I hope this little book will address at least some of the questions everyone asks about Dependent Origination. As I have said in the book, this is how I understand DO. Please offer your constructive comments. Thank you.
With Metta
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Nimal, I have not had time to read the whole thing. But I can say that in the first chapter you describe your personal experience as if it were common to all humanity. As I am human, and as I have not lived life as you describe it, I would suggest rephrasing your generalizations: “In my life, I have found…” rather than “The human will do…” I would be more than happy to read a biographical summary of your approach to the dhamma. I’d strongly suggest not using the pronoun it to describe people. This chapter gives the impression that you look down on the rest of humanity from your high place. I’d be much more inclined to read something with a different starting tone.
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Readers are compelled to read by challenges presented by authors. I was fascinated by the following statement:
I began to read whatever material I could find on the subject only to realise that understanding Dependent Origination was no easy matter, because there were various interpretations which were conflicting with each other but written mostly by academics. This made me realise that I needed to come up with my own interpretation which made complete sense to me rather than accepting any of the available interpretations with various flaws.
Yet after reading through much of the book, I still have no clearer understanding of the struggles you went through to reach your own understanding. Those very struggles would be a bridge for this reader to your understanding. The use of “the human” is clinically off-putting and alienates a reader seeking a personal contact with the wisdom offered by an author. A simple substitution of “one” for “the human” would bring reader and author closer. And a bold “I” written directly from personal experience would draw the reader into an exposition of the personal struggles you overcame in hammering out your understanding.
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Points taken with respect. I hope both of you will find the explanation of DO offered in the book as close as possible to what the Buddha may have intended.
With Metta
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As all of us are aware, there is a lot of debate about Dependent Origination. I embarked on the journey to find the most accurate interpretation of it more than ten years ago. The book I wrote in 2019, was a result of that journey.
However, Over the years I found the contents of that book were far from accurate. And I continued to search and I was able to come up with this smaller version to remedy my mistakes in the previous book.
I honestly believe that Dependent Origination cannot be correctly understood without correctly understanding the Discourse on Great Causation - Mahānidāna Sutta - DN15. Hence, I have devoted all my energy to understand it and write this book.
I invite all of you to read the material contained in this writing and offer your comments. I sincerely hope that you will benefit from it.
Thank you.
With Metta
Dependent Origination For Sutta Central.pdf (1.8 MB)