CH02: The Wheel & Four Periods (Kāla)

At-a-glance: Foundations • Map layout

A. Definition & place in DO

• Four periods (layers) in the Mogok wheel organise the single twelve-link chain across time and function:

  1. Past Cause (atīta-hetu)

  2. Present Effect (paccuppanna-vipāka)

  3. Present Cause (paccuppanna-hetu)

  4. Future Effect (anāgata-vipāka).

• Exact mapping of the twelve links (SN 12.1 guided; SN 12.2 for definitions):

  • Past Cause (1–2): avijjā → saṅkhārā.

  • Present Effect (3–7): viññāṇa → nāma-rūpa → saḷāyatana → phassa → vedanā.

  • Present Cause (8–10): taṇhā → upādāna → (kamma)bhava.

  • Future Effect (11–12): jāti → jarāmaraṇa (including soka-parideva-dukkha-domanassa-upāyāsa per SN 12.1).

• Three rounds (vaṭṭa) overlay (for practice clarity):

  • Kilesa-vaṭṭa: avijjā, taṇhā, upādāna.

  • Kamma-vaṭṭa: saṅkhārā, bhava.

  • Vipāka-vaṭṭa: viññāṇa, nāma-rūpa, saḷāyatana, phassa, vedanā, jāti, jarāmaraṇa.

• No first cause is asserted; avijjā is a root within a beginningless process (SN 12.1).

B. Mechanism (how the wheel is read)

• One chain, four placements: The twelve links are not four separate cycles; they are one causal line placed into four periods to teach cause/effect hand-offs.

• Hand-off points (Mogok “three connections”):

  1. C1: saṅkhārā → viññāṇa (kamma result transfer, past→present).

  2. C2: vedanā → taṇhā (moment-to-moment tipping point within the present).

  3. C3: bhava → jāti (kamma becoming conditioning future result).

• Two roots for orientation:

  • Past-root: avijjā biases intention (saṅkhārā).

  • Present-root: taṇhā escalates into upādāna → bhava, projecting a future jāti → jarāmaraṇa.

• Reading both directions:

  • Arising (anuloma): tracks the standard forward chain across the four periods.

  • Cessation (paṭiloma): removing a cause collapses the downstream effects (e.g., with the cessation of taṇhā, upādāna ceases … leading to the cessation of dukkha; SN 12.1).

C. Practice (1–3 min micro-drills)

1. Point-and-Place (class warm-up, 90 sec)
   Teacher calls a link; learners point to its period: “phassa?” → “Present Effect.” “bhava?” → “Present Cause.” Rapid 10-item round.

2. Three-tap Hand-off (C1–C3, 2 min)
   Tap right shoulder for the “from” link, left for the “to” link: C1 (saṅkhārā → viññāṇa), C2 (vedanā → taṇhā), C3 (bhava → jāti). Speak the Pāli each time.

3. Pause at Period 3 (solo, 1–2 min)
   Recall a recent urge. Label the flow aloud: “… phassa → vedanā | STOP at Present Cause before taṇhā.” Breathe, name the feeling quality (pleasant/neutral/painful), let it pass without escalation.

D. Cross-links

• Ch01 What Is DO? (map and scope).

• Ch03 Three Rounds (how kilesa/kamma/vipāka color each period).

• Ch04 Two Roots (avijjā & taṇhā) anchoring Past-Cause / Present-Cause.

• Ch15–16 Vedanā and Taṇhā (working the Present pivot).

Sources

SN 12.1; SN 12.2.

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QR Footer (left → right)

• Audio QR-CH02-AUD1 — Guided tour of the four periods (3-min). (Alt: “QR to audio: Four-period walkthrough”)

• Video QR-CH02-VID1 — How one chain maps to four layers (5-min). (Alt: “QR to video: Layered wheel demo”)

• Slides QR-CH02-PPT1 — Teacher deck: wheel + overlays. (Alt: “QR to slides: Four-period wheel deck”)

• Prompt QR-CH02-PRM1 — 60-sec “Point-and-Place” drill. (Alt: “QR to prompt: Period mapping drill”)

Next: Ch03 — Three Rounds (Vaṭṭa): Kilesa, Kamma, Vipāka.