Sutra on Dependent Arising

The Sutra on Dependent Arising (Skt. Pratītyasamutpāda-sutra; Tib. རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་བར་འབྱུང་བའི་མདོ།, Wyl. rten cing ‘brel bar ‘byung ba’i mdo) — The sutra says that while the Buddha was residing in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three with a retinue of deities, arhats, and bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara asked the Buddha how beings can gain merit from building a stupa. The Buddha responded by stating the Buddhist creed on dependent origination:

All phenomena originate from causes,

The Tathagata has taught these causes,

And also that which puts a stop to these causes,

This too has been taught by the Great Shramana.

The Buddha then explains that this dependent arising is the dharmakaya, and that whoever sees dependent arising sees the Buddha. He concludes the sutra by saying that one should place these verses inside stupas to attain the merit of Brahma.

Tibetan Text

• Dergé Kangyur vol. 62 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 125a–125b

Translations

• The Sutra on Dependent Arising