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以上介紹的是人的精神體（靈體即支配肉體者）的來源、能量、作用、分工組織等，被稱為佛教科學，絕無僅有，也是全人類每個人的內心實際活動，所有人類歷史一切發明創造是由人的這個內心組織所做的結果；成佛、入地獄亦復如是，這就是悉達多要知道人為什麼有生老病死悟道後的答案。人很少認識自己，知道自己；就是想認識也只能認識前六識，至於自己的心則一輩子也不認識，至死也見不到。哀哉！這種學問只有佛教有，而且是由實際過程引來的，這就是人生老病死之因因果果。
「名色」，識入胎初期尚未成形稱名色。名是精神，由識派生。色是肉體。依母體由六大組成。地組骨肉，水組血液，火組溫度，風組呼吸氣，空是體內空隙，這才有人形，胎兒逐漸長成，生眼耳鼻舌身意六根，才需要六入。
「六入」，胎兒出世。六入，就是六識。依第八識而生的。第八識雖早來，因六根尚未成形故。為什麼叫六根呢？因它只是任所每識執行任務的崗位。崗位責任制，意無定所，常依七識，絕不紊亂，只有相助精神，絕無越權或瀆職行為。舉例說，眼負責看，它絕無聽聞等越權事，別識亦然，如眼的職務多，或亂看不清楚時，其他各識都來幫助，即大家在一起聚精會神地看。這時你叫他，他聽不著，因耳識幫助眼識去了。如果七識或六識傳令行動，不論局部或全部立即執行，不稍遲緩，絕無有令不行，有禁不止。組織得多麼徹底，認真負責，分工互助，只須完成任務，沒有怠工行為。現在可以清楚看出，不論精神肉體都是聚集而成（即依他起元素）都沒有自性，所以佛說「苦空無常，觀法無我」，因歷來生人如此，甚而歷劫如此，大多數人認為假象就是自己的實體，因有這和合假象的存在，說它是假象很難承認，所以拆開細解；「唯識宗」是佛教解人的科學。所講的實際，人自己確不了解。識的作用很大，但非三結合不起，（即六根、六塵、六入）已經說過，六根眼耳等六科，它有固定位置，所以叫六根。六塵，即色、聲、香、味、觸、法，包括一切外境。有眼對色塵，再有眼識三結合才能起作用，三缺一不可。例如有眼無識，什麼也看不見，有眼識沒有色塵，什麼也不見，所以必須三結合，以下耳等五識五根和聲等五塵亦復如是；這叫十八識完備，各識才能正式執行各自的任務。向意反映各職內所了別的情況，經過審明由第七識決定處理，這就是每一個人的內部組織機構的實際情況，第七識是司令部，所有身體的活動，不論事物大小巨細都是第七識主持，它是挾天子以令諸侯，身是受心支配的，所以人的行為往往照外境界生取捨而造惡業。這時孩子成長常出外界接觸。
「觸」就是小孩漸漸和外界接觸，並不知好歹，只知有東西，而知道被抱著好受，漸漸趨向觸物，越大越知道東西有好歹，感到冷暖澀滑由此就有受。
「受」就是接受，由接受各種生活用品，就感覺出好壞，就產生愛好。
「愛」就是喜愛，越愛越親近，有的愛不能捨，有的沒有辦法自己謀取。
「取」就是自己愛好的都想取到自己手中，歸自己所有。社會上所有萬物，都是物各有主，怎能任意而取呢？這就要千方百計，不擇手段，巧取豪奪。前生有點善根的人，今生生到財勢兼有人家，如能藉勢修行效果快，而德薄者相反，利用財勢，取人之所有，奪人之酷愛，造下惡業，就有了新的業因。
「有」又有了來生的業因。這樣生生相續而不自覺，都在無明之中。佛不出世就沒有人能說破無明這個道理的。不到大徹大悟，都在無明之中，知識不等於明。大的罪犯，哪一個沒有知識？事後看出都是無明者。所以這十二因緣主要的就是破無明；既有業因，就有來生的業果。
「生」，於來世又生了。一切照舊，既有生，就有「老死」。
以上是十二因緣而言三世因果，不止於三世，前世和後世是無限的，只要「無明」不破；生了死，死了生，永無盡期。這就是緣起法根本法則。學習十二因緣法，雖然不能去雪山打坐，也再不能隨波逐流了。怎麼辦？要重新作人。什麼都不用變，一切照舊，只是由內「心」改變，名「轉識成智」；以前做損人利己之事，今後改做有利於人的事，最低也不佔便宜。「諸惡莫作，眾善奉行。」堅決忌妄語，一定「心口如一」，這條做到很難；看著沒什麼，真做到三年後，有修證；佛法講修講證，有修不證，不是心不在焉，就是方法不對，再就是適應不真。現在提倡「農禪」，就是說職場就是道場。人間佛教，正內心是「行」呢！十二因緣到
此為止吧！古人形容「心」字五言律：
三點如星佈，一勾似月斜；
披毛從此起，作佛也由它。
緣起法不僅包括因果關係；無所不包，宗教、哲學、科學等等，越學越深，窮之不盡。
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The above has been an explanation of people's spiritual being (the soul that controls our physical body)—its origin, energy, functioning, organization, and so forth—which is known as Buddhist science and is unique in the world. It is an explanation of the mental activity of every human being. All human inventions and creative endeavors throughout the history of mankind are the result of this mental system. Becoming a Buddha and falling into the hells