the teachings on the twelve links are very helpful for our practice of the Vajrayana.
Because of the first link, one ends up in samsara, where the whole samsaric process goes on. Ignorance is the prime cause and root which accompanies the samsaric mind. Some texts speak of “raw ignorance†and “accompanying ignorance,†which means that ignorance goes along with our thoughts and experiences. Thus there is both the basic ignorance of not knowing the true nature of things and accompanying ignorance.
Basic ignorance, or “ignoring the true nature,†is expressed in the sutras as “not recognizing the dharmata,†with dharmata being the very essence of phenomena. Basic ignorance is expressed in Mahamudra slightly differently, as “not recognizing the essence of mind.†Either way, it is the root ignorance, while accompanying ignorance goes along with our thoughts and feelings. When there is a very gross and coarse level of thinking, for example the desire for things that seem powerfully attractive, instead of recognizing the truth that such things are empty of inherent nature, one thinks that the things one desires are really very important and worth getting. One is both ignorant of the true nature (basic ignorance) and deluded by the apparent nature (accompanying ignorance). The same is true of anger. What seems unpleasant is rejected with aversion; not recognizing the empty nature of appearances, there is accompanying ignorance as well. Sometimes there is neither the power of attraction nor rejection, but just a mental dullness. Again, not recognizing the true nature is accompanied by delusion. These are the three main mind poisons: desire, aversion and mental dullness, all accompanied by ignorance.
Because ignorance accompanies thoughts and feelings, one acts and does things, creating the next link in the chain of interdependent origination, which is karmic creation.
4. NOTES
What is meant here is that thoughts and feelings when analyzed in meditation do not seem to come from anywhere, they don’t seem to stay anywhere, and they don’t seem to go anywhere. Furthermore, our mind is not a solid entity with any characteristics, but rather like a stream of thoughts and feelings. So ultimately mind is not solid and real like a rock, which takes up space and has a beginning, existence, and end, so the mind is “empty of inherent existence.†However, our mind is not empty like “empty space†because our mind has awareness and intelligence which is called “clarity†(Tib. salwa). So the mind is not completely empty so we say that it is empty of inherent existence.
