structural:reformatting, quality:correction
Pratītyasamutpāda, commonly translated as dependent origination, or dependent arising, is a key doctrine in Buddhism shared by all schools of Buddhism. It states that all dharmas (phenomena) arise in dependence upon other dharmas: "if this exists, that exists; if this ceases to exist, that also ceases to exist". The basic principle is that all things arise in dependence upon other things. The doctrine includes depictions of the arising of suffering and depictions of how the chain can be reversed. These processes are expressed in various lists of dependently originated phenomena, the most well-known of which is the twelve links or nidānas. The traditional interpretation of these lists is that they describe the process of a sentient being's rebirth in saṃsāra, and the resultant duḥkha, and they provide an analysis of rebirth and suffering that avoids positing an atman. The reversal of the causal chain is explained as leading to the cessation of rebirth. Another interpretation regards the lists as describing the arising of mental processes and the resultant notion of "I" and "mine" that leads to grasping and suffering. Several modern western scholars argue that there are inconsistencies in the list of twelve links, and regard it to be a later synthesis of several older lists and elements, some of which can be traced to the Vedas. The doctrine of dependent origination appears throughout the early Buddhist texts. It is the main topic of the Nidana Samyutta of the Theravada school's Saṃyuttanikāya. A parallel collection of discourses also exists in the Chinese Saṁyuktāgama.