The term is a translation of the Sanskrit word pratītyasamutpāda. Yuan

(缘) means conditions; qi (起) means origination. That is to say, all things,

phenomena, and social activities arise out of the combinations of causes and

conditions. They exist in the continuous relationship between causes and

conditions. Thus all things originate, change, and demise depending upon

certain conditions. Dependent origination is the fountainhead of Buddhist

thought and forms the common theoretical basis for all Buddhist schools and

sects. Buddhism uses this concept to explain everything in the universe, the

constant changes of social and spiritual phenomena, and the internal laws of

origination, change, and demise.