Transcendental Dependent Arising: A Translation and Exposition of the Upanisa Sutta

The book opens with a complete English translation of the Upanisa Sutta, presenting the canonical sequence that connects suffering with liberation through a chain of progressively arising spiritual qualities. Bhikkhu Bodhi then examines the doctrinal foundations of dependent origination, distinguishing the mundane order that explains the arising of saṃsāric existence from the transcendental order that explains the gradual development of the path to enlightenment. The exposition proceeds systematically through each stage—faith (saddhā), joy (pāmojja), rapture (pīti), tranquillity (passaddhi), happiness (sukha), concentration (samādhi), knowledge and vision of reality (yathābhūta-ñāṇadassana), disenchantment (nibbidā), dispassion (virāga), emancipation (vimutti), and the knowledge of the destruction of the taints (āsavakkhaya-ñāṇa)—explaining their psychological, ethical, meditative, and doctrinal significance through extensive references to the Pāli Canon and Theravāda exegetical tradition. The result is a unified presentation of the Buddhist path in which every stage naturally conditions the next, culminating in complete liberation.