"This being, that becomes; from the arising of this, that arises." This succinct formula, recorded in texts and carved in inscriptions throughout the Buddhist world, is said to summarise the whole of the Dharma, the teaching of the Buddha. But how can such a simple summary be the conceptual formulation that characterises the experience of a Buddha, an `Awakened One’, a state beyond all words and concepts? Dhivan Thomas Jones tells us how, and takes us into the heart of the Buddha’s insight that everything arises in dependence on conditions. With the aid of lucid reflections and exercises he prompts us to explore how conditionality works in our own lives, and provides a sure guide to the most essential teaching of Buddhism.

Table of Contents:
Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction Buddhism and Conditionality `Those things conditionally arisen . . . .’ A presentation of conditionality How to use this book Part One Core Teachings on Conditionality Chapter One The Principle of Conditionality The fundamental principle of the Dharma A vision of human existence The Dharma as a practical teaching An example – stress The difference between `causes’ and `conditions’ Conditionality as a transcendental principle The difficulty of the Dharma Chapter Two The Scope of Conditionality The conversions of Sāriputta and Moggallāna Reactive mind and creative mind The four noble truths Dukkha and its origin in craving Cessation and the path Mindful awareness and the `gap’ Chapter Three The Twelve Links The twelve nidānas in the Pali canon The Wheel of Life and the three-life interpretation The twelve nidānas as explaining dukkha Ignorance, formations, consciousness, and name-and-form The six sense realms, contact, feeling, and craving Clinging, existence, birth, and ageing and death Chapter Four The Spiral Path The factors of the `spiral path’ Opening stages of the path The path from joy to insight Insight, liberation, and awakening Two images for the path How to approach the path Part Two The Implications of Conditionality Chapter Five Karma, Conditionality, and Ethics The Buddha’s teaching on karma Karma as intention Karma, defilements, and character Karma and ethics Chapter Six Conditionality as Middle Way The middle way as a lifestyle The extremes of indulgence and selfmortificationThe middle way between existence and non-existence Eternalism and annihilationism Chapter Seven The Nature of Existence All conditioned things are impermanent and unsatisfactory All things are without self Proliferation and conflict The conditioned and the unconditioned Chapter Eight Emptiness and Interdependence Conditionality as `emptiness’ Mutual interpenetration The `poetry of interconnectedness’ Interdependence and conditionality Appendix 24 Nidāna Reflection Introductory note Part 1: the spiral path Part 2: the cyclic nidānas Part 3: the spiral path (concluded) Concluding notePronunciation Guide for Pali and Sanskrit Words Glossary of Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist Terms Notes and References Index