Buddha’s words, here Sutta Central, here
The Upanisa Sutta describes the classical formation of dependent origination, but where normally the causal chain of dependent origination just goes round and around, from ignorance through to suffering and back to ignorance, the teaching presented in this sutta shows how suffering can give rise to faith (saddhā), which gives rise to joy, rapture, etcetera, through concentration and insight to release.
I have been looking for information about this way of interrupting the cycle of dependent origination for sometime, and I am glad to have found it in this article, “Transcendental Dependent Arising” by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Ajahn Brahmali wrote a book about this sutta as well, which I have read but cannot find online.
A central idea of Buddhism that I think is sometimes neglected, is the idea that suffering is actually the motivation for liberation ~ without suffering, there would be nothing compelling us to look at what we are doing wrong. The (transcendental) dependent origination described in the Upanisa Sutta is a cycle moving from suffering through faith to liberation:
- faith (saddha)
- joy (pamojja)
- rapture (piti)
- tranquillity (passaddhi)
- happiness (sukha)
- concentration (samadhi)
- knowledge and vision of things as they are (yathabhutañanadassana)
- disenchantment (nibbida)
- dispassion (viraga)
- emancipation (vimutti)
- knowledge of destruction of the cankers (asavakkhaye ñana)