Six types of cause

The six types of cause (Skt. ṣaḍhetu; Tib. རྒྱུ་དྲུག་; Wyl. rgyu drug) are the basis on which all conditioned things arise. They are:

1. efficient cause (kāraṇahetu; byed pa'i rgyu)
2. coemergent cause (sahabhūhetu; lhan cig 'byung ba'i rgyu)
3. cause similar to its result (sabhāgahetu; skal pa mnyam pa'i rgyu)
4. concomitant cause (saṃprayuktahetu; mtshungs par ldan pa'i rgyu)
5. omnipresent cause (sarvatragahetu; kun tu 'gro ba'i rgyu).
6. ripening cause (vipākahetu; rnam par smin pa'i rgyu)

Alternative translations

Erik Pema Kunsang: 1. The acting cause 2. The co-originating cause 3. The equal status cause 4. The concurrent cause 5. The leading cause 6. The ripening cause

David Karma Choepel: 1. Enabling cause 2. The coemergent cause 3. Cause of same status 4. The concurrent cause 5. The universal cause 6. The full ripening cause

Internal Links

• Four types of condition