When considering any entity, element, being, thought or anything that exists or will exist in the universe, they are continuously subjected to the influence of any other element or thing surrounding it. This is an never ending ongoing process, starting from the beginning of the universe to this day, and beyond.  Being formed within this relative entangled evolution, when a thought is formed within a being, it becomes tainted in illusion due to the inability to understand “Anaathma” or the concept of selflessness. Beings tend to take dharmatha as self or self related, illusionary conceptualizing without having no regard to the principle of dependent origination in the universe.

Consider the following occurrence, for example. You are sitting in the living room with your family, enjoying a peaceful moment. Suddenly, the bell rings. At that moment, various thoughts different from the current topic of conversation might arise in everyone's mind. You might think it's a friend of yours. Someone else might think it's the electricity bill collector or the postman. Another person might not be able to guess who is making the noise at this unexpected moment. For another person, it may cause thoughts of anger due to the conversations in the living room being interrupted. 

Now, you go and open the door. It turns out to be a food delivery person. He tells you to accept the food order, which happens to be your favorite type of food. You are filled with happiness. However, simultaneously, you wonder who ordered the food for you and paid for it. Seeing the food parcel, others in the house also become happy. At the same time, you receive a phone call. It's an old school friend of yours, someone you were very close to in the past. He is currently abroad and informs you that he came to the motherland for urgent work and is now about to return. The first time you met him was on the day you joined the school. During lunchtime on that day, you shared a part of your meal with him. The friendship that started from there has continued ever since.

Thus, when looking at it this way, how many factors are relatively built upon one another to make the doorbell ring at this particular moment? If we delve deeper, we can go back to the origins. Further, your grandmother made that meal because your mother was sick that day (first day of school). The meal made by your grandmother was your friend's favorite food.

Similarly, how many factors and causes have come together for the food to be made in such a way and delivered to your house and for a phone call to come in that manner? How many factors and causes had to come together for the related technologies to be created and developed?

In this way, at any moment, we can analyze and interpret the cause and effect of any occurring event based on the information we remember, using our memory, to a certain extent and depth. Then, we can recognize the relative constructions up to a certain extent and depth within it. As the depth and coverage of this analysis increase, the breadth and depth of the context also increase.

When considering any one unit in this relative entangled-evolution, it has the ability to affect the entire system. That is its uniqueness. Therefore, this cause-and-effect process cannot be defined as something that happens automatically.

If you examine how someone can know “Patichcha Samuppāda” (Dependent Origination), which is popular within religious realm, in the notion of “Avidya Pachchaya Sankara…” you will see that they only learn notions of “Sankara”, “Vignana” and other similar terms constrained within “Avidyawa” or Ignorance. ( Hence all things, such as formations, consciousness, etc., are visible to a person only within ignorance). This is evident in the way this principle itself is presented.

Accordingly, it is said that “Vignāna” arises due to “Sankāra”( formations), and “Nāma-Rūpa” (name-form) arises due to ”Sankāra”, and so on.  Ironically this whole process is tried to be understood through ignorance, suggested by the principle 'ignorance precedes formations’.

For you, it is not possible to realize the principle of “Patichcha Samuppāda” (the process of dependent origination) outside the frames of your own ignorance. Therefore, there is no real awakening in understanding it this manner. The only thing you will know from it is the process of formation which is built on delusion. Through the word 'ignorance', it is indicated that the entire picture that can be seen through the eyes of the Buddha is veiled to the person who dwells in ignorance. 

When true-insight is veiled (by ignorance), the thing you assumed to be the world is formed through Sankāra (formations under illusion), and the only thing perceived is the continued existence (and not real “Patichcha Samuppāda” which is visible only to one without ignorance). What you understand as “Sankāra” (Formation), “Vedanā”(Sensation), and “Passa”(merging) are only based on Ignorance. 

Here, only a superficial discussion has been made about dependent origination. But there is a hint about the story that is not visible to the being that a wise individual can see.

“Imasmin sathi idan hōthi – imassa uppādaa idan uppajathi

Imasmin asathi idan nahōthi – emassa nirōdha idan nirujjathi”

//When there is this, that arises - With the arising of this, that arises.

//When there is not this, that does not occur - With the cessation of this, that ceases.

Here it separates the cause-effect from Karma which is the underlying root cause for the cause-effect. Karma in other words the entangled evolution is a matter related to the scope of Buddha and can’t be understood by the mind.

A person with a highly developed awareness (Sathi) can see that thoughts, feelings, and perceptions arise from some process beyond their control. However, the principles behind them are not self-revealing to the being.

Even though these matters are so, it is not suitable to go to the level of saying that dependent origination is “acinteyya” (inconceivable). It is not like going to the level of saying karma is  “acinteyya” (inconceivable). It is limited. The effort should be to not become a person subjected to the influence of dependent origination but to be someone who influences dependent origination. The path laid for that is through the middle way. However, the understanding that dependent origination is based on ignorance is important.

If you consider the process of dependent origination of a path-walker, there is a difference compared to others. Because in attaining realization, there is an influence on his ego. There is an influence on the entirety as well. Furthermore, the path-perception of a path-walker is oriented towards a certain fixed direction.

When you take “Patichcha Samuppāda”, when thinking about an individual person, we can simply say that it’s basically decisions based on things that are known to people. They are based on information, based on imagination, and something that is thought and developed on feelings. But when there are so many people, we must understand that one can get caught in the influence that comes with the interconnections between each of these people. It is a nature of dharma built with dependent origination. We can see its breadth and depth increasing further and further as we keep observing.

Dependent origination is built on “Awidya” (ignorance). “Vidya” (awakned-perception) is the understanding that dependent origination is built that way. Awakened-perception does not cause building a dependent origination. Even if an awakened person's Chitta develops to a certain level in day to day life, it stops after a few occurrences. It does not continuously develop. He does not become the Chitta itself.

If we consider a single person, we can say that karma is based on dependent origination. Similarly, from the other side, we can say that dependent origination is based on karma. For example, brothers and sisters in a family meet based on karma, and after that, the way they interact and the relationships they build are based on dependent origination. Karma is built upon that again.

A normal person's chitta is built on ignorance with dependent origination. The chitta is built in such a way because of the  information and constructions provided by the mind. There, the mind presents a certain amount of information edited at the basic level. Ignorance is also embedded within it. Therefore, it can be considered that  the basic level information presented and modified through the activity of the mind is also resultant of dependent origination.

On the other hand, the mind is also based on karma. The differences in mental activities of each person are based on their respective karmas. Here, even though karma, mind, and chitta are discussed through dependent origination, knowing these facts does not end the journey of samsara. Seeing a disease but the cure is not within it. For the awakened-perception to emerge, it is necessary to realize a previously unheard and extraordinary dharma. Through that, “Buddhi” (gnāna) develops and under the shed of light of that gnāna the building of egostic conceptualization stops.