Introduction

i.1Dependent arising is one of the core teachings of Buddhism. The canonical accounts of the Buddha’s awakening relate how at first he hesitated to describe the profound realization he had attained, given how difficult it would be for others to comprehend. At last, persuaded to speak of his discovery, the Buddha began by teaching the four truths of the noble ones. Then, to explain in more detail the causes of suffering and its cessation, he taught the aggregates, how they are misconstrued as a self, and the theory of dependent arising, based in part on the pan-Indian idea of moral causation, as a means to gain insight into the nature of reality. This teaching was later analyzed in great detail by the various Buddhist philosophical schools. It is a topic discussed in many other sūtras and has been widely interpreted in commentaries by the Buddhist traditions.

i.2Teaching the Fundamental Exposition and Detailed Analysis of Dependent Arising takes place in Śrāvastī, the ancient capital of the Kośala state located near the Rapti River in what is today northeastern Uttar Pradesh. In Buddhist India, Śrāvastī was famous for housing the Jeta’s Grove monastery. This monastery was erected in a park, outside the city, which had been donated to the Buddha and his community by the wealthy benefactor Anāthapiṇḍada. Tradition relates that the Buddha spent twenty-four rainy seasons at this important monastery. The sūtra begins with the Buddha teaching a congregation of monks. He first presents the topic of dependent arising and summarizes the doctrine: “If this exists, that arises; by this having been produced, that is produced.” Whatever is born has arisen in reliance on causes and conditions, with no cause or condition being primary or absolute. In this there is no phenomenon that exists independently. This general meaning of dependent arising applies to both animate and inanimate objects. In his teaching the Buddha then explains how twelve progressively arising factors cause beings to continuously take birth, age, and die, only to become born anew. These twelve factors are described as the progressive chain of events that accounts for the perpetual suffering of saṃsāra. After presenting the twelve links, the Buddha elucidates them with a detailed analysis, subdividing and defining each of the twelve factors.

i.3The sūtra is today extant in Sanskrit as well as Chinese, Tibetan, Korean, and Mongolian translations. The Sanskrit is found as part of the Nidānasaṃyukta collection. Indian commentaries on this text (today extant only in Tibetan translation) were written by Vasubandhu (fourth–fifth century ᴄᴇ, Toh 3995 ) and Guṇamati (sixth century ᴄᴇ, Toh 3996 ). The text was translated several times into Chinese, first by Kumārajīva in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ (Taishō 123) and later by Hsüan-tsang in 661 ᴄᴇ (Taishō 124). Apart from these two independent translations, the sūtra was also translated by Guṇabhadra in the early fifth century CE as part of his translation of the Saṃyuktāgama (Taishō 99).

i.4The Tibetan translation has no colophon, so we do not know when or by whom it was produced. It is, however, included in the Denkarma inventory of translated texts, compiled at a date in the early ninth century thought to have been 812 ᴄᴇ, so it must have been translated at the latest by that date.

i.5This English translation is based on the Tibetan translation in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma). We also consulted the Sanskrit editions by Tripathi (1962) and Vaidya (Ānandajoti 2009).