http://re-xs.ucsm.ac.uk/gcsere/revision/buddhism/bud4/4.html
Conditioned
Co-production : the
idea central to Buddhism that all things occur in dependence on conditions, and
when those conditions cease, things cease - their existence being relative.
pratityasamutpada
|
"This
being, that becomes, |
The realisation that all
things change is one of the key insight experiences that the Buddha had; that all things are
impermanent. For Buddhists, the important thing is not to just
understand that all things are impermanent, but to live your life in this way,
and experience the world as impermanent. This is what Buddhist call
wisdom. The Buddhist word for wisdom is "Prajna".
The other key insight that the Buddha had was that all things are
conditioned. The idea that all things are conditioned is sometimes called
the doctrine of pratityasamutpada or Conditioned Co-production. The outer rim
of the Bhavachakra represents the
functioning of Conditioned Co-production (J-U). It says that all things
come about because of a set of conditions that are in place. If the
conditions are not in place then that event or state of affairs will not arise.
This was what the Buddha discovered in his experience of Enlightenment.
The best way to understand
the notion of Conditioning is to think of a plant. A plant starts off as
a seed, but if there is not any soil, any sun, and any rain, the seed will not
grow. If there are not the right conditions, then the seed will now
germinate and grow into a beautiful plant. The seed, the water, the heat
and the nutrients in the soil are the conditions that the fully-grown plant
depends upon. If those conditions are not in place, the plant will not
arise.
In a more practical and down to earth sense it means that we don't live on this
earth for very long, and that human life is fragile and precious, so we better
get on with it, and not waste our time; not waste this precious life in
laziness or being unhappy, or moaning about things. Just get on with life!
Fig 28
Karma & The Twelve
Links
Because everything is
always changing of this, we are not a THING at all, but are a process of
change. Buddhism shows how this process of change
happens. The outer rim of the Wheel of
Life explains the workings of Conditioned
Co-production. This is a complicated way of saying that all
things change as a result of previous states of affairs, or
conditions. This conditioning also includes us. The idea of
things being conditioned is represented in twelve pictures or links, called the
Twelve Nidanas.
Our actions, and our states of
mind, effect what happens to us in the future, effect what we become in
future. The important Buddhist word Karma used to describe "willed"
or deliberate action. Karma is related to Karma-Vipaka, which is the "fruit"
of the willed action. The idea is that when we act it is as if we put
down seeds, good or bad seeds. These seeds, if the conditions are right,
might ripen in the future, and we will therefore experience the consequences of
our previous actions. We will literally reap what we so.
Another way to think of Karma is the idea that actions have
consequences. If you have a important football match coming up, and you
decide to spend the time between then and now, going out, getting drunk,
staying up late, not going to any practices and generally not preparing, then
you can not expect to do very well on match day. Another example is
school, if you spend two years not concentrating in class, not doing any work,
not doing your homework or coursework, then you can't really expect to pass you
exams. Your actions, and your lack of actions too, have consequences.
Skillfulness &
Unskillfulness
Buddhism says that our actions are good or
bad depending on our intentions, or the state of mind that we are in when we
act. We can act in a skillful way, that is with an intention of love and
compassion and understanding and awareness, or from an unskillful way, with an
intention based in greed, ignorance and hatred. If we act in a hateful
way we tend to create bad or hateful effects, if we act in a calm and kind way,
we tend to produce calm and kind effects.
Buddhism says that how we live our life affects what we become in the
future. If we do lots of actions that are based on being cruel and
unkind, then this is the sort of person that we become, if we try to be kind
and giving, then this is the sort of person that we become. One way of
thinking about this is that we are, if you like, a habit. Habits have a
tendency to grow, to become more "habitual". What we give
attention to becomes more formed and stronger. The more habits are
indulged in, the more difficult they are to change. The trick is to make
sure that we are a good habit.
Sometimes positive change or development is really hard and you seem to be
getting nowhere. The Buddha said that this is a bit like someone trying
to smash a rock with a hammer. You can keep on hitting and hitting it,
but you may never seem to get anywhere; but on the last blow, it splits.
The question is, which blow caused the rock to break, the last one? No,
it was all of the blows that split the rock.