Arising in Dependence on Mind

Stian Gudmundsen Høiland

Arising in dependence on mind means it does not arise independent of mind. This qualifies phenomena with “mindness”, which is very different from how we usually take it. This leads me to saying that depending on mind means it does not arise in reality, since reality is held to be mind-independence.

But arising in dependence, sheerly that, means there is no source or ground, and there is no giving rise. When we hear the sound of a chirping bird, does it arise from the bird? No. Does it arise from the ear? No. Does it arise from awareness? No.

There is no singular, final source or ariser, nothing at all gives rise to it, not even “the collection of conditions”, since a collection of non-arisers do not together make an ariser. It is difficult to understand that this means that the sound arises dependently.