The naya of paticca samuppada

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[Azita] Ajahn, a moment ago you spoke about ignorance and I've been looking at the paticca samuppada (dependent origination) and the first step is avijja paccaya sankhara (ignorance conditions intention).

[A. Sujin] What is there now? The reality which experiences now and the reality which experiences at moment of birth, is it (one) different (from the other)? It experiences but [it's] different by conditions

[Azita] Ignorance seems to be the basis of it all, it's really the basis of the mess of samsara, is that true?

[A. Sujin] Are those moments conditioned by ignorance? Or, just talking about a moment ago or even right now, what we are saying, the sankhara, which is cetana, is it not conditioned by ignorance? The core of life, to begin [there] has to be cetana, the intention to condition an action or deed, which is kusala-kamma-patha, to be able to condition moment of birth (as human being), in the past. So, in the links of paticca samuppada the past conditions the present and the present conditions the future, endlessly. So ignorance now conditions cetana now, until it conditions unwholesome deeds or wholesome deeds. So it (i.e. cetana) conditions [also] nama-rupa of next life. We are talking about the past (kamma) which conditioned the present (life). And now this one will condition the next [life], in the future, future lives.

So, understanding what is meant by paticca samuppada, all's by conditions, endlessly, as long as there are conditions, and what is the condition? Ignorance, because there is ignorance now as there was ignorance in the past, long long time ago, conditioning this moment of taking what is there as something, at that [past] moment, it was sankhara, right?

Let's talk about that link, the past deed, cetana, which has done something, through speech or deeds, conditioning this present life, that's why as long as there is still ignorance there must be cetana, either wholesome or unwholesome, until it is wholesome deed or unwholesome deed, to be the cause for the birth [moment] of this life, the past [cetana] now conditioning this life, and it depends on what is [being] done now [what] will be condition to condition the next life, the next moment after death.

So there are three links, [we're] talking about ignorance in the past, for sure it's still [accumulated] there, that it conditioned sankhara, cetana, to condition the akusala kamma or kusala kamma which conditioned the present life, the birth of this life and that are there now in this life, accumulated together with the previous [ones], one which is ready or ripe now to condition moment of birth after death. So, as in the past there was avijja which has conditioned kamma and it [has] conditioned life now, nama-rupa means [that] the viññana and the patisandhi citta conditioned the cetasikas by kamma, and kamma conditions rupa too, by a kamma in the past.

And now will be the past of the future, the same ignorance and sankhara, cetana, and deeds in this life, on and on, until it's next life again. So, just talking about [how] the past conditioned the present life, avijja conditioned sankhara, [both] in the past, and the [past] sankhara conditioned nama [incl. viññana] and rupa in this life. [We're talking] about the three links: past, present and future, by way of different paccayas.

By naya of paticca samuppada, sankhara means only cetana. By naya of khandhas, sankhara means 50 cetasikas. By naya of all sankhara dhammas, all conditioned dhammas - citta, cetasikas, rupas - are meant by sankhara.