The twelve links stated forward, from ignorance to the whole mass of suffering, and then in reverse, from the fading of ignorance to its cessation.
- When chanted
- Recited as a statement of the doctrine of dependent origination, in both its forward and its reverse order.
A note on this chant. The book prints this chant in Pali only, with no Thai translation. The English here is a working translation prepared for this edition — it is not the book's own, and has not yet been checked by a teacher.
Historical background
This is the doctrinal formula rather than a devotional text, and the book prints it in the two movements the tradition always pairs: the samudayavāra, the section on origination, and the nirodhavāra, the section on cessation. Each states the same twelve links, the second simply negating the first at every step.
The book supplies its own headings here, which is unusual in this collection — most of the chants you have sent print none. It also gives three footnote references, placed between the two sections, pointing to the Saṃyutta, the Aṅguttara and the Udāna with a Vinaya parallel.
No Thai rendering is printed, so this entry stands at two of the five layers and the English is my own off the Pali.
Meaning and purpose
The forward sequence names twelve conditions, each arising in dependence on the one before: ignorance, formations, consciousness, name-and-form, the six sense bases, contact, feeling, craving, clinging, becoming, birth, and then ageing-and- death together with sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair. The formula does not say that one link causes the next in the ordinary sense; it says ปัจจะยา, with that as condition, which is a weaker and more exact claim.
The closing line of each vāra is the one that states what the list is for: thus is the arising of this whole mass of suffering. The word เกวะลัสสะ, entire, matters — the twelve links are not a partial account to be supplemented by something else, and no cause outside the sequence is being held in reserve.
The reverse order changes one thing only. From the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes the cessation of formations, and so through all twelve. Nothing is added and no method is described; the second vāra simply demonstrates that the sequence is a chain rather than a fate, since removing the first term removes every term after it. That structural point is the whole argument of the passage.
The chant
As the book prints it: page 31 and page 32 →
สมุทะยะวาระ: The Section on Origination
อะวิชชาปัจจะยา สังขารา,
avijjāpaccayā saṅkhārā,
With ignorance as condition, formations;
สังขาระปัจจะยา วิญญาณัง,
saṅkhārapaccayā viññāṇaṃ,
with formations as condition, consciousness;
วิญญาณะปัจจะยา นามะรูปัง,
viññāṇapaccayā nāmarūpaṃ,
with consciousness as condition, name-and-form;
นามะรูปะปัจจะยา สะฬายะตะนัง,
nāmarūpapaccayā saḷāyatanaṃ,
with name-and-form as condition, the six sense bases;
สะฬายะตะนะปัจจะยา ผัสโส,
saḷāyatanapaccayā phasso,
with the six sense bases as condition, contact;
ผัสสะปัจจะยา เวทะนา,
phassapaccayā vedanā,
with contact as condition, feeling;
เวทะนาปัจจะยา ตัณหา,
vedanāpaccayā taṇhā,
with feeling as condition, craving;
ตัณหาปัจจะยา อุปาทานัง,
taṇhāpaccayā upādānaṃ,
with craving as condition, clinging;
อุปาทานะปัจจะยา ภะโว,
upādānapaccayā bhavo,
with clinging as condition, becoming;
ภะวะปัจจะยา ชาติ,
bhavapaccayā jāti,
with becoming as condition, birth;
ชาติปัจจะยา ชะรามะระณัง โสกะปะริเทวะทุกขะโทมะนัสสุปายาสา สัมภะวันติ,
jātipaccayā jarāmaraṇaṃ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā sambhavanti,
with birth as condition, ageing-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair come to be.
เอวะเมตัสสะ เกวะลัสสะ ทุกขักขันธัสสะ สะมุทะโย โหติ.
evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti.
Thus is the arising of this entire mass of suffering.
นิโรธะวาระ: The Section on Cessation
อะวิชชายะเต๎ววะ อะเสสะวิราคะนิโรธา สังขาระนิโรโธ,
avijjāyatevva asesavirāganirodhā saṅkhāranirodho,
From the remainderless fading away and cessation of that very ignorance, the cessation of formations;
สังขาระนิโรธา วิญญาณะนิโรโธ,
saṅkhāranirodhā viññāṇanirodho,
from the cessation of formations, the cessation of consciousness;
วิญญาณะนิโรธา นามะรูปะนิโรโธ,
viññāṇanirodhā nāmarūpanirodho,
from the cessation of consciousness, the cessation of name-and-form;
นามะรูปะนิโรธา สะฬายะตะนะนิโรโธ,
nāmarūpanirodhā saḷāyatananirodho,
from the cessation of name-and-form, the cessation of the six sense bases;
สะฬายะตะนะนิโรธา ผัสสะนิโรโธ,
saḷāyatananirodhā phassanirodho,
from the cessation of the six sense bases, the cessation of contact;
ผัสสะนิโรธา เวทะนานิโรโธ,
phassanirodhā vedanānirodho,
from the cessation of contact, the cessation of feeling;
เวทะนานิโรธา ตัณหานิโรโธ,
vedanānirodhā taṇhānirodho,
from the cessation of feeling, the cessation of craving;
ตัณหานิโรธา อุปาทานะนิโรโธ,
taṇhānirodhā upādānanirodho,
from the cessation of craving, the cessation of clinging;
อุปาทานะนิโรธา ภะวะนิโรโธ,
upādānanirodhā bhavanirodho,
from the cessation of clinging, the cessation of becoming;
ภะวะนิโรธา ชาตินิโรโธ,
bhavanirodhā jātinirodho,
from the cessation of becoming, the cessation of birth;
ชาตินิโรธา ชะรามะระณัง โสกะปะริเทวะทุกขะโทมะนัสสุปายาสา นิรุชฌันติ,
jātinirodhā jarāmaraṇaṃ sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā nirujjhanti,
from the cessation of birth, ageing-and-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair cease.
เอวะเมตัสสะ เกวะลัสสะ ทุกขักขันธัสสะ นิโรโธ โหติ.
evametassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa nirodho hoti.
Thus is the cessation of this entire mass of suffering.