Friends:

1.

Dependent Origination Creates the World!

And what is dependent origination, bhikkhus? With birth as condition, bhikkhus, ageing and death emerges...! Whether Perfect Ones arise or do not arise, there remains that element, that particular relatedness of states, that fixed causal linking of states, that very specific conditionality. The Perfect One indeed first discovers it, penetrates to it. Having discovered it, penetrated to it, he announces it, teaches it, makes it known, establishes, exposes, expounds and explains it: "See", he says, "With birth as condition, there will be ageing and death". With becoming as condition, there is birth... With clinging as condition, there will be becoming... With craving as condition, clinging develops... With feeling as condition, craving arises... With contact as condition, feeling springs up... With the 6 senses as condition, contact appears... With name-&-form as condition, the 6 senses crop up... With consciousness as condition, name-&-form is born... With mental constructions as condition, there is consciousness ... With ignorance as condition, bhikkhus, there are mental constructions.... Whether Perfect Ones arise or do not arise, there yet remains that element, that same relatedness of states, that fixed regular causal linking of states, that very specific conditionality. The Perfect One indeed first discovers it, penetrates to it. Having discovered it, penetrated to it, he announces it, teaches it, makes it known, establishes, exposes, expounds and explains it: "See", he says, "With ignorance as condition, there are mental constructions". So that causal sequence is an absolute reality, since in all past and all future universes it is never unreal, never otherwise, but the same specific conditionality: This 12 fold principle called dependent origination. (SN II, 25f).

2. The Blessed Buddha once asked his disciples: