Where does life come from; and where does it go after death What is the origin of live and death of all beings The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination （因緣）can help us decipher this secret.

The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination are the twelve procedures in the chain of existence, illustrating the cycle of life from the past, present and to the future.

1.Ignorance（無明）: "All phenomena arise from causes and conditions. All phenomena are obliterated by causes and conditions; phenomena arise when conditions are present, and cease when such conditions scatter.（諸法因緣生，諸法因緣滅；緣聚則生，緣散則滅。）" Failure to realize this truth means ignorance. Thus ignorance means not understanding the truth of how conditions arise.

2.Volitional activity（行）: Also known as behavior, it is the force generated from a sentient being's body, speech and mind, which thrusts one into the cycle of rebirth. Karma is created in one's past life time(s) due to ignorance, and this karma is volitional activity.

3.Consciousness（識）: Our ignorance from the past gives rise to karma（業）, and thus causes the existence of our present life. The thought that exists at the very moment of rebirth is called "consciousness." Consciousness is the hub of an individual's mental being. Its ability to differentiate enables phenomena and the six roots to develop, and becomes the dominator of all mental activities.

4.Name and Form（名色）: A different name of the Five Aggregates（五蘊）. Name is the spiritual part of the five aggregates which include sensation, perception, activity and consciousness. Form is the physical part of the five aggregates, that is, the physical body. Name and form together constitute the spiritual and material part of a sentient being's life.

5.The Six Sensory Organs（六入）: Known as the "the six inner roots（內六根）," these are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind, which act to pass forward the information of form, sound ,smell, taste, touch and object of mind （the six external objectsj外六境）.

6.Contact（觸）: This is the subjective feelings which arise when the six roots contact the six objects. For example, the feelings of suffering, happiness, starvation, cold, pain or itchiness all arise under contact.