Saṃyuktāgama (358)

Original text:如是我闻。一时。佛住舍卫国祇树给孤独园。尔时。世尊告诸比丘。有增法．减法。谛听。善思。当为汝说。云何增法。所谓此有故彼有。此起故彼起。谓缘无明行。缘行识。乃至纯大苦聚集。是名增法。云何减法。谓此无故彼无。此灭故彼灭。所谓无明灭则行灭。乃至纯大苦聚灭。是名减法。佛说此经已。诸比丘闻佛所说。欢喜奉行。 

Explanation: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: There is a dharma of increase and a dharma of decrease; I shall explain this to you—listen carefully and deliberate well. What is the dharma of increase? The dharma of increase refers to "when this exists, that exists; when this arises, that arises." Because this dharma exists, it gives rise to the appearance of that dharma, thereby increasing that dharma. That is, conditioned by ignorance there are volitional formations; conditioned by volitional formations there is consciousness; and so on, down to conditioned by birth there are aging, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress—the great mass of suffering entirely. This is the dharma of dependent origination in which the twelve links of dependent origination follow the forward flow of saṃsāra. 

What is the dharma of decrease? The dharma of decrease refers to "when this does not exist, that does not exist; when this ceases, that ceases." Because this dharma disappears and no longer exists, that dharma disappears along with it; when this dharma ceases, that dharma ceases accordingly. That is, when ignorance ceases, volitional formations cease accordingly; when volitional formations cease, consciousness ceases along with them; and so on, down to when birth ceases, aging, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress—the great mass of suffering—also cease entirely without remainder. This is the dharma of the cessation of dependent origination, which reverses the flow of birth and death in the twelve links of dependent origination.