The Doctrine of Dependent Origination in Buddhist Philosophy and its Practicality

Abstract

Buddhist philosophy explains the nature of phenomenal existence and assertsthat most
of the human beings suffer in life both physically and mentally due to their failures on
understanding interdependency of worldly phenomena and their connection to humanbody
and mind. This study has endeavoured to explain the way most of the humanbeings fail to
perceive co-dependent condition of phenomena and they go on suffering as a consequence.
The data is based on secondary resources. Inferences are based on various understandings
of what The Buddha taught of The Dependent Origination and cause of human suffering.
The discussion proceeds with Buddha’s view on the doctrine, some responses on it and the
researcher’s own logical inferences. The findings tell that human suffering begins when a
person fails to perceive the ever-changing nature of material things and relation between
external things and its effects in our body, perception,understanding,knowledge, attitudesetc.
The failure deviates from reality and a person misunderstands the relation of origination
and cessation of things and events. As a result, he/she continuescraving, clinging or making
attachment to the false reality of ‘permanency of things, immortality of Self, supernatural
power and so on. And the solution of this suffering is to know the reality of nature: the
ways the phenomena in the universe and events in human life originate, exist and cease. To
explain it further the article takes few representative findings of researches on how things we
eat, wear andsit around and beyond influence and affect our body and thought.