No.388 - The principle of Conditional Causality

 

The principle of Conditional Causality

 

 

The principle of Conditional Causality is that all conditioned things arise from a cause (or causes) and, with the cessation of that cause (or causes), they also cease.

 

The Buddha’s profound insight into this principle, as expressed in the arising and ceasing of unsatisfactoriness, was instrumental in his awakening, and therefore claims a pre-eminent position within the Buddha’s dispensation.

 

Understanding the principle of Conditional Causality enabled the Buddha to penetrate to the process oriented nature of reality, and once the process of conditioned suffering was understood, the path to liberation became clear.

 

The significance of Conditional Causality is that it shows that everything (except Nibbāna) is essentially the product of an interdependent matrix of dependently-arisen phenomena without any unique or autonomous ‘thing-ness’.

 

While our ignorance-conditioned, object oriented knowing focusses upon the ‘things’ of reality, in truth, this is a false perspective, which gives rise to distorted perceptions and deluded views of reality. Thus, we are unable to ‘see things as they really are’.

 

To free us from this delusion, the Buddha explains a ‘process-oriented view’ of reality in contrast to our usual ‘object-oriented view’ of reality. When we see things as they really are, there are no ‘solid objects’ (only flowing processes), and thus, ultimately, no longer any stable ground for subjective self-affirmation.

 

Most importantly, from a practical point of view, Dependent Origination specifically describes the processes of how the suffering of human existence is conditionally created, how it persists and how it can cease. In its essence, it is the second and third of the Four Noble Truths – the arising of dukkha and the cessation of dukkha.

 

The Buddha stated that the teaching on Dependent Origination is profound and not easily understood (S.II,92), and likens the comprehending of it to the realization of the dhamma, which is equivalent to realizing full awakening:

 

"He who sees dependent arising sees the dhamma; he who sees the dhamma sees dependent arising."

 

—  Ajahn Thiradhammo, Beyond I-Making

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