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The Great Calm Observation, Volume 1, Part 3, Page 5
And the general teaching is called the Four Truths whereas the specific teaching is called The Twelvefold Wheel of Causality and Conditions.
A. Suffering is the 7 branches of:
1.
Consciousness
2. Name-Form (Mind-Matter) Duality
3.
The Six Senses
4. Contact
5.
Feelings
6. Birth
7.
Old Age & Death
B. Origination is the 5 branches of:
8.
Ignorance
9. Acts of Will
10.
Craving
11. Attachment
12.
Attainment of Self-Existence
C. With The Path, there are the ways and means of facing up to and healing the twelvefold causality.
D. Extinction is the extinguishing of ignorance, and finally the extinguishing of old age & death.
And so The Great Nirvana
Scripture opens up the four kinds of four truths, and also opens up the
four kinds of twelve-fold causality.
1. With the lower observation of
wisdom, one attains the Bodhi of The
Spiritual Disciple1
2.
With the medium observation of
wisdom, one attains the Bodhi of those The Spiritually Self-Awakened2.
3. With the higher observation of
wisdom, one attains the Bodhi of the Bodhisattva.
4.
With the highest observation of wisdom, one
attains the Bodhi of the Buddha.
And the verse of The Discourse
on the Mean says:
1. "Causality and conditions
produce all (spiritual) things" - which are born and extinguished.
2. "I teach that these are
empty (of self-existence)" - without birth or extinction.
3. "They are also called by
temporary names" - which are without limit.
4. "And also have the
significance of the middle way" - which is innate.
And it is understood:
A. With causality there is Origination
B. This produces Suffering
C. The ways and means of
extinguishing suffering are The Path
D.
With nothing left of suffering
and origination, there is Extinction.
And the verse speaks of causality. With the causality being ignorance, there are produced all things, which are acts of will, name-form duality, the six senses, etc.
Thus it is said:
"For disciples with
sharp spiritual roots, the Buddha taught the twelvefold causality in their
aspect without birth or extinction."
This indicates the first 25 chapters of The Discourse on the Mean.
"For disciples with
dull spiritual roots, the Buddha taught of the twelvefold causality in their
aspect with birth and extinction."
This indicates the last 2 chapters of The Discourse on the Mean."
One should know that the verse in The Discourse on the Mean generally teaches the four kinds of Four Truths, and specifically teaches the four kinds of Twelvefold Causality. We have now completed the discrimination of the four kinds of Four Truths.
Footnotes:
1. Spiritual Disciples: (S. Sravakas) Hearers - spiritual disciples that have heard the four truths and aspire to the liberation of the arhat.
2. The Spiritually Self-Awakened: (S. Pratyekabuddhas) Those that understand the twelve-fold wheel of causality and conditions and mastered the self, attaining true selflessness
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Since July 9, 2001