Avijjāpaccayā sankhārā
  • 13 years ago
This video was made to illustrate the Buddha's teaching on dependent co-arising or dependent origination (paticca-samuppāda) which can be observed at many scales, which means that lessons drawn from observing the world (loka) can be applied to our internal experience of the six senses which makes up 'our world'. The black hole at the center of a galaxy is like the fundamental ignorance which gives rise to the formations that construct our experience in terms of consciousness being established in name & form. The Buddha compares the ongoing cycle of becoming to the process of planting seeds in fertile soil which is watered by rain.
See 'The Shape of Suffering' by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/shapeofsuffering.pdf

'When there is this, that comes to be;
with the arising of this, that arises.
When there is not this, that does not come to be;
with the cessation of this, that ceases. That is, because of ignorance, formations arise. Because of formations, consciousness arises. Because of consciousness, name and form arise. Because of name and form, the sixfold sense base arises. Because of the sixfold sense base, contact arises. Because of contact, feelings arise. Because of feelings, craving arises. Because of craving, clinging arises. Because of clinging, becoming arises. Because of becoming, birth arises. Because of birth old age, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair arise. Thus arises the complete mass of suffering (dukkha).

'imasmiṃ sati idaṃ hoti, imassuppādā idaṃ uppajjati, imasmiṃ asati idaṃ na hoti, imassa nirodhā idaṃ nirujjhati, yadidaṃ - avijjāpaccayā saṅkhārā, saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇaṃ, viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpaṃ, nāmarūpapaccayā saḷāyatanaṃ, saḷāyatanapaccayā phasso, phassapaccayā vedanā, vedanāpaccayā taṇhā, taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṃ, upādānapaccayā bhavo, bhavapaccayā jāti, jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇaṃ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassūpāyāsā sambhavanti. evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.'

Credits: music by Abnocto