Lets use the example of avoidance to illustrate the Twelve Nidanas of dependent origination.

1. Ignorance (avijja): The person lacks understanding of the true nature of reality, including the impermanence of phenomena and the nature of suffering.
2. Mental formations (sankhara): Due to ignorance, the person forms habitual patterns of avoiding things that are uncomfortable or perceived as threatening.
3. Consciousness (viññana): The persons consciousness is conditioned by these mental formations, making them prone to avoiding uncomfortable situations or emotions.
4. Name and form (nama-rupa): The persons body and mind manifest in a way that is susceptible to avoidance.
5. The six sense bases (salayatana): The persons sense organs interact with the external world.
6. Contact (phassa): The person encounters a situation (e.g., a social event) or stimulus (e.g., a conversation) that triggers discomfort or anxiety.
7. Feeling (vedana): The person experiences an unpleasant feeling as a result of the contact with the situation or stimulus.
8. Craving (tanha): The person avoids the situation, experiences a craving for comfort or safety or relief.
9. Clinging (upadana): The persons attachment to the avoidance behavior, reinforcing the cycle of avoiding.
10. Becoming (bhava): This clinging to avoidance reinforces the persons habitual patterns and karmic tendencies, leading them deeper into the cycle of avoidance.
11. Birth (jati): The persons avoidance behavior becomes a part of their identity, leading to further avoidance.
12. Old age and death (jara-marana): The persons avoidance, if unaddressed, can limit their growth and development and perpetuate negative consequences in future situations.

In this example, we can see how the Twelve Nidanas can apply to avoidance behavior. By recognizing the interdependence of the Twelve Links, a person can cultivate mindfulness and work towards breaking the cycle of avoidance, ultimately leading to greater freedom from suffering.

How to break cycle at each point:

To break the cycle at each point in the context of avoidance behavior, we can apply the following:

1. Ignorance (avijja): To break the cycle at this point, one needs to develop an understanding of the true nature of reality, including the impermanence of phenomena and the nature of suffering. This involves studying the core teachings of Buddhism and developing insight meditation to gain a deeper understanding of one’s own mind.

2. Mental formations (sankhara): By recognizing ones habitual patterns of avoidance, one can cultivate an intention to change these patterns. Developing positive intentions and seeking support from a teacher or a community can help instill new habits.

3. Consciousness (viññana): Through mindfulness meditation, one can become aware of the patterns of avoidance that arise in consciousness. With practice, one can develop the ability to recognize and interrupt these patterns, leading to a reduction in avoidance behaviors.

4. Name and form (nama-rupa): By cultivating mindfulness of the body and mind, we can become aware of how our perceptions and mental formations arise. This understanding can help us disengage from identification with avoidance behavior, reducing attachment and suffering.

5. The six sense bases (salayatana): By developing mindfulness of the senses, we can become more aware of how sensory experiences trigger patterns of avoidance. With practice, we can learn to respond more skillfully to these experiences, reducing the potential for suffering.

6. Contact (phassa): Mindfulness meditation can help us become more aware of how contact with situations or stimuli leads to feelings of discomfort or anxiety. With this recognition, we can develop a more skillful response to these experiences, reducing the potential for suffering.

7. Feeling (vedana): Through mindfulness meditation, we can learn to recognize the unpleasant feelings that arise from avoidance behavior. With this awareness, one can develop more skillful responses to these emotions, reducing the potential for craving and clinging.

8. Craving (tanha): By recognizing the craving for comfort or safety or relief, we can investigate the underlying causes of this craving. Through mindfulness and self-reflection, we can learn to identify and address these causes, reducing the potential for attachment.

9. Clinging (upadana): By recognizing the attachment to avoidance behavior, we can work towards changing these patterns. This can be achieved by seeking support from a community, developing positive habits, and seeking guidance from a mentor.

10. Becoming (bhava): By recognizing the karmic process of becoming that results from clinging, one can work towards cultivating positive habits and intentions, leading to the formation of a new existence that is rooted in positive actions.

11. Birth (jati): By recognizing the ways in which avoidance behavior can become part of ones identity, we can work towards breaking the cycle of avoidance by developing positive patterns and habits.

12. Old age and death (jara-marana): By recognizing the potential for negative consequences resulting from avoidance behavior, we can work towards reducing the likelihood of perpetuating these behaviors in future situations. Through mindfulness and self-reflection, we can develop more skillful responses to challenging situations, leading to reduced suffering and lasting peace.