Pratityasamutpada

In essence, samsara describes the arising of mental and physical phenomena due to causes and conditions

• This is known as pratityasamutpada (or paticcasamuppada), which literally means conditioned arising, dependent origination or interconnectedness

Anicca is evident and seen through the interconnectedness of all phenomena

• The teaching of pratityasamutpada makes samsara one continues process; rebirth is just one aspect of this process and is really no different from a person changing as they grow
• Everything is either a cause or effect, of which there are 12 causes and conditions, referred as nidanas (links): ignorance, mental formations, consciousness, mind and matter, six senses, contact, feeling, craving, clinging,…