are also due to it. This is the answer that Siddhartha found upon his enlightenment to his question of why people undergo birth, old age, sickness and death. Few people are able to understand themselves; even if they want to, they can only understand the first six consciousnesses. They go through their whole .life without understanding their own minds, without seeing it once before they die. Alas! This knowledge can only be found in Buddhism. Moreover, it can only be derived through actual practice. That is the only way to understand the causes and effects behind human birth, aging, sickness, and death.
"Name and form" refers to the consciousness in the initial period after it has entered the womb, before it has taken shape. Name is the psychological aspect, which is sent forth from consciousness. Form is the physical body, which is composed of the six elements from the mother's body. Earth forms the bones and flesh; water forms the blood and other bodily fluids, fire gives the body warmth; wind gives the breath; and emptiness makes the hollow cavities in the body. Thus the fetus takes on a human appearance and gradually matures, developing the six faculties of eyes, ears, a nose, a tongue, the overall body, and the mind, which then necessitate the six entrances.
The "six entrances" come into being when the baby is born. The six entrances are just the six consciousnesses, which are born from the eighth consciousness. The eighth consciousness is the first to arrive, because at that time the six faculties have not yet taken shape. They are called the six faculties because each one carries out only the duty associated with its corresponding consciousness. In this system, the mind has no fixed location and constantly relies on the seventh consciousness. The consciousnesses never get mixed up; they help each other out but don't try to usurp each other's positions or jobs. For example, the eyes are in charge of seeing and would never step out of place and try to hear things. The same goes for the other consciousnesses. However, if the eye consciousness gets overburdened or looks around recklessly and cannot see clearly, the other consciousnesses come to help out. The person concentrates all his energy on seeing to the point that he cannot hear others calling, for the ear consciousness has gone to help out the eye consciousness.
