Illuminating Samsara and Nirvana (The Twelve Links of Dependent Arising)

A comprehensive and masterful exposition on the twelve links of dependent arising as it is understood in the four schools of Indian Buddhism.

Buddhism teaches that every phenomenon exists due to dependent arising: one event leads to another in an interconnected chain of causes and effects. At the beginning of the chain reaction responsible for our present samsaric existence is ignorance, and the Buddha described how all our current sufferings, including aging and death, can be traced back to our common fundamental ignorance about the true nature of our existence. By understanding this unfolding process of dependent orignation—and its dissolution—we gain the knowledge necessary to chart a path toward liberation from suffering. We become empowered to interrupt the cycle of uncontrolled birth and death, much like breaking a chain to prevent a domino effect from toppling completely. Illuminating Samsara and Nirvana explores the twelve links of dependent arising in depth, which are at the heart of Buddhist philosophy.

Written by the fifteenth-century master scholar Gorampa Sonam Senge and with commentary by the late contemporary teacher Khenpo Appey, this book is organized around how the major tenet systems of Buddhist philosophy—the Vaibhashika, Sautrantika, Chittamatra, and, finally, Madhyamaka schools—each present dependent arising. By their lucid explanation of the viewpoint of the Madhyamaka school, considered the most supreme, we come to learn that all imputed conventional phenomena are dependently arisen, and in turn, are introduced to the profound truth that dependent arising and emptiness are of the same meaning.

These teachings have been clearly and expertly translated and introduced by Szegee Toh, and are accompanied by illustrations of the wheel of life as a visual learning aid as well as informative tables to support your exploration of this remarkable subject.