After reading Shaila Catherine's WWD I feel I still need more detail. I would appreciate some suggestions on books that deal with the subject in great depth. If it's complicated that's okay because I'm sure it is.

Thanissaro's ebooks are usually very good. There's one on dependent origination called the Shape of Suffering. I haven't read it yet, but it might meet your needs: http://www.dhammatalks.org/ebook_index.html#study_guides

Not a book, but an hour long video by Sister Khema of Dhamma Sukha:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN1vhgGpfDY

The Dhamma Sukha folks are big on dependent origination.

Simon

In addition to the other two suggestions made, you might want to consider one of the books from the thread Essential Books from Theravadin Resources. It was written with the exact need you have in mind: increasing understanding of dependent co-arising.

It's title is The Great Discourse on Causation, The Mahanidana Sutta and Its Commentaries, and it was translated, compiled, and written by Bhikkhu Bodhi. It's been around for a while, and was the book I used to help me better understand this most important of concepts. It's only 140 pages long, but contains an in-depth analysis of dependent co-arising (or dependent arising, as some like to term it). I used to term it as "dependent origination," too, before I realized that "dependent arising" or, my preferred term, "dependent co-arising" was a more accurate term and way to characterize this phenomenon. This book comes well recommended (there may be others out there, but I have not recently searched for any that have addressed this study as I have been well served by the present book).

The blurb on the back of the book sums up it contents very well:

Ha! Ian, we were moments apart from posting the same recommendation: Bodhi, Bhikkhu, trans., The Great Discourse on Causation: The Maha Nidana Sutta and its Commentaries (Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 1984)

He also has his lectures online on the Pali language and the Mahanidana Sutta.


This is such an excellent point of study and practical experience: to realize the mind is like a an antennae constantly co-creating with environment, learning (through loooooooooooooots of mistakes in my experience an equanimous, wholesome participation, naturally sprouting paramis. Whoaaa nelly!

Sister Khema, whose is associated with Bhante Vimalaramsi, has a neat video on Dependent Origination.

John Peacock's talks on Dependent Origination are also good.

EDIT: Also wanted to add Leigh Brasington's talks on DO at Gaia House in 2010 - I was there, and they were enlightening.

Thank you so much guys! I have some reading to do. Yes Sister Khema has a good video but I think more depth might be necessary. She is right on regarding clinging. I still think it's a little too linear and some brief dharma talks I've listened to point out that it's not exactly linear. Also Rob Burbea's discussion on time is interesting: If the present moment has a beginning middle and end then the beginning must also have a beginning middle and end until the concept disappears.

Rob Burbea seems to me a kind of wonderful dharma wizard who can magically straddle the mainstream mushroomy stuff and the hardcore technical stuff. Like Jack Kornfield, but with better metaphors and more sass.

Hey Andy, I have some time at Gaia House booked in March where Rob Burbea is one of the teachers. Do you have any eerpeicne with hime personally? What kind of technique(s) does he teach?

Check out his dharmaseed.org lectures. I find he's good at emptiness teachings.

I went to his recent London Insight day retreat and thought he said some excellent stuff, particularly in the afternoon. Other than that, not a lot. Although his talks are good, and one of my other one-time dharma teachers recommended him.

Is this your first time at GH? Are you doing a personal retreat?

"This Being, That Becomes", by Dhivan Thomas Jones, Windhorse Publications. Haven't read it personally, but am told it's very clear.

Yes. First time. Personal retreat.

I've heard its a good place, and I can't wait to get 15 whole days with no interruptions!

Buddhadasa Bhikku's Paticcasamupadda: Practical Dependent Origination is excellent and available free online.

http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books6/Bhikkhu_Buddhadasa_Paticcasamuppada.htm

He very deliberately attempts to remove a lot of the unfortunate inclusion of ideas around "rebirth / reincarnation" from the topic.

Came across this very old post.

My favorite book on the topic is: Notes on Dhamma by Nanavira. Downloadable from the usual places.

His main premise is that Dependent origination is a structural principle: "When there is this this is, with arising of this this arises ... When there is not this this is not, with cessation of this this ceases." Thus, he does not think of it as causality in time.

Thanks for the recommendation! I did a review on it with mostly Thanissaro Bhikkhu resources. He tended to focus on the danger of Becoming or the impulse "to be somebody!" https://youtu.be/GCxtgwoJmbc It will be good to get more perspectives on it.

The timelessness side of things will be difficult for people who haven't gotten to stream entry. Zeno of Elea tended to look at time more as displacement of space and the reordering of things. That will probably help people more until they get further along and scan more of their mental movements to see how it operates and the peace of when things cease.

OK. 

All I can say is my experience: 

I doubt I had any stream entry when this book made sense to me. In fact, it removed  confusion.

But that's just me. 

Edit: Beautiful video -- especially how the pics/video correlate with your commentary. Thanks.