Lets use the example of a person who is overly competitive to illustrate the Twelve Nidanas of dependent origination.
1. Ignorance (avijja): The person lacks understanding of the true nature of reality, including their own self-worth and the impermanence of all things.
2. Mental formations (sankhara): Due to ignorance, the person has formed a habitual pattern of reacting to situations with competitiveness, striving to be better than others.
3. Consciousness (viññana): The persons consciousness is conditioned by these mental formations, making them prone to experiencing competitiveness and feelings of superiority.
4. Name and form (nama-rupa): The persons body and mind (psychophysical constituents) manifest in a way that is susceptible to competitiveness.
5. The six sense bases (salayatana): The persons sense organs (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and mind) interact with the external world.
6. Contact (phassa): The person encounters a situation or stimulus (e.g., a competition with others) that triggers competitiveness through their sense bases.
7. Feeling (vedana): The person experiences either pleasant or unpleasant feelings based on the outcome of the competition, fueling their craving for more success.
8. Craving (tanha): The person develops a strong desire to be better than others, craving success and recognition.
9. Clinging (upadana): The persons attachment to their competitiveness intensifies, and they cling to their desire for success and recognition as a means of self-worth.
10. Becoming (bhava): This clinging to competitiveness reinforces the persons habitual patterns and karmic tendencies, perpetuating the cycle of competitiveness.
11. Birth (jati): The persons competitiveness manifests in the form of an attempt to dominate others, perpetuating the cycle of mental formations and karmic consequences.
12. Old age and death (jara-marana): The person may experience suffering due to their competitiveness, especially if they are unable to achieve their desired outcomes. Additionally, this craving for success and attachment to their self-worth can cause suffering in future lives if left unchecked.
In this example, we can see how the Twelve Nidanas apply to the arising and perpetuation of competitiveness. By recognizing this interdependent cycle, a person can cultivate mindfulness and work towards letting go of their attachment to competitiveness and the craving for external validation. Ultimately, this can lead to greater peace, contentment, and freedom from suffering.

How to break cycle at each point:

Heres how to break the cycle of dependent origination in the context of a person who is overly competitive:

1. Ignorance (avijja): The person can break the cycle of dependent origination at the first link by gaining a deeper understanding of the true nature of reality, specifically that all things are impermanent and interconnected. By recognizing the interdependence of all things and letting go of the concept of self-worth based on achievements or success, the person can reduce ignorance and the attachment to competitiveness.

2. Mental formations (sankhara): By cultivating awareness and recognizing mental formations as they arise, the person can break the cycle at this link by reducing the habit of reacting with competitiveness to situations. Through the practice of mindfulness and other meditative techniques, the person can develop a healthier mental habit pattern that replaces competition with cooperation and collaboration.

3. Consciousness (viññana): By cultivating greater consciousness of the mental patterns, the person can break the cycle at this link by reducing the influence of their competitiveness on their consciousness. Through mindfulness meditation or other contemplative practices, the person can become aware of their impulses and reduce the influence of competitiveness on their consciousness.

4. Name and form (nama-rupa): By cultivating a healthy relationship with the body and mind, the person can reduce the likelihood of competitiveness driving their physical and mental makeup, thereby breaking the cycle at this link. Developing self-care practices like exercise, healthy eating, and sleep hygiene can help to reduce stress and improve overall well-being, reducing the influence of competitiveness on physical and mental health.

5. The six sense bases (salayatana): By practicing sensory restraint, the person can break the cycle at this link by reducing the likelihood of unwholesome sensory experiences triggering their competitive tendencies. By being mindful of the senses and the external objects that they engage with, the person can reduce the potential for craving and attachment to develop.

6. Contact (phassa): By being mindful of their interactions with the external world, the person can break the cycle at this link by reducing the potential for competitiveness to arise from situations or stimuli that trigger competitive tendencies. Through mindfulness of their interactions, the person can identify triggers and respond more skillfully, reducing the influence of competitiveness on their behavior and thoughts.

7. Feeling (vedana): By developing mindfulness of the feelings that arise from competition, the person can break the cycle at this link by reducing the potential for craving and attachment to develop. Through mindfulness of the pleasant, unpleasant or neutral feelings that arise, the person can develop greater insight, reducing the influence of competitiveness on their emotional state.

8. Craving (tanha): By recognizing that craving and attachment to success leads to suffering and unsatisfactoriness, the person can break the cycle at this link by reducing the desire for success and recognition. Through cultivating contentment, gratitude, and acceptance, the person can release attachment to success, reducing the influence of competitiveness on their thoughts and actions.

9. Clinging (upadana): By developing awareness that attachment to competitiveness and the desire for success leads to suffering, the person can break the cycle at this link by reducing attachment to their self-worth based on achievements. Through mindfulness and reflection, the person can recognize the harmful effects of clinging to competitiveness and work towards letting go of this psychological attachment.

10. Becoming (bhava): By recognizing that clinging to competitiveness and the desire for success reinforces habitual patterns and karmic tendencies, the person can break the cycle at this link by working towards developing new patterns of behavior and thought. Through the practice of mindfulness and other contemplative techniques, the person can develop healthier patterns of behavior that reduce the influence of competitiveness and attachment on their actions.

11. Birth (jati): By recognizing that competitiveness and the desire for success leads to suffering, the person can break the cycle at this link by shifting their motivations and behaviors towards cultivating compassion, wisdom, and other virtues. By developing the qualities of kindness, generosity, empathy, and equanimity, the person can transcend the cycle of dependent origination, reducing the influence of competitiveness on their thoughts, emotions, and actions.

12. Old age and death (jara-marana): By breaking the cycle at all of the preceding links, the person can experience liberation from the cycle of samsara and attain freedom from suffering. Through the practice of mindfulness and other contemplative techniques, the person can cultivate wisdom and insight, reducing the influence of attachment, suffering, and unsatisfactoriness on their life.