The Twelve links to Dependent Origination
There are two main ways to interpret the twelve links:
Sequential Interpretation
Over a period of three life-times, i.e. past life, present life and future life.
1. Past life - ignorance, mental formation represent the conditions that are responsible for the occurrence of this life.
2. Present life - The eight links, consciousness, name and form, six senses, contact, feeling, craving, clinging and becoming constitute the process of evolution within this life.
3. Future life - birth, old age and death belong to the conditions for the future life.
According to this interpretation, ignorance and mental formation result in the emergence of this life within its psycho-physical personality. In turn, the action performed in this life result in rebirth in the future life.
Cyclical Interpretation
Dividing the twelve links into three groups:
1. Defilement - ignorance, craving and clinging
Ignorance is the main cause of suffering. It is because ignorance that we crave for pleasures of the senses, for existence and for non-existence. We also cling to pleasant experience, to ideas, and most significantly, to the idea of an independent and permanent self. Ignorance is the cause of actions. Defilement is the impurities of mind, resulting in actions.
2. Action (Karma) - mental formation and becoming
Mental formation refers to the impressions or habits that we have formed in our stream of conscious moments. They are formed by repeated actions, just like the formation of river by repeated flows of water in the streams. In the same way, our actions become habitual. These habits become part of our personality and we take these habits with us from life to life in the form of habitual energy. Becoming is the actions that we perform in this life. In other words, the habits developed over countless lives combined with new actions performed in this life result in rebirth and suffering.
3. Suffering - consciousness, name form, the six senses, contact, feeling, birth, old age and death. All these links are the effects of defilement and actions.