All things in the universe arise out of the confluence between conditions. We are used to speaking about such things as cause and effect but when we are dealing with the ongoing flow of existence this way of understanding the connection of all things in our universe lacks the precision required for deep understanding.
By working to understand this process, one is able to move in the directions of understanding and accepting the reason for, and manner of, all our human relations. Let’s start with some obvious examples of Dependent Arising.
Suppose we start with the conditions of sunny sky and 70 degree temperature. This is a condition we are using here but we must remember that these conditions were themselves created through other conditions within the realm of all kinds of conditions that create any and all types of weather.
These weather conditions are dependent upon others within the same type. And at the same time the ground for the arising of my desire to spend time outdoors, or sit in the sun, work on my tan, just to note a few. Suppose I choose to sit in the sun and read my book? THE CONDITION OF ME SITTING IN THE SUN READING MY BOOK CAN BE THE CONDTION FOR any number of other arising desires or outcomes not related to any desires. For instance, it can be the condition for my reading a passage which speaks directly to a problem I’ve been struggling with and this condition is one that is then the foundation, or condition, necessary for an action that positively affects my communication with my daughter.
While the weather has been instrumental in this particular case for a choice that improves communication it might also be the foundation for the destruction of enough skin cells after sitting too long in the sun, which is the condition or cause for suffering from sunburn. This might furthermore be the condition that is required for the formation of skin cancer on the top of my bald head.
If we understand that this process is fundamental to all that constitutes our world, we will be a long way toward being able to “let go” of judgments, and the personalization of what are, in truth, dependently-arising phenomena that constitute our lives. It takes a willingness to continually explore the relationship between arising conditions to be able to see immediately the mutually-arising-dependent-conditions that are the basis of what we erroneously consider unconnected events, emotions, thoughts, and experiences.
2-3-09
2 comments:
With everything so interconnected, dependent, it seems I would be foolish to even attempt to explore the relationship between arising conditions. It's too big. Everything is webbed together. Do you think it's possible to just accept dependent-arising as a truth, or like with sitting, must one devote the time to mentally explore it in order to integrate the concept?
It is my belief that integration requires being mindful of the interconnectedness of all that arises as often as we can manage in our daily affairs. We needn't get obsessed with "seeing" this everywhere all the time but it is an easy thing to forget. And such forgetting leads us back to the perspective that there are ultimate truths that are worth killing one another over, or simply forgetting that we needn't try to hold onto something that is, by nature, present for only a short amount of time before it is replaced by the next arising cause or condition. Always attaining the middle way is preferable to obsession.
Namaste
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