Why is dependent origination so important?

[Music]

Why is it important to know? What does it mean to know, anyway? We all know that everything is connected with everything else ...

[Malcolm]

Why is it important to know? What does it mean to know, anyway? We all know that everything is connected with everything else ...

It is important for understanding how suffering arises, so it can be undone.

[futerko]

"For a table to exist, we need wood, a carpenter, time, skillfulness, and many other causes. And each of these causes needs other causes to be. The wood needs the forest, the sunshine, the rain, and so on. The carpenter needs his parents, breakfast, fresh air, and so on. And each of those things, in turn, has to be brought about by other causes and conditions. If we continue to look in this way, we'll see that nothing has been left out. Everything in the cosmos has come together to bring us this table. Looking deeply at the sunshine, the leaves of the tree, and the clouds, we can see the table. The one can be seen in the all, and the all can be seen in the one."

Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, p.222.

...equally, if no fingers contact a harp's strings then no sound is produced.

[Jyoti]

Why is it important to know? What does it mean to know, anyway? We all know that everything is connected with everything else ...

To provide a picture of how the wheel of the dependent origination can revolved without ceasing based on causes and conditions, thereby showing the conventional truth while as the same time showing the dharma of permanance of the buddha nature.

Jyoti

[DarwidHalim]

In daily life, we also use the term like interdependence or dependent on each other. However, in our ordinary meaning, dependent origination or dependent arising suggest an interaction between entities and entities, between something absolute and absolute, interaction between self and self.

However, this is actually a very mistaken view.

Buddha is able to see that actualy if everything is dependent arising, then it is on another way around. There is no interaction between absolute and absolute, no interaction between entity and entity.

The capsule of specifity or entity just collapse because of this dependent origination.

When this capsule collapse, you will not see arising, duration, and cessation.

For example, the growth of flower in your garden. If you see that flower as something outstanding, you will see the flower like an entity standing out and independent of the global system.

Because of this mistaken view, you will have a flower, you will have arising, duration, and cessation.

Reality does not have a boundary.

You should see here, the flower that you make then is just called intellectual boundary. It is created by intellect, NOT BY REALITY.

From that intellectual flower, you will then have intellectual arising, duration, and cessation.

But all of them are just intellectual, where the root is this intellectual flower.

Not knowing the difference or the gap between reality and intellectual object, it becomes the main source of all confusions.

In learning dependent origination, it teachs you that all this boundary is actually not there. Although We can create intellectual boundary, we should always remember that the root actually doesn't have boundary.

Tsongkapa wrote a very beautiful teaching about the relationship between dependent arising and emptiness.

It is worth to check this book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006YY51N2/ref=mp_s_a_2?pi=SL75&qid=1347065896&sr=8-2

[Quiet Heart]

Why is it important to know? What does it mean to know, anyway? We all know that everything is connected with everything else ...

--------------------
Again. just my personal opinion here.
It's true you may know that intelectually...with your mind only.
But do you realise that fact...and all that fact implies....in your own direct experience? Have you felt that fact in your own experience?
Because, if you did, you would probably understand that:

All objects and things are composite objects.
For that reason all composite objects arise dependently...dependent origination.
Because of dependent origination no composite objects....including perceptions of mind alone....thoughts...are not truely independent of each other.
Because of this inter-dependence all composite objects...again including thoughts....do not have a seperate self-created nature apart from their inter-dependent reality.
Realising the truth of this non existant seperate self-created nature leads to the realisation of "emptiness"...that all composite objects are essentially "empty".
Understanding that essential "emptiness" of all composite objects makes you aware of many deep truths....but that, for now, that is as far as I'll go with this.

[dorjeshonnu]

Why is it important to know? What does it mean to know, anyway? We all know that everything is connected with everything else ...

Pratityasamutpada is a direct refutation of any and all claims to Creation by any specific god or entity. It is the first and primary difference between Buddhism and Vedanta, other Middle Eastern faiths, and the faiths of the tribes of many continents. There are various others of course.