About this Course

The concept of dependent origination (Pratītyasamutpāda in Pāli) is a central concept in Buddhism. It emphasizes the causal relationships that lead to the cycle of suffering and rebirth. This perspective views all phenomena as arising and ceasing due to specific conditions, without any inherent, independent existence. The twelve-linked chain, starting with ignorance (avijja) and culminating in aging and death (jara-marana), illustrates how ignorance about the nature of reality leads to formations (sankhara), then to consciousness (vinnana), and so forth, eventually resulting in suffering.

This principle underscores the impermanent and non-self nature of existence. By comprehending and breaking these links, particularly the first link of ignorance, one can attain Nibbana, the cessation of suffering. This understanding is crucial for the development of insight (Vipassana) meditation, a key practice in Theravada tradition for achieving enlightenment.

Course curriculum

    1. Introduction to the Course

    2. Class 1: Introduction and Overview of Dependent Origination

    3. Class 2: Honeyball Sutta & Transcendental Dependent Origination

    4. Class 3: Other Sutta Examples of Dependent Origination

    5. Class 4: Emptiness

    6. One More Thing

About this course

  • Free
  • 6 lessons
  • 4+ Hours of Video Lessons

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Instructor

Leigh Brasington

Leigh Brasington has been practicing meditation since 1985 and is the senior American student of the late Ven. Ayya Khema. Leigh began assisting Ven. Ayya Khemma in 1994, and began teaching retreats on his on in 1997. He is also authorized to teach by Jack Kornfield. Leigh has taught the jhanas, along with multiple insight practices, at well over one hundred residential retreats throughout the United States and Europe. He is the author of the books Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas and Dependent Origination and Emptiness: Streams Of Dependently Arising Processes Interacting. Find more about Leigh’s teaching and schedule at http://leighb.com.