My favorite Buddhist principle. I remember hearing the person explaining this principle to me for the first time. My eyes turned into two hearts and my ears bent forward lol. I fell in love with the first teaching lol. For me, this principle explains everything. It explains how karma works, that life is not separate from the environment and all the choices we make every millisecond.

Itinen Sanzen’s principle is based on the idea that in a single instant there are 3000 possible choices. Why 3000? To explain Itinen Sanzen we first have to understand the ten states of life and the principle of mutual possession, because everything is interconnected (I’ve done two posts explaining these two principles). That part explained. Let’s move on to the 10 factors of life.

The 10 factors of life are found in the Hoben (middle) chapter of Gongyo:

1- Appearance – everything that exists in the universe has a physical, material form;

2- Nature – everything that exists in the Universe has an essence or substance;

3- Entity – is the existence of life itself;

What we can conclude so far is that everything that has an appearance and an essence has an entity, that is, it has existence.

4- Power – the energy that governs everything that exists;

5- Influence – is the message we transmit to the environment with our actions, attitudes and behavior;

6- Inner Cause – and intuition placed in thoughts, words and actions creating the explanation (cause) for what will happen to us in the future (whether in this life or in a past life, whether good or bad), is the famous karma;

7- Relationship – it’s how we face external events;

8- Latent effect – is the projection of the internal cause with the relationship without being manifested;

9- Manifest effect – this is the concrete and perceptible manifestation of the latent effect;

These 6 factors indicate the functions and the way in which they operate the phenomena.

10- Consistency from start to finish – this, in turn, is the direct, harmonious, coherent and consistent connection between the nine factors at every moment of life.

I’m going to use the example of the blog http://marlitrindade.blogspot.co.nz/2009/07/os-dez-fatores-da-vida.html, because she really nailed this explanation. Of all the sites I’ve used to study this principle, the example she explains was the most timely. She says:

Your very existence is a “phenomenon”. Your physiognomic features, posture and so on constitute the “appearance” of the “phenomenon” that is your life.

In addition, what exists in your heart, although invisible to the eye, such as your personality traits – tolerance, impatience, kindness and discretion – or the various aspects of your temperament, make up your “nature” (nyo ze sho). Your physical and spiritual totality, that is, your “appearance” (nyo ze so) and your “nature” (nyo ze sho) together form your “entity” (nyo ze tai), the person you are.

In the same way, your life has various energies (“power”), and these produce various external actions (“influence”). In addition, your own life becomes a cause (“internal cause”) which, activated by internal and external conditions (“relationship”), generates changes in itself (“latent effect”), and in due course these latent effects manifest in concrete form (“manifest effect”).

These nine factors also link your life and your environment without any omissions or inconsistencies (“consistency from start to finish”). This is what the ten factors of your life really look like…

People in each of the ten worlds or states are endowed with the ten factors according to their state of life. For example, people in the state of Hell have the dark, depressed appearance of someone overwhelmed by suffering. As their nature is full of suffering and hatred, their power and influence also tend to envelop those around them in darkness…

Likewise, each of the ten worlds has its own factors… and there is consistency from start to finish.

This example shows how the ten factors (or ten worlds) are present in our lives. However, this is just one example, but note that we can apply the ten factors to any situation we go through and to anything that exists (to fauna, flora, the stars, nature as a whole, etc).

It’s important to stress that according to Buddhism, the way we relate to the world depends not only on how you live your life, but also on the internal causes created in past lives. Therefore, the habits and behaviors we have today, together with the karmic load we managed in the past, constitute our inherent causes.

For this reason, many of our reactions to external stimuli are beyond our intellectual comprehension and awareness, as are our tastes and the things and people we like and dislike.

In this way, we understand from this study the importance of consciously maintaining positive thoughts, words and actions regardless of our circumstances in order to consistently create a positive energetic charge and then begin to develop a more harmonious life with healthy relationships.

No matter how chaotic the circumstances may be, the more the individual responds to this with negative behaviors and actions, the more confusion, disorder and disturbance they will attract. On the contrary, if you respond with elevated states of life, you will gradually transform your circumstances into crystal clear waters, but it takes constant and consistent personal development.

Well, having explained the essence of the ten factors, we now have to understand the three realms of existence in order to understand Itinen Sanzen.

The three domains of existence are made up of:

1 – The five components of life:

1.1 Form – at the very moment a life is created in the Universe, it is endowed with physical and spiritual characteristics, which are the consequences of its karmic burden, and which make it unique and individual. Therefore, form clarifies the physical aspect of life (shape and color) and the five senses as a way of interacting with the world (touch, smell, sight, taste and hearing);

1.2 Perception – is the ability to integrate the six sensory organs (five senses plus the mind).

1.3 Conception – this is the ability to develop ideas based on what has been perceived (thoughts-judgments).

1.4 Volition – is the will that arises after a conclusion about a thought-judgment.

1.5 Consciousness – is the ability to evaluate, analyze, observe, contemplate, ponder and identify the dualities of life in order to keep them in balance and assimilate the other capacities mentioned.

2 – Social environment – we are social beings, so we live our lives together with other people, in society. The false idea that the other is different, opposite or separate from the “I” is the self-centeredness that gives rise to all the causes of human suffering according to Buddhism. In this way, the “I” is mutable and dependent on all other phenomena.

3 – Natural environment – is the physical space where living beings dwell, the environment and all the resources it makes available to satisfy our vital needs.

The three domains of existence are interconnected. They should not be seen as separate and independent. They connect and influence each other.

Finally, we can now talk about Itinem Sanzen in more depth. Itinen means something like “a moment of life” and Sanzen means something like “phenomenon that life manifests” or “three thousand”.

So the Itinen Sanzen principle means that a single moment in life has three thousand alternatives, choices or possibilities. Three thousand is arrived at through the following calculation:

The 10 factors are how the 10 states manifest in the 3 realms of existence. So with this principle we can conclude that body and mind, the living being and the environment and the law of cause and effect are directly interconnected in a single moment of life, at a specific moment in time. There are three thousand ways in which the moments of life can manifest as a phenomenon.

That’s why each person’s life story is unique and extraordinary. Each person has a unique personality, a unique way of living and a unique interaction with the environment. As a result, the systematic comparisons we make with other people make no sense at all.

Through this principle, we understand that our life is in our hands and we have the determination to choose paths for the most diverse situations, so we have the power to build or destroy. That’s why thinking positively alone doesn’t work, because thoughts, words and actions must be in synchronicity.

“Life is the sum of our choices.” Albert Camus

Be at peace

Cha