Investigation of Conditions

(return to list of Contents & Translation of "Mulamadhyamakakarika: Verses from the Centre")

1. Investigation of Conditions

(Conditions)

བདག་ལས་མ་ཡིན་གཞན་ལས་མིན།
གཉིས་ལས་མ་ཡིན་རྒྱུ་མེད་མིན།
དངོས་པོ་གང་དག་གང་ན་ཡང།
སྐྱེ་བ་ནམ་ཡང་ཡོད་མ་ཡིན།།

1. bdag las ma yin gzhan las min/
gnyis las ma yin rgyu med min/
dngos po gang dag gang na yang/
skye ba nam yang yod ma yin//

1. No thing anywhere is ever born from itself, from something else, from both or without a cause.

2. rkyen rnams bzhi ste rgyu dang ni/
dmigs pa dang ni de ma thag/
bdag po yang ni de bzhin te/
rkyen lnga pa ni yod ma yin//

2. There are four conditions: Causes, objects, immediate and dominant. There is no fifth.

3. dngos po rnams kyi rang bzhin ni/
rkyen la sogs pa yod ma yin/
bdag gi dngos po yod min na/
gzhan dngos yod pa ma yin no//

3. The essence of things does not exist in conditions and so on. If an own thing does not exist, an other thing does not exist.

4. bya ba rkyen dang ldan pa med/
rkyen dang mi ldan bya ba med/
bya ba mi ldan rkyen ma yin/
bya ba ldan yod 'on te na//

4. There is no activity which has conditions. There is no activity which does not have conditions. There are no conditions which do not have activity, and none which do have activity.

5. 'di dag la brtan skye bas na/
de phyir 'di dag rkyen ces grag/
ci srid mi skye de srid du/
'di dag rkyen min ci ltar min//

5. Since something is born in dependence upon them, then they are known as "conditions". As long as it is not born, why are they not non-conditions?

6. med dam yod pa'i don la yang/
rkyen ni rung ba ma yin te/
med na gang gi rkyen du 'gyur/
yod na rkyen gyis ci zhig bya//

6. It is impossible for something that either exists or not to have conditions. If it were non-existent, of what would they be the conditions? If it were existent, why would it need conditions?

7. gang tshe chos ni yod pa dang/
med dang yod med mi 'grub pas/
ci ltar sgrub byed rgyu zhes bya/
de ltar yin na mi rigs so//

7. When things cannot be established as either existent, non-existent or both, how can one speak of an "establishing cause." Such would be impossible.

8. yod pa'i chos 'di dmigs pa ni/
med pa kho na nye bar bstan/
ci ste chos ni dmigs med na/
dmigs pa yod par ga la 'gyur//

8. An existent phenomenon is clearly said to have no object at all. If the phenomenon has no object, where can the object exist?

9. chos rnams skyes pa ma yin na/
'gag pa 'thad par mi 'gyur ro/
de phyir de ma thag mi rigs/
'gags na rkyen yang gang zhig yin//

9. If phenomena are not born, it is invalid for there to be cessation. Therefore, an immediate [condition] is unreasonable. What, having ceased, can also be a condition?

10. dngos po rang bzhin med rnams kyi/
yod pa gang phyir yod min na/
'di yod pas na 'di 'byung zhes/
bya ba 'di ni 'thad ma yin//

10. Because the existence of essence-less things does not exist, it is incorrect to say:"When this exists, that arises."

11. rkyen rnams so so 'dus pa la/
'bras bu de ni med pa nyid/
rkyen rnams la ni gang med pa/
de ni rkyen las ci ltar skye//

11. There is no effect at all in the conditions individually or together. How can that which is not in the conditions itself be born from conditions?

12. ci ste 'bras bu de med kyang/
rkyen de dag las skye 'gyur na/
rkyen min las kyang 'bras bu ni/
ci yi phyir na skye mi 'gyur//

12. If, although the effect is not there, it is born from those conditions, why is an effect not born from what are not its conditions?

13. 'bras bu rkyen gyi rang bzhin ni/
rkyen rnams bdag gi rang bzhin min/
bdag dngos min las 'bras bu gang/
de ni ci ltar rkyen rang bzhin//

13. Effects [are of] the nature of conditions. Conditions do not have own nature. How can those effects of what does not have own nature [be of] the nature of conditions?

14. de phyir rkyen gyi rang bzhin min/
rkyen min rang bzhin 'bras bu ni/
yod min 'bras bu med bas na/
rkyen min rkyen du ga la 'gyur//

14. Therefore, [it does] not have the nature of conditions, nor is there an effect with the nature of non-conditions. Since there is no effect, what could [be its] non-conditions or conditions?