Page 65 - Because I know, I can let go

Chapter 5

Paticcasamupāda

(a formidable noble truth)

Paticcasamupāda, or dependent origination, for the majority of people will still
be an unfamiliar word, but as we can’t use any other we’ll have to carry on using
it. Hence it’s our duty to try and develop an understanding of this word, this
concept, and its meaning, to become familiar with it. Those who ordain and

study will come into contact with it, but householders generally won’t, hence
there’ll be puzzlement, and, as a consequence, there won’t be much interest.
Which means that they won’t gain understanding of the most important thing
in Buddhism. Hence we feel that we ought to talk about it, to make it understood,

to turn it into something quite ordinary, quite familiar. We also need to bring it
out, take a good look at it, because it lies at the heart of Buddhism.

When the heart of Buddhism is mentioned most people will think of the noble

truths, but understand that paticcasamupāda represents the fullest expression
of the four noble truths, hence it’s referred to as a ‘great’ noble truth, one that
we will now proceed to explain.

If it’s asked: what is paticca samupāda? We should say that paticca samupāda
reveals in detail how the arising of dukkha takes place, as well as how it’s
quenching comes about, by way of a natural process involving mutual
dependence, so that it’s not necessary to posit the involvement of a God or

anything sacred in our lives. Dependent origination is quite a natural process
involving a series of interdependent conditions which culminate either in the
arising or in the quenching of dukkha.

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