If the seventh or the sixth consciousness issues an order, part or all of the consciousnesses will carry it out without the slightest delay. They never ignore an order or disobey a prohibition. They are extremely well organized, responsible, and cooperative. They only want to complete their duties, and would never shirk them. From this we can see clearly that both the psychological and the physical aspects are formed from a combination of interdependent factors; neither are independent entities that exist on their own. Thus the Buddha spoke of
"non-self." But for many lives and many eons, the great majority of people have taken this false image to be their true selves. Due to the seeming existence of this false image which is a combination of things, it is hard for people to recognize it as false. This led to the analytical explanations of the Consciousness-only School, which are Buddhism's science of human existence. Yet people fail to understand the reality that this science describes. The functioning of the consciousness is very great, yet it cannot take place without the three aspects uniting (the six faculties, the six sense objects, and the six entrances). As mentioned before, the six faculties [literally
"roots"] (the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) are thus called because they have fixed locations. The six sense objects (forms, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations of touch, and dharmas) include all external states. There must be the eye, forms, and the eye consciousness—all three together—for anything to happen. None of the three can be missing. For instance, if there is an eye but no consciousness, nothing can be seen. If there is the eye consciousness but no forms, again nothing can be seen. So, the three must be linked. This is also the case with the other five faculties, objects, and consciousnesses. Then the eighteen realms are there in their entirety, and that's when each consciousness can carry out its job and report the states it perceives to the intellect. After evaluating them, the seventh consciousness decides how to deal with them. This is the internal makeup of every human being. The seventh consciousness is the headquarters of all bodily activities. It is in charge of all matters great and small. It gives orders to the lords in the name of the king. The body is controlled by the mind. That's why people often create evil karma in reaction to external states. As the child grows older, he or she comes into frequent contact with the outside world.
"Contact" refers to when children gradually come into contact with the outside world. They have no sense of good and bad yet, but only know that there are objects. They know it feels good to be hugged. As they gradually come into contact with more things, they learn what is good and what is bad. They experience cold and warmth, rough and smooth, which brings about feeling.
"Feeling" refers to fondness. The more one loves something, the closer one draws to it. Sometimes one cannot bear to let the object of one's love go; other times one cannot obtain the object for oneself.
"Grasping" refers to wanting to take what one loves into
one's own possession. Everything in society has an owner;
how can one take whatever one wants? Therefore, people must
plot and scheme in order to usurp other's property. Those
who have planted good roots in past lives may be born into
wealthy families of high standing. If they can use that to
advantage in their cultivation, they can succeed very
quickly. Conversely, those who lack virtue use their wealth
and power to seize things that are dear to others, creating
evil karma and planting new karmic seeds.
"Becoming" refers to the karmic seeds that bring about another round of existence. In total ignorance, we go through life after life without realizing what is happening. If the Buddha had not come into the world, no one would have revealed our ignorance to us. Before we have become thoroughly enlightened, we are still bound up in ignorance. If one is knowledgeable, that does not mean one is not ignorant. Which one of the great villains was not knowledgeable. But looking back, we can see that they were all ignorant. Thus, among the Twelve Causal Conditions, the most important link to break is ignorance. The seeds of karma lead to the karmic retribution of further existence.
"Birth" is birth into the next life. It's the same old thing—once there is birth, there is old age and death.
"Old age and death." The above has been an explanation of cause and effect in the three periods of time in terms of the Twelve Causal Conditions. Actually, this is not just talking about three periods of time, for the past and present are infinite. Before ignorance is destroyed, there is no end to the succession of births and deaths. This is the basic law of the Dharma of conditioned arising. Once we have studied the Twelve Causal Conditions, although we cannot go to meditate in the Himalayas, we also can no longer just drift along in life as before. What should we do? Make a fresh start in life. We can be just the same as before outside, but just change in our hearts. This is called transforming consciousness into wisdom. If we used to benefit ourselves at the expense of others, from now on we will only benefit others and at least not take advantage of them. We should
"refrain from evil and practice all good." We must never lie. Everything we say should reflect our minds. This is hard to do. It seems like nothing, but if you can truly practice in this way, after three years you will have some accomplishment. Buddhism talks about cultivation and realization. If you cultivate but do not come to realization, it's not that you are not earnest, but that your method is inappropriate for you. Now
"self-supporting monasteries" are popular, with the idea that the workplace is the Way-place. In worldly Buddhism, the inner mind is the place of practice. We shall conclude the discussion of the Twelve Causal Conditions here. The ancients had a verse to describe the Chinese character
"心" for mind/heart:
Three dots like a cluster of stars;
A hook like the crescent moon.
Furred creatures arise from there;
Buddhas come from there too.
The Dharma of conditioned arising not only includes the relationship between cause and effect, it encompasses everything from religion to philosophy to science. The more one studies it, the deeper one's understanding becomes. It can never be studied to exhaustion.
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